Special education teachers must use effective collaboration techniques to design and implement complex plans involving many stakeholders to support students with disabilities across a wide range of settings. Review the scenario below to inform the assignment:

Marco is a Mexican-American eighth grade student who has been identified as having an emotional/behavioral disorder, specifically mood disorder NOS (Not Otherwise Specified). Currently, he participates in a general education inclusive classroom. During his annual IEP meeting, the team reviewed recent test scores and determined he qualifies for the gifted program in English language arts (ELA) only. Therefore, Marco will continue to participate in the inclusive classroom for the remainder of his courses.

Marco has continued to be successful in all his inclusive classes; however, he is struggling in his new gifted setting for ELA. Mrs. Stone, the gifted teacher, was not able to be present during the IEP meeting. She has never worked with a student who has an IEP prior to having Marco as a student in her classroom. Marco has mentioned that he is the only Hispanic or Latino student in the gifted class, and this has made him feel uncomfortable. He has stated that Mrs. Stone does not include him in the classroom conversations and speaks abruptly to him, but not to the other students.

After one month of Marco being in the gifted class, Mrs. Stone has requested that a paraprofessional be present to support him. At the IEP meeting, the IEP team had determined that a paraprofessional was not necessary because Marco should be able to be successful in the gifted classroom without this level of support. After meeting with Marco previously on classroom concerns, and the request from Mrs. Stone, as the special education teacher, you completed a walk-through observation of the gifted classroom. You did notice that Marco was isolated in a corner and the teacher did not interact with him. In addition to the walk-through, you just received a phone call from Marco’s parents stating Mrs. Stone told Marco that he does not belong in this class. At this point, Marco no longer wants to be in the class because he does not feel welcome. 

The principal has come to you, the special education teacher, for assistance with supporting Mrs. Stone and Marco in being successful. The IEP team is scheduling another meeting to discuss goals and ideas to help Marco be successful in the gifted ELA classroom. The support of a paraeducator is part of the discussion as a possibility for Marco.

Use the “Collaboration and Communication Action Plan Template” to complete this assignment.

Support your findings with a minimum of three scholarly resources on collaboration and communication best practices.