Special Education, Teacher of Students with Severe Disabilities (PreK-2) Concentration, BSE

The Teacher for Students with Severe Disabilities (PreK-2) Concentration qualifies candidates with Department of Elementary and Secondary Education licensure with a focus on early literacy and early childhood education for students with severe disabilities. The program is designed for candidates that want to support the literacy and academic challenges of young students with severe disabilities as well as their challenges with activities of daily living, communication, socialization with age-appropriate peers, and participation in inclusive settings. Pedagogy for early childhood students with severe intellectual disabilities, autism, behavioral challenges, and multiple disabilities is emphasized.

Admission Requirements

Students must meet the College of Education and Health Sciences Professional Education Program admission requirements prior to enrolling in SPED 300- or 400- level course work. Those requirements include, but are not limited to:

passage of the Communication and Literacy portion of the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure® (MTEL)
a minimum undergraduate GPA of 2.8
completion of ENGL 101 and ENGL 102 with a minimum grade of “C+”

Grade Requirement

A minimum cumulative GPA of 2.8 is required for acceptance into the professional education program, and it must be maintained throughout the program.

Course Requirements

Licensure course requirements (45 credits)

SPED 203 - Cultural Diversity Issues in School and Society *
SPED 208 - Child and Adolescent Development and Special Education *
SPED 209 - Language Skills for Learners with Special Needs *
SPED 211 - The Early Childhood Learner with Special Needs *
SPED 217 - Meeting the Needs of All Learners
SPED 302 - Behavior Management and Interventions
SPED 303 - Principles and Procedures of Assessment of Students with Special Needs
SPED 304 - Children with Reading Disability: Diagnosis and Teaching Strategies
SPED 365 - Teaching Mathematics to Struggling Learners
SPED 408 - Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) Endorsement Course
SPED 410 - Instructional and Curricular Strategies for Learners with Intensive Special Needs I
SPED 411 - Instructional and Curricular Strategies for Learners with Intensive Special Needs II CWRM
SPED 433 - Student Teaching – Severe Disabilities **
* Must be completed prior to admission to professional education and enrollment in upper-division education courses.
** Prior to the student teaching experience, students must submit evidence that they have passed the Early Childhood MTEL®.

Cognate courses (12 credits)

Total minimum credits (57)

Core Curriculum Requirements

A minimum of 120 earned credit hours is required for graduation. These earned hours include the Core Curriculum Requirements as specified in the Core Curriculum section of this catalog and at the Core Curriculum website, www.bridgew.edu/corecurriculum. For additional graduation requirements, see the Undergraduate Academic Policies and Procedures section of this catalog.