Preparing Special Educators for Today’s Classrooms

A Practice-Based Framework

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33043/2d55xycq

Keywords:

Special Education Teacher Preparation, Coaching, Professional Development, Faculty Expertise and Collaboration, Sustainability, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), Evidence Based Practices (EBPs), High Leverage Practices (HLPs)

Abstract

Persistent shortages and high attrition rates among special education teachers highlight the urgent need for stronger, more coherent preparation systems. This article presents a case study from a traditional special education preparation program that implemented a six principle, practice-based framework to improve teacher readiness, effectiveness, and retention. Grounded in current research and practitioner experience, the framework integrates: aligned instructional frameworks and practices; embedded practicums and clinical experiences; instructional coaching; professional development; faculty expertise and collaboration; and long-term sustainability. Central to the model is the intentional alignment of universal design for learning (UDL), evidence-based practices (EBPs), specially designed instruction (SDI), and high-leverage practices (HLPs) as a unified instructional system. Faculty collaboration and data-informed decision-making strengthened program continuity across coursework and field experiences. A practical roadmap for teacher preparation programs seeking to move beyond fragmented approaches toward cohesive systems that prepare and retain effective special educators in high-need contexts is presented.

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Author Biographies

Katrina L. Maynard, James Madison University

Katrina L. Maynard, Ph. D. is her sixth year at James Madison University, College of Education in the Department of Educational Foundations and Exceptionalities (EFEX). She is currently the Assistant Academic Unit Head (AAUH) for the Department as well as Program Coordinator for the Special Education (SPED) and Inclusive Early Childhood Education (IECE) Programs. She was awarded her doctoral degree from the University of Virginia in Curriculum and Instruction: Special Education with emphasis on Literacy Instruction in 2007. Prior to coming to James Madison University, Dr. Maynard was an Associate Professor at Longwood University where she served as the Program Coordinator for the Elementary and Middle School Teacher Preparation Programs for twelve years. In addition, Dr. Maynard was an Associate Professor at Eastern Mennonite University for four years. Dr. Maynard’s area of research includes, but not limited to, effective literacy instruction with emphasis on struggling learners, active learning strategies and behavior/classroom management with publications in Literacy Research and Instruction, Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, Teaching Exceptional Children, Educational Practice and Reform, The Journal of School Connections and Beyond Behavior. Dr. Maynard has presented at many National-, State- and local-level conferences (International Reading Association-ILA, Association of Teacher Education, Association of Literacy Educators & Researchers-ALER, International Society of Educational Planning-ISEP, Conference of Higher Education Pedagogy, Lily Conferences of Colleges & University Teaching and the Council for Exceptional Children-CEC). She has been a co-investigator for several state level VDOE grants: Teacher Leadership, Project SPEED: Supporting Provisional Exceptional Educators’ Development, The Use of High Leverage Practices for Training University Supervisors (US) and Cooperating Teachers (CT) and Recruit, Retain, and Sustain the Inclusive Early Childhood Educator Pipeline Utilizing the EarlyEd Empowerment (3E) Coaching Framework.

John McNaught, James Madison University

John McNaught, Ph. D. John has been working in the field of special education for over 25 years. John received his undergraduate degree from the University of Richmond, his Master of Education Degree from James Madison University, and his doctoral degree in Educational Leadership with a focus on School Improvement from the University of West Georgia.  He started his career at a residential wilderness school for at-risk youth and youth with emotional and learning disabilities. John also worked in a public high school as a special education teacher and supervised a community-based work-study program for students with disabilities. He was one of the first individuals in the state of Virginia to implement student-directed IEP meetings, and he worked diligently as an educator to bring the student’s voice to the forefront. For the past twenty years, John has worked at the Virginia Department of Education’s Training and Technical Assistance Center at James Madison University as a coordinator, focusing on transition and self-determination and as director of the center for the past thirteen years. John is a founding member of the Virginia Department of Education’s I’m Determined Project and has served as the Principal Investigator for the past fifteen years. Under his leadership, I’m Determined has grown from 9 pilot schools to over 100 participating school divisions in Virginia and over 40 states across the nation. In 2025, John was awarded a multi-million-dollar grant to transition I’m Determined to an independent center housed at James Madison University. John is a Past President of CEC’s Division on Career Development and Transition and has published several articles on self-determination and transition.

Jarrod Hobson, James Madison University

Jarrod Hobson, Ph. D, is an education coordinator for the Virginia Department of Education's Training and Technical Assistance Center at James Madison University. Jarrod specializes in inclusive practices, co-teaching, and math. Jarrod received his doctoral degree in Special Education from Virginia Commonwealth University where he studied strategies to address long-standing special education teacher shortages and post-secondary transition for students with disabilities. He previously taught as a collaborative special education teacher in both elementary and secondary settings. 

Mike Saloman, James Madison University

Mike Salomon is a special educator who has Tourette Syndrome and works as an Education Coordinator for the Virginia Department of Education’s Training and Technical Assistance Center at James Madison University. He obtained his Master’s Degree in Special Education from Radford University in Radford, VA, in 2013. Mike is currently a doctoral student at James Madison University pursuing an EDD in Leadership, Equity, Innovation, and Learning. Before moving to the JMU, Mike worked as an Assistive Technology Coordinator in Northern Virginia. He has additionally worked with students with disabilities in both academic and recreational settings as an Autism Specialist, Behavior Specialist, Inclusion Specialist, and Special Education Teacher

Dannette Murray, James Madison University

Dannette Murray, PhD, CCC-SLP is a professor of special education at James Madison University (JMU) and serving as the academic unit head for the Educational Foundations and Exceptionalities Department within the College of Education. She is a Speech Language Pathologist holding her Certificate of Clinical Competence. Prior to teaching at JMU Dani worked for a public-school system as a speech and language pathologist, providing services to students ages 2 through 6th grade and as an early childhood special education teacher working with preschool students with developmental delays. At JMU, Dani has served as the Graduate Program Director, oversees Project SPEED a VDOE traineeship grant, and works with pre-service teachers. Dani is actively involved in interprofessional collaboration with colleagues from six other departments across JMU to conduct a one-day seminar aimed at providing undergraduate and graduate students exposure and collaborative learning experiences across professional disciplines, with the hopes that these collaborative efforts would continue professionally within the school/work settings. Dani currently serves as the Chair and Higher Education Representative of the State Special Education Advisory Committee for Virginia.

Hunter Matusevich, James Madison University

Dr. Matusevich has a B.A. in psychology from Coastal Carolina University, a M.Ed. in special education with an emphasis in transition education/services and applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy from the University of Oklahoma, and a Ph.D. in special education with a specialization in strengths-based and inclusive approaches to the education of learners with extensive and pervasive support needs. Currently, she is an Education Coordinator for Virginia's Department of Education, Training and Technical Assistance Center (TTAC) providing support and training for educational professionals, families, and students around self-determination, transition, autism, and high-leverage practices. In addition to her work at TTAC, she teaches courses in the EFEX department. Previously, she has worked in a clinical setting providing services for children with autism, supported students with intellectual and developmental disabilities in inclusive postsecondary education programs, and provided pre-employment transition services to students ages 14-21 through vocational rehabilitation services.

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Published

10/15/2026

How to Cite

Maynard, K., John McNaught, Jarrod Hobson, Mike Saloman, Dannette Murray, & Matusevich, H. (2026). Preparing Special Educators for Today’s Classrooms: A Practice-Based Framework. Journal of Special Education Preparation. https://doi.org/10.33043/2d55xycq

Issue

Advanced Online Publications

Section

Open Submission

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Dr. Katrina L. Maynard, Dr. John McNaught, Dr. Jarrod Hobson, Mike Saloman, Dr. Dannette Murray

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.