Initiative Category: Special Education BIS

The value of Trinity’s special education teaching programs is nearly impossible to quantify: Our special education majors go on to change the lives of students by cultivating relational peace, educational equity, and justice for all children and impacting the mind, body, and soul of each student through excellence in teaching.

So, the College is particularly pleased to see the value of our undergraduate and graduate degrees in special education recognized by Grad Degree Search. According to the rankings organization, Trinity has been recognized in several categories, including among the top 10 in the Great Lakes Region for both types of degrees! Our bachelor’s and master’s degrees were also honored with a top-50 rankings nationwide.

— 7th in Best Value Special Education Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region Ranking

—9th in Best Value Special Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region Ranking

— 44th in Best Value Special Education Master’s Degree Schools Ranking

— 49th in Best Value Special Education Schools Ranking

“When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school’s quality as well as its sticker price,” Grad Degree Search noted. “Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value.”

Trinity brings value in many ways, according to Christine Scholma ’04, assistant professor of special education and co-director of the Center for SPED. “One of the added values of Trinity’s special education program includes a variety of partnerships with local schools,” said Scholma. “Through these partnerships, students with disabilities come to campus to learn alongside Trinity special education majors. Prospective teachers get the opportunity to apply what they are learning in class by teaching local students about community living.”

When working with children, behavior analysts and school-based professionals need successful collaboration, Trinity’s Assistant Professor of Special Education Karen O’Connor, Ph.D., told audience members during a presentation at the recent Illinois Association for Behavior Analysis annual conference.

“I was inspired to develop a presentation on the topic of improving how we collaborate with school personnel as behavior analysts are often put in this role but we struggle with effectively meeting the needs of teachers,” she said. “As behavior analysts, we need to work to build relationships with school staff, more effectively collaborate to address the priorities of teachers, and use tools to evaluate the impact of our consultation.”

O’Connor was one of several presenters at the conference, which took place Feb. 20-21. “It was very nice to see a variety of talks that had a focus on improving professional practice in our field,” she said.

Having received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Trinity, Jenna Young ’11, MA ’18 has taken what she learned in the classroom to follow God’s call in her life professionally. And with Trinity being her first Christian school experience, she clearly saw God use her professors and classmates to encourage her to make a difference in the world.

In 2011, Jenna received her B.A. in special education. From day one of class, Jenna requested to be a student teacher at Elim Christian School – a nationally recognized school for students ages 3-22 who have intellectual and/or physical disabilities. Elim is just minutes away from Trinity in Crestwood, Ill. Her strong desire to work with students with special needs motivated her to achieve her goal of having her own classroom. Not only did she intern at Elim, she also taught there for eight years following graduation.

During these formative years in Jenna’s career, Elim brought in a new profession of people, known as Board Certified Behavior Analysts (or BCBA). These leaders would come into the classroom and offer guidance on how to work with students with behavioral challenges. Unfamiliar with this profession at first, Jenna grew to love the role and decided to pursue an advanced degree. After some research, she discoveed that Trinity’s was the only program in the state of Illinois to offer a master’s in Special Education: Learning Behavior Specialist II that included the course sequence so she could become a BCBA.

After working through the two-year program, which included being observed during a 1,500-hour period, Jenna received her certification in 2018. Dr. Sara Baillie, Associate Professor of Special Education, not only taught Jenna in the classroom, but was also Jenna’s supervisor. “I felt extremely fortunate that part of Trinity’s curriculum – to no expense outside of my tuition – included my professor coming to see me in the workplace to give me corrective feedback,” Jenna said.

Today, Jenna is stretching herself professionally by working with a different group of clients: adults with mental health issues. “I work on decreasing their physical aggression and elopement behaviors and increasing the behaviors we want to see more of like cooperation, staying on task, and asking clarifying questions.”

In the midst of Jenna’s schooling, she and her husband walked through the journey of adoption. In God’s perfect timing, Jenna and her husband received the call that they had been matched with a child in China the same weekend she graduated with her master’s degree. “It was so special to be able to celebrate with our families on the same day as graduation.” They were blessed to take their son home in February 2019.

Feeling supported by Trinity faculty made a lasting impact. “My professors saw me as an individual. They would ask for adoption updates and they would initiate conversations and questions. I knew they were truly praying for the adoption process to go smoothly.”

Through each of her Trinity experiences, Jenna is able to clearly see how God shaped her to be an effective leader. “You are who God says you are; He will use you in your calling.” The world needs more incredible leaders like Jenna, and Trinity is proud to play a small part in helping her prepare to make an impact.