Early Childhood Education/Special Education General Curriculum (P-5)
An emphasis in Early Childhood Education/Special Education General Curriculum (P-5) is for individuals interested in teaching students with high incidence mild disabilities who are primarily following the general curriculum preschool through 5th grade. This certification area is open at the graduate level only for individuals who already hold Early Childhood Education certification. This emphasis also includes a concentration on preschool students with significant developmental delays.
Preparation in this emphasis area will prepare teachers to work in collaboration, inclusion or resource models. The special education students who are most frequently served in these settings kindergarten through 5th grade will include those with behavior disorders (BD), learning disabilities, (LD), mild intellectual disabilities (MID), other health impaired (OHI), and some students with autism or Asperger’s (ASD or AS). Preschool special education classes serving students with significant developmental delays can be self contained, collaborative or community based.
Upon satisfactory completion of this program, the Special Education Program recommends to the Georgia Professional Standards Commission that a graduate be awarded a clear renewable teaching (T) certificate in Special Education General Curriculum (P-5). The state of Georgia awards the certificate to an applicant based upon this recommendation and passing of the appropriate Georgia Assessments for the Certification of Educators (GACE) tests.