Faculty cooperation to optimize outcomes for special education students in a high school setting

The purpose of this study was to assess change across two academic years among general education teachers at Santa Ana High School on measures establishing their views on supports or trainings needed to promote the success of the special education students in their classrooms, and their confidence serving students with learning disabilities. Across both academic years, responses were obtained from 190 general education high school teachers. Exploratory descriptive data benchmarked attitudes and pointed to areas in which additional support/training was needed in year one. Year two data illustrates improvements in supports and training regarding students with special needs in general education classrooms. Changes made by the special education staff to improve upon and optimize the successful outcomes of the special education students are validated by these results.