Presented by Jay Johnson, Education Program Specialist, Arizona Department of Education; and Mary Keeney, Education Program Specialist, Arizona Department of Education

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The Arizona Department of Education Teacher Recruitment and Retention has a new system of support for beginning special education teachers in their first or second year of teaching. These beginning teachers attended a kick-off summer PD called Teach Camp. Teachers received ongoing support throughout the 2019-2020 school year. At Teach Camp, in addition to the expected topics such as special education law, best practices, and special education essentials, we added a focus on teacher self-care, which we came to view as an equally critical topic. The Department of Education collaborated with Phoenix Children’s Hospital to develop the self-care component of the program, including elements of mindfulness, physical movement, nutrition and hydration, and the physical environment of the classroom.

Watch this edWebinar for an overview of the program, and experience first-hand how new teachers learned that self-care can be simple things that can be integrated into their daily lives as teachers. This recorded edWebinar will be of interest to special education teachers of all grade levels, administrators, and school and district leaders.

About the Presenters

Jay Johnson is a Recruitment and Retention Program Specialist at the Arizona Department of Education. He holds degrees in elementary education, special education, and educational leadership. His interests lie in the area of teacher retention and best practices to support special education teachers. In recent years, he has focused on education planning, collaboration, and data-driven decision making. He has collaborated actively with several educational agencies in Arizona and school districts around the state. Jay has served on several conference and workshop programs and committees focused on teacher recruitment and retention.

Mary Keeney is a Recruitment and Retention Specialist at the Arizona Department of Education. She is a speech-language pathologist and specializes in recruitment and retention of related service providers on behalf of Arizona’s public schools, after working for many years as a school-based SLP in a variety of educational settings.

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