ABSTRACT
This chapter chronicles the redesign and restructuring of the Dual-track Special Education Program at the University of Washington Tacoma (UWT) made possible by funding from the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) 325T grant resources during 2010–15. The principal motivation for this effort was to build the capacity of schools in Washington State's South Puget Sound region for providing successful learning opportunities for students in poverty and those with high-incidence disabilities. Compared with other metropolitan areas of Washington State, schools in the South Puget Sound serve more economically challenged students, are more ethnically and culturally diverse, and experience higher rates of student failure. The 325T grant provided funding for a program evaluator who worked collaboratively with faculty and field supervisors to design more useful tools for assessment, generate performance criteria, and develop computerized systems for organizing and summarizing observation data in ways that permitted data-based decision-making relative to intern progress.
