From Surviving to Thriving: Equipping Induction SPED Teachers for Success
Location
Room 3152
Start Date
27-2-2026 10:00 AM
End Date
27-2-2026 10:40 AM
First Presenter's Brief Biography
Dr. Jamita Cobb is a Special Education leader, professional learning expert, and empowerment advocate. She supports educators through coaching, training, and mentoring, and has facilitated professional learning across Georgia. Dr. Cobb is known for creating warm, engaging, practical sessions that turn theory into practice. Dr. Jamita L. Cobb serves as a Professional Learning Coordinator with Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools, writer, and speaker. Dr. Cobb is a Data-driven and results-motivated educator concerned about all things related to improving students' achievement and teachers' effectiveness. As a leader of innovation and school improvement, she provides support in the areas of teaching ELLs, SWD, and struggling readers, team building and embracing diversity, family engagement, behavior management, using SEL and culturally responsive literacy strategies, engaging diverse readers during literacy instruction, and data-driven strategic action planning. Dr. Cobb prides herself on being a life-long learner and servant leader. Dr. Cobb believes that ALL educators should be supported by an effective instructional leader who understands who they are and their motivation to truly empower them to build their feelings of self-efficacy and increase their effectiveness.
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Presentation Type
Concurrent Session
Keynote, concurrent, panel session, roundtable discussion, etc.
Abstract
This session equips induction special educators with research-based strategies for instruction, behavior support, and IEP management. Participants learn high-leverage practices, workflow tools, and wellness routines that reduce stress and increase retention. Interactive examples and a downloadable toolkit empower new SPED teachers to build confident, compliant, student-centered classrooms and move from surviving to thriving.
Conference Strands
Induction Teachers (3 years or fewer)
Description
Induction special education teachers face uniquely high levels of stress, paperwork, and emotional demand. National research shows that SPED teachers leave the profession at nearly twice the rate of general educators, with attrition most pronounced within the first 3 years (Billingsley, 2020). Contributing factors include inadequate preparation, high caseloads, unclear expectations, and inconsistent support (Holdheide & DeMonte, 2016).
This session responds directly to those challenges with evidence-based strategies that improve teacher effectiveness and retention.
Participants will explore:
- High-leverage instructional practices proven to accelerate learning for students with disabilities (McLeskey et al., 2017)
- Tiered intervention and behavior supports, including de-escalation and restorative approaches that reduce removal from instruction (Sugai & Horner, 2020)
- Systems and workflows that increase efficiency and reduce stress around IEP compliance, documentation, and collaboration
- Mentoring and induction structures shown to increase retention and teacher satisfaction (Ingersoll & Strong, 2011)
Teachers will be provided with a digital survival toolkit of templates, checklists, and planning tools that align with federal and state regulations while supporting instructional time and student engagement.
The session highlights the importance of wellness, since new teachers who engage in proactive self-care, peer support, and boundary-setting report higher resilience and job commitment (Turk & Wolfe, 2019). By integrating research, practical tools, and interactive learning, this session empowers early-career special educators to move confidently from surviving to thriving.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
From Surviving to Thriving: Equipping Induction SPED Teachers for Success
Room 3152
This session equips induction special educators with research-based strategies for instruction, behavior support, and IEP management. Participants learn high-leverage practices, workflow tools, and wellness routines that reduce stress and increase retention. Interactive examples and a downloadable toolkit empower new SPED teachers to build confident, compliant, student-centered classrooms and move from surviving to thriving.
Comments
Why This Session Matters
New SPED teachers often say:
“I love my kids, but I feel like I’m drowning.”
This session reframes the induction year as:
With the right tools and community, these teachers move from surviving to thriving—and students benefit most.
Target Audience