Amy Shuler graduated from the University of Virginia in 1999 with a B.A. in Spanish and an M.T. in Special/Elementary Education. She has been teaching special education for four years. Amy Peterman graduated from Virginia Tech in 1995 with a B.A. in History and Political Science. She received her teaching certification from Mercer University in 1998. She is currently working toward her Masters in Elementary Education at Mercer. She has been teaching elementary school for four years. They teach at Woodland Elementary Charter School in Fulton County, Georgia. The school offers a Special Needs Preschool and a Special Needs Kindergarten and children with moderate to profound intellectual disabilities, behavior disorders, and learning disabilities are represented in all grades.

Our collaborative teaching (co-teaching) experience began for a one-hour block during science and social studies. We saw that students who were previously isolated because of their behaviors or academic weaknesses, experienced pride in their accomplishments and began to strive to meet new goals. This year, we decided to co-teach for segments of language arts, mathematics, and science/social studies.

Co-teaching requires two teachers to work together daily; therefore both teachers not only need to get along, but also need to be flexible, organized, and willing to share responsibilities.Co-teaching is a reflective process; we are always changing to meet our students' academic and social needs.

the lesson. For example, we might create vocabulary picture cards or word banks or highlight key parts of the textbook for some students.

We also share teaching responsibilities throughout the day. The general education teacher usually teaches the whole group, whereas the special education teacher circulates throughout the classroom to make sure that students remain on task and receive any accommodations. During the day, each of us also works with a small reading and math group. We feel that co-teaching and planning together allows us to present more creative and exciting lessons and plan more cooperative group projects.

The presence of two teachers working together also helps us address students' social skills. A teacher is always available to immediately prompt discussions or teach appropriate behaviors. The sense of community developed through co-teaching has surpassed all of our expectations. In the beginning of our co-teaching experience, we had to encourage partnerships and friendships. After six months of working together, students are finding ways to include each other in all activities, in spite of their differences.