16.1 School Support Personnel and Co-Teaching

The Landscape of Interprofessional Teaming in Secondary Schools

Secondary schools are complex organizational ecosystems where no single educator possesses all the specialized knowledge required to address the academic, behavioral, socio-emotional, and physical needs of a diverse student population. Meeting the mandates of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) requires systematic, ongoing collaboration among general educators and specialized school professionals.

In grades 7 through 12, interprofessional collaboration operates across several formal team structures:

• Interdisciplinary Grade-Level Teams: Common in middle schools and 9th-grade transition academies, these teams unite core subject teachers (English, math, science, social studies) sharing a common cohort of students to track academic progress, coordinate major deadlines, and intervene early on behavioral or attendance issues.
• Content Departments: Disciplinary teams (e.g., the high school science department) collaborating on curriculum alignment, common formative assessments, and pedagogical pacing.
• Student Support Teams (SST): Pre-referral multidisciplinary teams that design, implement, and monitor Tier 2 and Tier 3 targeted interventions before formal special education evaluation.
• Individualized Education Program (IEP) and Section 504 Teams: Legally mandated multidisciplinary bodies responsible for drafting, implementing, and reviewing individualized services and accommodations for students with identified disabilities.

The School Support Personnel ETS Lists

ETS asks candidates to be aware of school support personnel who assist students, teachers, and families: guidance counselors, IEP team members, special education teachers, speech, physical, and occupational therapists, school librarians, teachers of the gifted and talented, and paraeducators. The table below adds roles that this section does not cover in depth elsewhere.

Marilyn Friend & Lynne Cook's Six Co-Teaching Models

In inclusive secondary classrooms where students with disabilities are educated alongside their general education peers in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE), co-teaching represents the primary service delivery vehicle. Pioneered by Drs. Marilyn Friend and Lynne Cook, co-teaching involves two certified professionals—typically a general education content specialist and a special education specialist—co-planning, co-instructing, and co-assessing a single heterogeneous group of students in a shared physical space. Friend and Cook identified six distinct co-teaching approaches, each with specific pedagogical utilities and trade-offs.

1. One Teach, One Observe

One instructor takes primary responsibility for delivering whole-group instruction, while the co-teacher systematically observes and collects objective academic, behavioral, or social interaction data on designated students or the class as a whole.

• Ideal Secondary Use Case: At the start of a semester, the special educator systematically charts student on-task intervals or records which students struggle with note-taking during a chemistry lecture. In a subsequent co-planning session, both teachers analyze the data to design targeted scaffolding.
• Pitfall: If one teacher is perpetually the lecturer while the other is relegated to silent note-taking, students perceive a hierarchy, destroying instructional parity.

2. One Teach, One Assist (Supportive Teaching)

One teacher leads the large-group lesson while the co-teacher circulates quietly through the room, providing individual assistance, clarifying vocabulary, checking for understanding, redirecting attention, or administering accommodations.

• Ideal Secondary Use Case: During a fast-paced algebra demonstration, the lead teacher solves quadratic equations on the board while the assisting teacher circulates, checking student whiteboards and quietly prompting students who make sign errors.
• Pitfall: This is the most frequently overused and abused co-teaching model. If the special educator is permanently cast as the roaming "helper," students view them as an aide rather than a certified teacher, fostering student dependency and eroding the specialist's professional expertise.

3. Parallel Teaching

The class is divided into two equal, heterogeneous halves. Both educators teach the identical curriculum simultaneously to their respective cohorts in different sections of the classroom.

• Ideal Secondary Use Case: In 10th-grade English, teachers divide the class to facilitate close-reading seminars on a complex passage from The Great Gatsby. Halving the group size reduces student social anxiety, doubles student opportunities to speak and formulate arguments, and allows teachers to monitor comprehension closely.
• Pitfall: Requires careful noise management and synchronized instructional timing so both cohorts conclude simultaneously. Groups must remain heterogeneous to prevent tracking or segregation.

4. Station Teaching

Instructional content is partitioned into discrete, non-sequential modules. Students rotate through distinct instructional stations: Station A (led by Teacher 1), Station B (led by Teacher 2), and Station C (an independent learning, digital simulation, or collaborative peer task).

• Ideal Secondary Use Case: In a 9th-grade biology genetics unit, Station 1 features the general educator guiding advanced dihybrid Punnett squares; Station 2 features the special educator scaffolding pedigree chart analysis with manipulatives; Station 3 features pairs completing interactive digital phenotype simulations.
• Pitfall: Requires rigorous pacing routines, clear transition signals, and independent tasks that secondary students can complete without constant adult supervision.

5. Alternative Teaching

One teacher manages the large group (80–85% of the class) for core instruction, while the other teacher works with a small, targeted group (15–20% of the class) to deliver pre-teaching, intensive re-teaching, remediation, or enrichment.

• Ideal Secondary Use Case: In 11th-grade U.S. History, while the general educator leads the class in drafting document-based essays, the special educator pulls a small group of students who struggled with primary source synthesis to pre-teach DBQ rubric criteria and provide sentence starters.
• Pitfall: The small group must be dynamic and fluid, rotating members frequently based on specific skill needs. If the alternative group consistently consists of the same students with IEPs, it creates a stigmatizing "special ed ghetto" inside the general education classroom.

6. Team Teaching (Teaming)

Both teachers share the front of the room, delivering instruction simultaneously as equal partners. They engage in dynamic conversational dialogue, model perspective-taking, alternate presenting key points, and interject with clarifying examples.

• Ideal Secondary Use Case: In a 12th-grade Civics class, both teachers co-present a lesson on Supreme Court constitutional interpretation. One teacher models the legal arguments of originalism while the co-teacher models living constitutionalism, demonstrating respectful, rigorous academic debate.
• Pitfall: Requires high mutual professional trust, compatible teaching styles, and extensive co-planning time. Without thorough preparation, teaming deteriorates into unstructured banter.

Comparative Analysis of Co-Teaching Models

Achieving Authentic Parity and Shared Co-Planning

Instructional parity is the hallmark of exemplary co-teaching. In a true co-taught classroom, an outside observer cannot immediately identify which educator is the general teacher and which is the special educator. Parity is communicated through physical and symbolic classroom markers: both teachers' names appear on the classroom door, course syllabus, and digital LMS portal; both teachers possess adult-sized desks; both manage classroom discipline; and both grade student work.

Authentic parity is forged during shared co-planning. Successful secondary co-planning capitalizes on complementary expertise:

• General Educator Expertise: In-depth mastery of state content standards, disciplinary scope and sequence, curriculum pacing, and advanced subject-matter pedagogy.
• Special Educator Expertise: Mastery of Specially Designed Instruction (SDI), modifying assignments, embedding Universal Design for Learning (UDL), individualizing accommodations, and behavioral intervention strategies.

Roles and Collaboration with Specialized Instructional Support Personnel (SISP)

Secondary teachers work in tandem with a multidisciplinary team of specialized professionals, each governed by distinct legal mandates and scopes of practice.

Special Education Co-Teachers and Case Managers

Special educators ensure that students with disabilities receive Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). In secondary schools, they serve dual roles as co-teachers and case managers: drafting IEP goals, tracking progress data, modifying exams, coordinating testing accommodations, and overseeing secondary postsecondary transition planning (required by IDEA by the first IEP in effect at age 16, earlier in some states).

School Guidance Counselors

School counselors focus on three developmental domains: academic achievement, career/postsecondary development, and social-emotional development. In secondary grades, counselors audit graduation credits, coordinate academic remediation, facilitate Advanced Placement (AP) and dual-enrollment scheduling, assist with college and career applications, deliver brief solution-focused counseling, and manage immediate emotional crises.

School Social Workers

School social workers serve as the critical bridge linking the student, family, school, and community. They specialize in systemic, ecological interventions: conducting home visits, connecting unhoused families with housing assistance under the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, mitigating chronic absenteeism/truancy, providing mental health therapy, and connecting families with community food, medical, and legal assistance.

School Psychologists

School psychologists are experts in psychometrics, cognitive assessment, and behavioral psychology. Their primary responsibilities include conducting standardized psychoeducational evaluations to determine eligibility for special education under IDEA, interpreting cognitive (IQ) and academic achievement test batteries, leading threat and suicide risk assessments, and conducting Functional Behavior Assessments (FBAs) to design multi-tiered Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs).

Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs)

While elementary SLPs frequently address articulation and phonology, secondary SLPs focus on complex expressive, receptive, and pragmatic (social) language. In grades 7–12, SLPs collaborate with teachers to scaffold disciplinary vocabulary, address adolescent social communication nuances (e.g., understanding sarcasm, subtext, and perspective-taking in group projects), and program Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices.

Specialized Support Roles Comparison Matrix

Supervision and Collaboration with Paraprofessionals

Paraprofessionals (also termed instructional aides, educational assistants, or paraeducators) provide essential support in secondary classrooms. However, general educators must understand the strict ethical, legal, and supervisory boundaries governing paraprofessional practice.

Legal and Professional Boundaries

• Certified Teacher Responsibilities: The certified teacher remains solely responsible for designing curriculum, introducing novel academic concepts, planning accommodations, assigning grades, and administering formal assessments.
• Paraprofessional Responsibilities: Paraprofessionals work under the direct supervision of the certified teacher. They reinforce previously taught concepts, implement teacher-designed accommodations (e.g., reading a test aloud, acting as a scribe, prompting graphic organizer use), supervise independent seatwork, and collect objective behavioral frequency data.
• Ethical Scopes: A paraprofessional should never be assigned to teach new instructional content, develop lesson plans, determine student grades, substitute for a missing certified teacher, or attend an IEP meeting as the primary educational authority.

Fostering Student Independence vs. Learned Helplessness

A widespread hazard in secondary special education is the "paraprofessional hover." When a paraprofessional sits immediately adjacent to an adolescent throughout the school day, the student can develop learned helplessness—refusing to attempt tasks without constant adult prompting. Furthermore, continuous adult presence creates a social barrier that isolates the adolescent from peer interactions. Teachers must direct paraprofessionals to maintain a supportive proximity, employ "prompt fading" (transitioning from verbal prompts to gestural cues to independent execution), and encourage the student to self-advocate.

Multidisciplinary Team Meetings: IEP, 504, and Student Support Teams (SST)

Secondary general education teachers are legally mandated participants in multidisciplinary decision-making bodies.

The General Educator's Mandated Role in IEP and 504 Teams

Under federal law (IDEA 2004), at least one general education teacher of the student must be a member of the IEP team if the student is, or may be, participating in the general education environment, and excusal requires the parent's written agreement. The general educator cannot attend as a passive bystander. They must present objective diagnostic data regarding the student's progress in the general curriculum, articulate grade-level academic standards, recommend appropriate curricular accommodations, and contribute to behavioral intervention plans.

Section 504 Accommodation Committees vs. IDEA IEP Teams

Secondary teachers must distinguish between Section 504 and IDEA:

• Section 504 (Rehabilitation Act of 1973): A civil rights law preventing discrimination against individuals with disabilities that substantially limit one or more major life activities (e.g., ADHD, severe diabetes, clinical depression). Provides equal access through accommodations (e.g., extra time, medication schedules, preferred seating) without requiring specialized instruction or an IEP.
• IDEA (2004): An education entitlement statute serving students with one of 13 specific disability categories who require specialized instruction (SDI). Requires an individualized, legally enforceable IEP with measurable annual goals.

Concrete Secondary Classroom Scenarios

Scenario A: Selecting Parallel Teaching in 9th-Grade Integrated Math

Context: Mr. Garza (general educator) and Ms. Kowalski (special educator) co-teach a 9th-grade math class containing 28 students, 8 of whom have IEPs for specific learning disabilities in math calculations. The upcoming lesson involves solving multi-step inequalities with negative variables, a concept where students frequently forget to reverse the inequality sign. Implementation: Rather than using One Teach, One Assist where Ms. Kowalski merely walks around, they implement Parallel Teaching. They divide the class into two heterogeneous groups of 14 students on opposite sides of the room. Mr. Garza leads one group using visual number lines on an interactive whiteboard, while Ms. Kowalski leads the other group using tactile balance scales and color-coded sign-reversal cards. With only 14 students per group, every student solves multiple problems on individual dry-erase boards, receiving instantaneous corrective feedback. Both teachers maintain equal instructional authority, and formative assessment scores reveal that 92% of students mastered the sign-reversal rule by the end of the period.

Scenario B: Differentiating Counselor vs. Psychologist Roles in 10th-Grade Crisis

Context: Marcus, a 10th-grade student, has experienced a precipitous drop in grades across all four core classes and expresses severe panic about graduating on time. During a science lab, Marcus experiences a severe emotional breakdown, making statements hinting at self-harm and exhibiting severe behavioral dysregulation. Implementation: The classroom teacher immediately contacts the school office. The School Psychologist and school administration are dispatched to conduct an emergency suicide risk and crisis threat assessment, ensuring Marcus's immediate safety and establishing a safety plan with his family. The following week, after Marcus is stabilized, the School Counselor steps in to conduct a comprehensive graduation credit audit, arrange schedule adjustments, and coordinate credit-recovery modules to relieve Marcus's postsecondary anxieties. The division of roles ensures clinical safety is addressed by the psychologist and academic progression by the counselor.

Scenario C: Coaching a Paraprofessional in 8th-Grade Earth Science

Context: In an inclusive 8th-grade Earth Science class, a paraprofessional, Mr. Leo, is assigned to assist Devon, an adolescent with autism spectrum disorder. The teacher, Mrs. Chen, notices that Mr. Leo sits directly beside Devon at the lab table, cuts out Devon's rock identification cards for him, and writes answers on Devon's worksheet while Devon stares blankly at the wall. Implementation: Mrs. Chen schedules a collaborative planning meeting with Mr. Leo. She affirms his dedication, but gently explains the concept of learned helplessness and the goal of fostering Devon's independence for high school readiness. She establishes a structured protocol: Mr. Leo will position his chair two feet back from the lab table; he will provide a visual checklist for the rock identification activity; and he will use a "least-to-most" prompting hierarchy (giving Devon 10 seconds of wait time, followed by a gestural point, and only providing verbal cues if necessary). Within three weeks, Devon is cutting his own materials, actively participating in lab conversations with his lab partner, and independently completing his science logs.

Common Exam Traps & Misconceptions

• Relegating the Special Educator to an Aide: On the Praxis exam, any co-teaching scenario where the special education teacher spends all their time grading papers in the back, making photocopies, or silently monitoring behavior while the general educator lectures represents poor practice. Look for choices that demonstrate shared instructional delivery and true parity.
• Confusing the Roles of School Counselor and School Psychologist: Guidance counselors focus on academic scheduling, graduation audits, postsecondary college/career navigation, and brief developmental counseling. School psychologists focus on standardized psychometric evaluations (IQ and achievement batteries), special education eligibility determinations, and Functional Behavior Assessments (FBAs).
• Treating Alternative Teaching as Static Tracking: Pulling the same group of struggling students or students with IEPs into a separate corner every day violates inclusion principles. The alternative group must rotate frequently and include enrichment groups for advanced students.
• Allowing Paraprofessionals to Deliver Primary Instruction: An exam item may suggest having a paraprofessional teach new content or design a modified test for students with disabilities. This conflicts with federal Title I rules and most state policies, which let paraprofessionals provide instructional support only under a teacher's direct supervision, with the teacher planning the instruction and evaluating achievement.
• General Educators Skipping IEP Meetings: Under IDEA, general education teachers are legally mandated members of the IEP team. A general educator cannot skip the meeting simply because the special educator is present; IDEA allows a required member to be excused only with the parent's written agreement (plus written input in advance when that member's area is being discussed).