It is important to our school that all students feel like they are a part of something special ... our school!  We really want our special needs students to have a place on our campus and to feel like they are important and valued.  We started a total Co-Teach model two years ago.  All of our special education students at each grade level are clustered in a classroom so that that a co-teach model can exist.  We cluster this group with a cluster of gifted and talented students. This is a win/win for all students. The GT students benefit in so many ways socially and educationally from being with the Sped students and the Sped students benefit in the same ways by being with the GT students.  The expectation is that the majority of instruction for the special needs students occurs within the actual grade level classroom.  It is a well-known fact that the farther away from the grade level instruction a student gets, the less likely they will ever be able to be achieve at grade level or to be successful in regular education classes.  Our teachers understand the expectation for the model and know that both co-teachers are responsible for all the students in that classroom.  The teachers work closely together and it is difficult through observation to tell which is the special education teacher and which is the general education teacher.  This model has been extremely successful for our students. We have gotten a great deal of parent feedback in support of this model and parents also feel like this is what is best for all children.  This model is not easy, but it is a valued practice.