Special Education

http://www.stthomas.edu/education/se/

Michael Brown, Ed.D., Department Chair
Pat Helland, Department Assistant

MOH 217
1000 LaSalle Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55403-2009
Phone: (651) 962-4980
(800) 328-6819, Ext. 2-4980
Fax: (651) 962-4169
E-mail: soe_special@stthomas.edu

The Special Education Department offers a Master of Arts in Special Education degree program and licensure in four areas: Developmental Disabilities, Early Childhood Special Education, Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, and Learning Disabilities.

The department also offers, in conjunction with the School of Education’s Leadership, Policy and Administration Department, a post Master of Arts program leading to an education specialist degree and licensure as director of special education. In addition, the department offers the certificate in Autism Spectrum Disorders and the professional preparation certificate in the Orton-Gillingham approach.

Special Education teachers and administrators in these licensure areas are most frequently employed by public school systems. They may be assigned by school systems to work in programs for students with disabilities. Or, they may be assigned to work with school-age children in hospitals, treatment centers, correctional facilities, or a variety of community agencies. The programs at St. Thomas prepare students to work in school and community settings.

Outcomes

The goal of special education licensure and degree programs at St. Thomas is the improvement of educational opportunities and lifestyle choices of exceptional children in the community. Therefore, the student who graduates from the Department of Special Education are prepared as professional educators who can demonstrate the appropriate knowledge, skill, and dispositions related to the following outcomes:

• Typical child development, both cognitive and emotional
• Variations in cognitive and emotional development that affect ability to succeed in school
• Evaluative and functional tools to enhance the educational and emotional needs of children
• Intervention strategies and systems of instruction that allow students to acquire basic skills of literacy and content area competence
• Behavior management and treatment strategies necessary to support and maintain behavior within the educational mainstream and in the community
• Knowledge of resources and support systems outside the schools that can be utilized on behalf of the exceptional learner