DRAGON SPEAK
NEWSLETTER
Week of March 2, 2015
Co-Teaching at Synergy
This year, Synergy has a new initiative to help students learn: co-teaching in the classroom. Since August, a special
education teacher and an English teacher have been matched up and teach together in order to best meet our student
needs. There are many benefits to this practice. Natalie Keating, one of the English teachers involved in co-teaching
said that “good co-teaching leads to shared responsibilities, utilizing one another’s strengths, and designing lessons
as a team.”
In order to design those lessons as a team, Keating has a shared planning period with Marci Mullady, the special
education teacher participating in this practice. During this time, they specifically discuss special education issues
within their classroom and the modifications that may need to be made. “Each of us works with kids differently. We
have different approaches, and that allows us to piggyback off one another’s ideas.” The key to good co-teaching for
these two teachers at Synergy is their communication. They are in constant discussion with one another about what
would be most helpful in the classroom, both in terms of lessons, as well as what would work with certain students
and their specific learning styles.
As Synergy is a school that has a specific focus on helping students with behavioral challenges, it is extremely
helpful to have two teachers in the classroom because a student may respond better to one teacher than another.
Keating and Mullady both say they have turned to the other for help reaching a student who at first appeared
unwilling to work. Additionally, Keating and Mullady have different specialties, which allows for a close focus on
English content, as well as on specialized instruction. It is truly allowing for a curriculum that can meet every
student’s needs. Our small class size allows our teachers to get to know the students well and know what will work
for each one. Overall, co-teaching has many benefits, but specifically it has allowed our teachers to design their own
classroom—one that is diverse socially, economically, and in learning style. The students all are able to get the
attention they need because of the co-teaching happening.
Our mission is to prepare every student with academic skills, applied experiences, and social/emotional growth opportunities so
they can achieve their highest potential.