Program Chairs Spotlight Session: Empowering Early Career Special Educators by Building Communities of Practice

This session will focus on how to rewrite the story of early career teachers by providing communities of practice. Examples will be shared by the Ohio Unit in the fourth year of a membership and mentoring program in partnership with the state office of exceptional children. Practitioners will be able to relate to personal accounts of growth and learning that supersede the traditional frustration. Participants will be able to: 1. Gain understanding of mentoring and membership with early career teachers. 2. Obtain a digital framework based on other successful communities. 3. Obtain examples of who to contact within their own state for funding.