Special Education
Special Education
Born out of a need to address one of the hardest-to-fill roles in our schools, our Special Education Pathway was collaboratively designed with the Diverse Learners Cooperative. In 2025, we welcomed our first cohort of three Candidates.
Over 18 months, participants complete a one-year classroom clinical experience and six-month practicum while receiving targeted special education training and mentorship. Graduates earn a Tennessee teaching license and special education endorsement, prepared to make a lasting impact in a high-need field.
Key Features
18-Month Program
Complete a one-year classroom apprenticeship followed by a six-month practicum.
1:1 Coaching & Support
Receive ongoing feedback and support throughout the pathway.
High-Need, High-Impact
Prepare for one of the most critical and difficult-to-fill roles in education.
Designed with DLC
Built in partnership with experts from the Diverse Learners Cooperative.
What You’ll Learn
Over 18 months, participants strengthen the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to meet the academic, behavioral, social-emotional, and individualized needs of students with disabilities. Coursework is directly connected to the work participants are doing each day. Candidates learn how to design effective instruction, develop and implement IEPs, collaborate with families and school teams, use data to make decisions, and build inclusive classrooms where students can achieve. Throughout the program, participants receive targeted coaching, practical tools, and a strong support system that helps them grow while continuing to lead their own classroom.
Learning is grounded in real classrooms and directly connected to the work participants do each day. Coursework, coaching, and clinical experiences are intentionally designed to help participants understand not only what effective special education looks like, but how to put it into practice.
By the end of the pathway, participants are prepared to earn their 6-12 Interventionist licensure with a strong foundation in instruction, collaboration, advocacy, and student support.
Specialized Training in Diverse Learning Needs
Participants develop practical skills in differentiated instruction, accommodations, modifications, behavior supports, progress monitoring, and inclusive practices for students with a wide range of learning needs. Coursework is grounded in the realities of special education and helps participants understand how to respond to individual student needs with both skill and confidence. Throughout the pathway, participants learn how to use data to inform instruction, support IEP goals, collaborate with families and school teams, and create learning environments where students with disabilities can thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.
Learn While Serving Students
Rather than asking aspiring special educators to step away from the classroom to prepare for the profession, the pathway brings preparation into the work they are already doing. Coursework, coaching, and clinical experiences connect directly to participants’ day-to-day responsibilities, allowing them to grow while continuing to serve students. This work-and-learn model is designed to make the pathway more sustainable. Participants can build experience, earn an income, and prepare for licensure without putting their careers on hold, creating a more realistic path into one of education’s highest-need fields.
Built in Partnership with Diverse Learners Cooperative
Throughout the pathway, participants benefit from DLC’s practical, classroom-focused approach to professional learning and coaching, gaining tools and strategies they can immediately apply in their work as SPED Interventionists. The partnership combines NTR’s expertise in teacher preparation with DLC’s specialized knowledge of diverse learners, preparing educators to serve students well from day one.
The Special Education Pathway is an 18-month program that includes coursework across two summers. Participants receive formal site-based coaching and support during one full school year. The final fall semester functions more like a capstone experience, with participants working more independently as they demonstrate the skills and knowledge they have developed throughout the program.
That's great! You can still be admitted to the Special Education Pathway and earn the 6-12 SPED Interventionist Endorsement.
Because of Tennessee licensure requirements in special education, applicants must pass two required PRAXIS exams before matriculating into the pathway. NTR provides access to study and practice materials to help applicants prepare, and eligible applicants can earn stipends to help cover the cost of taking the exams.
Participants are prepared for Tennessee’s Interventionist 6–12 license. This license is designed for educators serving students with high-incidence disabilities who spend the majority of their school day learning alongside their peers in general education settings. The pathway is not designed to prepare educators for roles serving students with more intensive support needs associated with the comprehensive endorsement.