A Collaborative Model for the Preparation of Teachers for Students with Visual Impairments

There is a critical national shortage of teachers prepared to work with children who are blind and those with low vision. This article describes two federally funded projects that addressed the needs of school districts and specialized schools that were unable to locate and employ a teacher of students with visual disabilities. In the Collaborative Model 24 teacher-participants attended traditional on-campus programs 2 days per week while working in their local school districts, often hundreds of miles from campus, 3 days per week. Collaboration among educational agencies is described. Evaluations of the model using data from teacher-participants and school administrators is included along with costs for each project. Data indicate that the Collaborative-business Model is a viable, though more costly model for preparing teachers of students with a low incidence disability.