Inside Education and Health Sciences

Kylie Parker says that she didn't choose the intervention specialist program in the Department of Teacher Education at the University of Dayton, but rather the career path chose her.

"I met a very special girl named Nicole in the back of my 7th grade science class and my life was forever altered," Parker said. "Nicole has Down syndrome and she introduced me to an entirely different world, one that had more kindness and joy than I could have ever imagined."

Since then, Parker has worked and volunteered to help people with disabilities through many organizations, including Best Buddies and the Special Olympics. She and Nicole are still best friends and video chatted weekly when Parker was at UD, away from their hometown outside of Chicago. 

Parker is in the first graduating class of intervention specialists who are dual-licensed to work with students that have mild-to-moderate and moderate-to-intense educational needs. Some of the twelve students graduating this spring, like Parker, feel called to have a career in moderate-to-intense classroom settings.

Jennifer Christman, clinical faculty member and coordinator for the intervention specialist program, says that offering a dual licensure program meets the growing need in Dayton area schools for educators who are equipped to follow best practices when teaching students with more significant disabilities.

"The need for well-equipped intervention specialists is on the rise," Christman said. "Students' needs are changing and growing more complex, and this additional program offering allows our UD grads to be more equipped to respond to students with disabilities in schools and beyond."

Students in the intervention specialist program also have the opportunity to earn a TESOL certificate, a preschool endorsement, join the Urban Teacher Academy, or earn a Disability Studies minor.

Graduating senior Mara Findley hopes to work with people with more intensive disabilities for the rest of her life. She has been hired to co-run a multiple disabilities classroom at Springboro High School, which is also where she student-taught this spring.

"Every day, one of my students shows me how passionate, dedicated, and talented they are," Findley said. "Seeing how much every milestone means to them helps me to continue pushing forward everyday."

Christman said that there are many reasons a student is drawn to the intervention specialist program. 

"Students seeking intervention specialist licenses are consistently problem solvers, resilient and patient," she said. "Some students have connections to the disability world through personal stories, and others are drawn to the opportunity to advocate for vulnerable populations, work in smaller group settings, think outside of the box, collaborate with many stakeholders, and strive to see the abilities in everyone."

Findley and Parker have both made disability advocacy a part of their daily lives for years. 

"There really was no other choice for me besides intervention specialist education, because there is no greater joy than helping people to be seen for who they are, not just their disability," Findley said.

The Department of Teacher Education at UD is unique in that students are given field experience in classrooms as early as the spring semester of their freshman year. While this is instrumental in solidifying the career path for any specialty within teacher education, it is especially influential for intervention specialists. For some students, they discover early on that this is not actually what they want and still have time to switch specialties without falling behind in the program. 

For Parker, this experience solidified that this was the right major for her. 

"I knew that the work I was doing in class would benefit me in my future career," Parker said. "I felt the professors truly cared about our success. It is bitter sweet as it all comes to a close and I begin to reflect on who I was entering UD four years ago."

After graduation, Parker will move back to the Chicago suburbs to work at the Jen School. She's looking forward to regularly hanging out with her best friend Nicole in person again and making a difference to the students she teaches.

"There is something about breaking through communication barriers that allow you to discover the motivation behind an individual's behavior that is so incredibly rewarding and satisfactory," Parker said. "I highly recommend this field to anyone even considering it."

Photo caption: Kylie hugs one of the students on her last day of student teaching.