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Hello.
My name is Dr. Diane Schwartz
I'm a faculty member in the Special Education department
and my area of expertise is Early Childhood Special Education.
I'm here with my colleague, Dr. Stephen Hernandez.
Hello, this is Steve Hernandez. I'm the director of
Early Childhood Special Education here at Hofstra University.
I'm a former school administrator and have been teaching in higher education
for many years. We are really happy to have you participate in this webinar.
We're excited to tell you that we have a wonderful opportunity for you
for any teacher interested in working with young children
with disabilities. "Real success is finding your lifework
in the work that you love." by David McCullough. If you are interested in working
in a field that you will love, then we have a fabulous offer
for you. The United States Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs
has awarded a $1.24 million dollar grant to assist students
as they complete the Hofstra Early Childhood Intervention Specialist
Program.
This program is called the HECIS program.
It's a Master of Science in Education and when you complete the program, you'll
be provided to skills necessary to work with young children with disabilities
and their families. It focuses on serving children across the full range
of disabilities - mild, moderate, severe and multiple
and it includes a specialization in applied behavior analysis.
Some of program highlights include
a plan of study that combines face to face
as well as online classroom instruction including sight based coursework,
supervision in selected community-based
partners that integrates theory as well as practice,
continuous mentoring and advisement
provided by members of the faculty, including Dr. Schwartz and
myself. And to top it all off, students can complete the program
in just two years. The conceptual framework underpinning this program
has five principles. The first principle is universal design for
learning which includes technology and which includes
the concept that all children are entitled to
participation and access. Another key aspect
is culturally responsive teaching which includes English language learners
with disabilities. Collaborative partnerships
is another important aspect, as well as
diagnosis and assessment. And finally, there's a specialization in applied behavior analysis.
Some of the benefits
that are offered via the US Department of Education grant includes
tuition remission that is immediately available to cover
18 of the 45 credits in the program. There are also
other scholarships available that can cover an additional 15 credits.
Students can also apply for merit-based
departmental scholarships and can apply for additional federal aid
through FASA. One of the aspects of the program is that it's a clinically
rich experience. That means that students have an opportunity to work in
the field with our community partners.
One of our partners is Developmental Disabilities Institute/
Starting Early and the Genesis/Eden II schools.
You complete a hundred hours of field work with children with disabilities
and this is done through the School Education Field Placement Office.
We provide a significant amount of student
and scholarly support. Mentoring and support of students
is a very important aspect of the program. Grant recipients form a cohort
group
that continues throughout the program. There are many opportunities to network
and support each other
through a variety of different professional organizations including
SEGA or the Special Education Graduate Association
as well as the local chapter of the Council for Exceptional Children.
Program faculty will serve as advisors to all students
during their course of study and beyond. There are many career opportunities for
graduates of this program.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates a 21 percent increase in
Early Childhood Special Education job opportunities through
2020. Graduates of the Early Childhood
Intervention Program can enjoy careers as an educator
and as a behavior analyst in a variety of settings. Some of
these settings include home-based early intervention, where you work as an infant
teacher with children and their families. Community-based SEIT.
SEIT is a special education itinerant teacher
who goes into general education and includes early childhood settings to work with the teacher.
And you can also work as a special education preschool teacher
as well as work in public and private schools Grades
K through 2. So who should apply?
Well, teachers with a strong desire to serve young children with disabilities
and their families,
who wish special training in Early Childhood Special Education,
as well as ABA. Grant recipients
must commit to working in the field for two years
of service for every year they receive grant funding.
The application requirements are relatively straightforward.
Students who want to apply can do so online at hofstra.edu/gradapply
You must
possess initial or professional certification in childhood or early childhood education.
A grade point average of 3.0. Three letters of recommendation
addressing the applicant's potential to succeed. And a written personal statement
of professional
intent. Following all those pieces at the application,
the applicant has an interview with a faculty member in the Special Education Department.
So for more information, please do not hesitate to contact either one of us
at the email addresses that you see here.
We would be most happy to talk to you about the program and have you
come on campus and meet with us in person. Thank you.
And now we'd like to answer some of the questions from our audience.
One of the first questions we received was "Do I need to be certified to apply?"
Yes, you must be certified as a general education teacher in
either Early Childhood or Childhood. Another question that we received is
"Can students transfer into the program?" Yes, you can transfer into the program
with the understanding that there are a maximum number of credits that you can
transfer in. Another question
is regarding student loans. "Can you apply for student loans?" Well, as we mentioned
earlier, yes you can
complete a FASA form and apply for additional student aid.
Another question was "When are classes scheduled?" Classes are scheduled
Fall, Winter, Spring and there are three Summer School
sessions. There are questions regarding
what semester's classes are offered. Well, we've designed this program to
be completed in two years, so that includes a course
in the winter in January, as well as two to three courses
in the summer, in addition to the three courses
that students need to take in the Spring and in the Fall.
One student asks, "Can I work while taking classes?" Yes,
the program is set up so that all classes start at 4:30 to
6:20, and then 6:30 to 8:20,
so many of our students are working either part-time or full-time.
Then of course, once you are done with the program, the big question is, "What about
getting a position
in the field?" Well we can certainly help you with that as well, we have a fabulous Career
Center on campus and they can assist in
resume creation, as well as helping you connect with local school districts.
They bring in local school districts to the campus. We just had the NY State
Department of Education here just last week and
Dr. Schwartz and myself, as well as the other members of the faculty
in the Special Education Department, have a lot of contacts in the field
and we many times hear of positions that are open that we refer our graduates to.
"How much tuition support does the grant offer?"
As we said earlier, the grant support from the HECIS Grant
covers 18 credits, 12 in the first year and 6 in the
second. In addition, there is a Hagedorn Grant
and a TEACH grant which covers an additional eighteen thousand dollars,
as well as special education grants and other
endowment grants.
The degree program that you will choose to apply to
is the HECIS Grant, but you apply to the MSED in Early Childhood Special
Education.
Field work as we mentioned earlier occurs throughout the program.
Some people might wonder where will I do the fieldwork.
"Can I do it where I currently teach?" And the answer is yes.
Fieldwork has to be completed in a setting
where young children with special needs are being served,
with the provision that the classroom
that you're observing it is supervised by a certified
special educator. But that can include
settings such as early intervention setting, a special education preschool
or an elementary setting in a K, 1 or 2 classroom.
You might want to know if there is a deadline for applying.
There is rolling admission and the spring semester starts the end of January,
so we're still taking applicants for Spring 2014.
If you aren't able to
begin the program as of this spring, we'll also take applications
for the Summer Session, as well as for the Fall 2014.
If you need any more information, please feel free to contact us.
You have our name and email address and we are looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you again.