Secondary Dual Educator Program

Welcome

The Secondary Dual Educator Program (SDEP) prepares teachers to meet the academic needs of all students in their classrooms by integrating the pedagogy of general and special education at the secondary level.  After completing this program, middle and high school teachers will be able to use specialized instructional methodology and their content area expertise to differentiate instruction and develop curriculum accommodations. Teachers receiving this dual preparation will be able to give all students fuller access to the content areas of science, mathematics, English, social studies, and other areas taught at the secondary level.

SDEP is a full-time, graduate-level, teacher preparation program that is completed within two academic years.

The next cohort begins fall 2013 and culminates spring 2015. SDEP graduates earn a master’s degree in education and dual licensure in a middle/secondary-level content area and special education.

SDEP was cited as a “promising example” by the Alliance for Excellence in Education in their November 2009, Policy Brief. Download the full report: Teaching for a new world: Preparing high school educators to deliver college- and career-ready instruction

In 2011, SDEP was one of seven teacher education programs nationwide to receive a federal grant called the Merging Transition, Special, and Secondary Education Project (MTSS). The MTSS is a five-year project that will provide scholarships to 40 GSE students in the Secondary Dual Educator Program (SDEP). The new grant is funded by the USDE, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services and will be a collaboration between the Graduate School of Education and the School of Social Work. 

The grant is intended to develop skills in preservice teachers, counselors, and social workers who will be working with youth in high poverty as they transition from high school to young adulthood.

MTSS grant scholars will also develop competencies for supporting the transition of youth with disabilities living in poverty to post-secondary education and employment. Read more here.

To learn more about the SDEP and the application process, download the SDEP Orientation Presentation.

SDEP Program Video

Program Focus

Fostering the growth of independent adolescent learners by:

• Providing teachers with the critical knowledge necessary for meeting the needs of all learners in middle and high school classrooms
• Enabling teachers to connect theory to practice through a series of supervised field-based experiences
• Developing school-wide inclusive practices to build bridges between special education services and content areas at the secondary level