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As increasing inclusion in schools has been emphasized with each reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act amendments, the implementation of co-teaching has increased. Co-teaching has emerged as a supportive framework that uses principles of social justice in building inclusive nurturing environments, yielding positive student outcomes in social as well as academic areas of education. The authors explored the use of co-teaching within a laboratory school setting by analyzing experiences between general education faculty and not only special education faculty but also preservice teachers. Research has found that co-teaching to support preservice and early-career teachers is a natural outgrowth of the special education and general education partnerships created in the co-taught classroom when an intern is placed in such a setting. When used with fidelity, co-teaching is an instructional option that plays an integral part in building effective and efficient ways to foster student learning while enhancing classroom community. Co-teaching can be a powerful mechanism that supports sharing of responsibility and accountability for student achievement, as well as social, emotional, and behavioral growth. A child-centered philosophy was perceived as important to both preservice and co-teachers because of the individual factors that guided practice. With strong leadership from school administrators, commitment and flexibility on the part of classroom teachers, and skills of colleagues, preservice teachers report outstanding growth. Co-teaching, carefully implemented, can foster a nurturing classroom culture and support preservice teachers as they apply knowledge and skills in a constant reflective process, which benefits all teachers and students.

This article explores how a laboratory middle school (LMS) serving students from low-performing elementary schools and students with academic or social-emotional challenges is developing as a trauma-responsive school. The authors explore the literature, school/community context, student cases, and the ways in which classroom and school-wide practices are trauma-informed. Trauma-informed practices focus on individual students as well as whole classroom and school-wide initiatives, potentially benefiting all, not only those students experiencing trauma. At LMS, a community of care system, evaluation committee, tribe and village meetings, the democratic classroom approach, project-based learning, as well as focused enrichment and remediation are all initiatives that have demonstrated some success. Documentation of such successes merits exploration in other middle schools. The LMS team seeks to understand and implement highest leverage practice as students are challenged academically, their socioemotional needs are supported, and resiliency is built not only in the classroom but also in the lives of the young adolescents themselves.

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This chapter explores a number of issues for consideration when adopting and implementing edTPA as a summative performance-based assessment of preservice teacher candidate tasks. This chapter aims to offer guidance and support for programs in the beginning stages of implementation of edTPA. Each of the considerations includes a vignette from personal experiences at a regional comprehensive university in the southeast. Issues discussed include timeline for implementation, buy-in, decision-making processes, professional development and training, mapping, and next steps. The vignettes detail particular issues or concerns and include faculty, staff, and/or teacher candidates. Data used to develop the vignettes was collected via interviews, surveys, and reflections.