MAN | COLLEGE OF RS1TY | EDUCATIONAL stuDtES Special Education Student Teaching Final Summary ‘Teacher Candidate: _Edwin Hernandez __Semester:__ Spring 20’ Date: _s/7/2020 _ School: Olive Crest Academy __District:_OCE Grade Level(s): SDC 4!" grade Please include the following areas to support your recommendation: 2) Abie desrption ofthe schoo and classroom sting, b) performance and growth during student teaching ¢) Areas of special competence 6) Adonal coments Currently, 1am interning at Olive Crest Academy, a nonpublic spectal day school that specializes with students that have experienced emotional trauma, social-emotional dysregulation, behavioral problems induced by environmental settings, intellectual disabilities, speech/language impairments, autism, emotional disturbance, and other health Impairments. The school is #*- 12" grade. My classroom Is a fourth grade ED class that is composed of 9 boys. 6 of my students are eligible for special education under the Emotional Disturbance qualification. Two are eligible through the other health impairment qualification, and my last qualifies under the specific learning disability. Two of my students need additional support in the form of a 11 paraprofessional. There is a behavior interventionist in my class that specializes in analyzing behavior intervention plans and implementing programs; in addition, the behavior interventionist collaboratively problem solves with students to aid the students with behavior management. There is also a therapist assigned to the class that pulls the students for individual therapy conferences to address and develop any social-emotional needs. My internship was an incredible learning experience. in the beginning, my classroom was not as appealing as it could have been, my students’ expectations were not clear, team chemistry was not at its greatest, and my lessons were not engaging. | had previously been a teacher through a credential offered through the CTC, however, for a lack of a better phrase, | was simply surviving. | had taken courses for a year and a half, but | simply acquired the knowledge but not the experience. It was not until my university supervisor, Martha O'Meara, that I began to get the proper guidance to help me become an organized, charismatic, and confident teacher. My growth during my internship was tremendous. Mrs. (O’Meara pushed me to my limits. She provided me with constant feedback, strategies to implement, and she even gave me ideas to organize my classroom. At the time, | was having difficulty wrapping my head around all the feedback she was giving; in addition, | felt that | was not ready to be a teacher. However, a thought | pondered on was that she provided constructive feedback and placed high expectations for me because she believed that | could meet them. Through her feedback, | was able to organize my classroom into a comfortable environment that | was proud to call mine. Moreover, my students began to feel welcomed. They saw the changes and felt comfortable. The effort | put into the classresonated with my students. | was trying to bring a new aesthetic to the class to promote a positive ambience. Not only did my classroom ambience change, but so did my instructional strategies. I learned to use student present levels to guide instruction, | took curriculum that was provided and differentiated instruction to include all my students, regardless of their academic levels, and | improved my communication with my team. More importantly, lam an advocate for my students and parents and confidence is an integral part to One strength of mine fs my resiliency to move forward and get work done. 1 am understanding that not everything will go as planned and it is contingent on student engagement and participation. For that reason, itis vital to improvise and be flexible every day. My resiliency helps me push forward and continue to put forth the effort | know I can give, My passion to work with students is unprecedented and | continue to go into a fast- paced environment with the idea that | am there to provide services to these students. Every day lam there to spend time with them and help my students develop into scholars and citizens regardless of the extreme behaviors. Another special competence of mine that developed through my internship was differentiating instruction and monitoring using formative and summative assessments. | have researched different instructional strategies to provide students equal access to the curriculum and engage them with the content presented. In conclusion, thank you to everyone that has supported me through the process of jerning. | gained valuable experience and applicable knowledge through the proper guidance of my University supervisor and master teachers. |am excited to move forward and continue to develop as an education specialist. University MN je OY Supervisors Master Teacher: Signature: SignatureTeacher Sal paioa Candidate: Edwin Hernandez Signature: