The UH Mānoa (UHM) College of Education (COE), has been ranked in the “25 Best Special Education Degrees for 2017” by College Choice. Selected for the college’s Bachelor of Education in Exceptional Students and Elementary Education (ESEE) program, UHM is listed alongside universities such as Vanderbilt, Boston, and Syracuse.
The COE replaced its former Bachelor of Education Dual Elementary and Special Education program with the ESEE in 2016. Spearheaded by Special Education Associate Professor Lysandra Cook and School of Teacher Education Assistant Professor Jamie-Simpson Steele, the new program is one of a small number of truly merged elementary and special education programs in the nation.
“The ESEE prepares candidates to teach in diverse settings,” said Janet Kim, special education recruitment specialist and graduate of the previous dual program. “Upon graduation, they are more marketable and have access to more job opportunities because of their dual licenses in elementary and special education.”
With a unique program format that emphasizes how to best teach all students at the elementary level, the ESEE program incorporates principles of inclusion, Culturally Responsive Teaching, Co-Teaching, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), Response to Intervention (RtI), instructional technology, Evidence-Based Practices, and Data-Based Decision Making into every aspect of the curriculum.
College Choice is an independent online publication that publishes rankings, reviews, and other resources to help students and their families more easily find the right fit and the best college. Their “25 Best” list is based on standard academic reputation rankings, net tuition, early career earnings, and acceptance rates.
