There are many influences that impact the daily work of both teachers and administrators at schools. From the choices made in classrooms, to those that focus of specific curricular choices, to the priorities made when planning for individual instruction, and even how non-instructional planning time is spent, teachers and administrator's days are filled with balancing priorities. Furthermore, those choices and decisions come from many avenues and are rooted in multiple priorities. In this dissertation, the lived experiences of Special Education teachers and administrators are examined in order to understand these priorities better. Through a deeper understanding of these choices, the impact of them on specific special education initiatives are further understood. Kennedy's (2007) work, focusing on the daily expectation and demands of teachers, is used as a conceptual framework in order to better understand the connection between the realities of teachers work. It aids in defining how teachers think about their practice, and the impact of that work on specific special education initiatives. Specifically in this study, integrated co-teaching (ICT) and response to intervention (RtI) are utilized in order to further understand the choices and priorities teachers and administrators need to make on a daily basis. Through the use of case study methodologies, focusing on observations and interviews of teachers and administrators at two schools, specific findings centering on how these choices are made. By examining the findings obtained through these interviews of observations, as well as through the lens of Kennedy (2007), the practical impact of teacher and administrators work can also be further understood. Findings elaborate on 1) how many school-wide barriers impact the effective implementation of ICT programing for teachers and administrators, 2) the many ways in which many teachers working in ICT systems lack a thorough understanding of the program and the support needed to carry it out on a regular basis, and 3) suggestions for consistent and clear procedures for school-wide RtI systems so they are proactive, as proposed by the original intent of RtI, instead of reactive. Finally, through an analysis of these findings, recommendation for teachers, administrators, and future researchers are made in order to further understand the impact that competing narratives and the priorities influencing both our educational system and most importantly, our students. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]