Abstract
The highly qualified teacher mandate introduced under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 exacerbated the already well-documented shortage of special educators nationwide. With almost 40% of its special education teachers holding emergency/provisional licenses at the time, South Carolina faced a great challenge in meeting new accreditation requirements. This article examines how Project CREATE (Centers for the Re-education and Advancement of Teachers in special Education), a personnel preparation initiative funded by the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE), refortified the State’s special education teacher force. Project success attributed chiefly to collaboration among SCDE, local education agencies, and institutions of higher education (IHEs). The partnerships formed among the 11-college consortium to offer multiple certification preparation and course delivery options was also a key success indicator. We argue that Project CREATE serves as a model for addressing continued accreditation and policy needs in special education and other teaching specialty areas.
Recommended Citation
Sutton, Joe P.; Pae, Holly A.; Bausmith, Shirley C.; O'Connor, Dava M.; and RuRant, Susan D.
(2010)
"Project CREATE: State-wide Partnership for Producing Highly Qualified Special Education Teachers,"
Teacher Education Journal of South Carolina: Vol. 3:
No.
1, Article 17.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.coastal.edu/tejsc/vol3/iss1/17