ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE, HIGH SCHOOL, AND DISTRICT LEVEL VISITS

DOCUMENTATION

Georgia Southern University

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
Department of Leadership, Technology, and Human Development

SUPERVISED FIELD EXPERIENCE:

ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE GRADES, HIGH SCHOOL, AND DISTRICT LEVELS

EDLD 7737 AND EDLD 7738

This form will serve to document that you have completed ½ day each at the elementary,
middle, high school, and district levels.

In addition to completing this form, you should document these field experiences in Forms
8 and 10.

The hours should be included in Form 10 as part of your 125 hours and you should include
reflections and artifacts (if any) as part of Form 8.

Your Name: Sherita Myrick

Campus Mentor: Turner Floyd
University Supervisor: Dr. Torian White

½ Day FIELD EXPERIENCE at the ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LEVEL

Date and Time of Activity: September 28th, 2023

Hours Completed: 2 hrs

School or District Office you visited: Early County Central Office

Persons you met with: Mrs. Marva Mincey

Description of the Field Experience Activity and Your Role

My first shadowing experience was with Marva Smith-Mincey on September 28, 2023 from 9:00
until 11:00. I shadowed Mrs. Mincey in the conference room at the Central Office. I was in
attendance with her at the meeting as they updated the MTSS Manual Review. She is our school
system’s special education director and is currently in her third year in this role. Mrs. Mincey
served as the Special Education Lead Teacher for over ten years at the middle school level before
becoming the special education director. She also had some previous experience with federal and
state mandates. Even though she had previous experience working with special education, she
does not feel she was prepared for the job. It has been a challenge for her to move from the
classroom to the special education director position. She continually attends professional
learning to learn and become more knowledgeable.

Mrs. Mincey stated that she has many responsibilities as the special education director. Two
of her main duties include ensuring IDEA and Section 504 compliance. Although each day is
different for her, a typical day entails the following: attending IEP/Eligibility/MDR meetings,
working on state/federal mandated reports, attending meetings with principals and teachers
regarding students' academic and/or behavior, attending professional learning, and planning
for the upcoming school year. She also stated that she spends endless hours frequently
visiting the GaDOE website, subscribing to newsletters and federal programs to better reach
the needs of teachers and students. Mrs. Mincey reads legislative information that is sent to
her by Dr. Jennifer Brown, ECSS Superintendent. As changes occur to policies, Mrs. Mincey
often attends professional development for the areas of concern. It is also important to her to
regularly meet with the GLRS and District liaison to ensure everyone is in the know of
what’s going on in the Special Education Department.

A day could consist of attending IEP/Eligibility/MDR meetings, working on state/federal

required reports, meeting with teachers regarding students (academics and/or behavior),
attending professional learning, and planning for the next school year. Mrs. Mincey also
spends time constantly researching topics as it relates to Special Education. She utilizes the
GaDOE website frequently, subscribes to newsletters sent out from GaDOE, federal
programs and reads legislative information sent out by Dr. Brown, our superintendent. She
also attends professional development in areas of concern to find out changes. She meets
and converses regularly with the GLRS and District Liaisons.

Mrs. Mincey is involved in advancing and supporting student achievement. She works with
principals to ensure that staff and students have what they need to be more successful in
school. She also frequently works with staff to identify students’ needs and tries to find a way
to address those needs to close the achievement gap. Her current goal for this year is to ensure
that Co-Teaching is implemented as it is intended in co-taught classrooms. Mrs. Mincey is
also planning to work on modifying teachers' and students’ schedules to provide the most
impact for staff and students. She does feel her job should be tied to student achievement
because if students do not achieve at a higher level, then it is her responsibility to work with
the teachers and administrators to determine students’ needs and ensure those needs are met.
She also stated that her overall goal is for students to graduate high school and become
productive members of society. She feels that technology is being used to advance student
achievement; special education students can receive a lot of accommodations through
technology such as screen readers, calculators, etc.… Mrs. Mincey also stated that computer-
based programs are used to identify students’ needs and progress monitoring. One of Mrs.
Mincey’s challenge of supporting student achievement is that some general education teachers
have a certain perception of special education. They feel that once a student qualifies for
special education, only the special education department is responsible for working with the
students and general education teachers may not put in the same effort or differentiate their
classroom to accommodate the individual learning needs of all students.

Shadowing Mrs. Mincey provided me with a lot of information on special education,

especially the referral for an initial evaluation and process. I am also enrolled in Course 2 of
the SST/MTTS endorsement and much of the information that was discussed during the
meeting reiterated the course material and discussions we are having class. Mrs. Mincey also
emphasized the importance for all staff to understand the purpose of MTSS and
interventions. Teachers are becoming more knowledgeable of the process because my
principal is requiring staff members to complete the training modules in SLDS. It is
important to work with teachers to make sure they are knowledgeable of the interventions
they are implementing and have the materials they need to assist them. I have attended
MTSS meetings and understand the process. I stay in constant communication with the
special education department and attend 504 meetings to learn and grow. As an instructional
coach, I will also work with teachers to ensure they are following procedures.

Shadowing Mrs. Mincey provided me with a depth of knowledge of the special education
process. I have a better understanding of what she needs from the administration to make her
job better. Mrs. Mincey stated that she strongly believes frequent collaboration is a necessity,
and she tries to share updated information as she receives it. She likes for special education
teachers and administrators to keep her informed on any areas of concern involving special
education students. For special education students’ needs to be met, the continuous
collaboration between the Special Education Director and administration is imperative. When
decisions are made in regard to special education students, the special education director,
administration, interventionists, and classroom teachers should work collaboratively in regards
to how to better meet the students’ needs.