Establishing a Shared Culture and Vision of Student Achievement at Disciplinary Alternative Education Programs (DAEPs): A Practitioner's Examination of the Need for Culturally Responsive and Relevant Training and Professional Development for Serving Diverse Learners at DAEPs

• In Event: 69.044 - Research and Scholarship From Within the Trenches

Abstract

Teacher training is a critical element in ensuring schools are staffed with professionals that can address diverse learning communities in their classrooms. Students, which demonstrate difficulty adhering to the policies and procedures of the traditional school setting, need teachers that are responsive to their needs. Students are removed to Disciplinary Alternative Education Programs at an alarming rate due to disruptive behaviors. Even more so for children of color and children with special needs. Teachers in DAEP settings find themselves in classrooms with students that have severe behavioral difficulties and/or disorders that require intense intervention. If teachers are not prepared when dealing with these students in alternative settings, learning does not take place and replacement behaviors are not being taught.
This study aims to understand teacher’s perceptions of the current training and professional development they feel is available to them to address the diverse needs of the students they serve in their respective alternative setting.

Author

• George Flores