Northern Arizona University (NAU) and Nogales Unified School District established a school-university partnership in 1998 to prepare special education teachers to work in the rural Mexican border area of southern Santa Cruz County, Arizona. All 25 students in the program's first cohort were working adults from the local area, bilingual and already…

Because Special Educator turnover and existing modes of instruction were causing minimal progression of exceptional Indian students, representatives of the nine schools involved in Chinle Agency's Special Education Department decided during the fall of 1979 to develop and implement programs that better met the needs of exceptional students. By…

Profiles three program awards for exemplary rural special education practices. Describes an Arizona program that allows teachers to pursue advanced training without quitting their jobs, an Idaho program of work experience and transitional services for special education students, and a Virginia program for normalization of students labeled…

Three Arizona programs aim to train culturally and linguistically diverse general and special educators who understand the needs and strengths of rural communities. Native Americans and Mexican Americans from rural areas who want to work with special needs populations are recruited, as well as whites. Many are paraprofessionals, working full time…

This article describes the Reaching American Indian Special/Elementary Educators (RAISE) program, a community-based native teacher education program located on the Navajo reservation in Kayenta, Arizona. The preservice teacher preparation partnership program is designed for uncertified Navajo special and elementary education preservice students…