Department of Developmental and Special Education
School of Education
Our
Mission
The Department of Developmental and Special Education is aligned with the evolving mission of Medgar Evers College to deliver rigorous, innovative, and experiential curricula grounded in social justice. We prepare candidates as change agents who educate to liberate the minds of children, by equipping them to cultivate classrooms that foster critical thinking and empower students, particularly those from underserved populations, locally, nationally, and globally. Guided by a pedagogy of care, our department is committed to fostering both a sense of belonging and academic excellence, ensuring that every candidate receives the support necessary on their path to success. Through this commitment, we aim to strengthen enrollment and retention while preparing future educators with the 21st century competencies essential for computational thinking, culturally responsive practice, and bridging cultural and linguistic divides.
To achieve this, the Department focuses on four strategic pillars:
- Pedagogical Excellence: Graduating educators who demonstrate deep mastery of their disciplinary focus and the capacity to deliver high-quality, research-informed instruction.
- Inclusive Advocacy: Preparing candidates to teach foundational literacy and numeracy through diverse instructional strategies across all learning modalities, while integrating principles of culturally responsive computing to advance 21st-century skills ethically and equitably.
- Professional Leadership: Equipping candidates with strong data-literacy, action-research skills, and content knowledge in writing and mathematics, enabling them to model excellence, advocate for children, and engage in concise written communication and quantitative reasoning within and beyond the classroom.
- Certification Success: Implementing a multi-pronged support system of academic and professional support to ensure candidates successfully navigate general and special education teacher certification requirements and exams.
About the Department
Want to be the teacher who unlocks every student’s potential?
The Department of Development and Special Education has two nationally accredited bachelor of arts dual certificate degree programs in general and special education, which are among the few dual certificate programs in New York City!
Our Programs
Majors & Minors
We offer a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Early Childhood Special Education (Birth to Grade 2). Also, we offer Bachelor of Arts in Childhood Special Education (currently in Grades 1-6 with changes being made to fulfill the New York State Department of Education mandate to offer general education 1-6 and special education K-12+). Last, we offer a Minor in Early intervention for non-education students.
Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Special Education, Birth to Second Grade
Master interdisciplinary curricula (Birth-Gr 2). Educate to liberate via critical and computational thinking, behavior analysis, and universal design to empower students with/without disabilities to read, write, and do math.
Available In-Person | Available Fully Online
Bachelor of Arts in Childhood Special Education, Grade 1-6
Master integrated curricula and child development for grades 1-6. Educate to liberate through critical thinking using computational thinking, universal design, and behavioral interventions to support students with/without disabilities to grow & glow.
Available In-Person | Available Fully Online
Minor in Early Intervention
For non-education majors, this minor provides critical skills to assess and provide effective intervention for young children with diverse developmental disabilities, significantly enhancing careers in fields like Psychology, Social Work, and counseling.
Your Career Advantage: Diverse Paths & Earning Potential
Students who graduate with one of our dual-certificate degrees in general education and special education will find that career paths can be extremely diverse. Our graduates will become certified to teach in the classroom, and many choose to become full-time lead special education teachers immediately following graduation.
Some of our graduates have used their initial certifications to catapult them onto career paths open to people who have a special education degree. These careers include:
- Special Education Classroom Teacher
Starting salary: $57,000-$70,000 - Early Childhood Special Education Classroom Teacher
Starting salary: $57,000-$70,000 - Early Intervention Specialist
Starting salary: $40,000-$80,000 - Special Education Advocate
Starting salary: $37,000-$65,000 - School Counselor
$60,000-$70,000 - Daycare Director
$41,000-$100,000 - Reading/Math Specialist
Starting salary: $57,000-$70,000 - Resource Room Teacher
Starting salary: $55,000-$75,000 - Interventionist
Starting salary: $45,000-$55,000 - Behavior/ABA Therapist
Starting salary: $52,000-$78,000 - Principal/Assistant Principal
Starting salary: $75,000-$125,000
Expert
Faculty
You’ll be trained by professors who aren’t just experts in theory—they’re experienced teachers and special education advocates who have been exactly where you want to be: in the classroom.
Our faculty specializes in both early childhood development (Birth-Grade 2) and elementary learning strategies (Grades 1-6). This means they understand the entire developmental journey of a child with special needs.