Co-teach program at Gullett Elementary allows for extra academic support

Bennett Carney, a second grade student at B. D. Gullett Elementary, gets visibly upset when his mom, Jessica Carney, has to pick him up early from school and away from his “second family.”

He has two full time teachers with him every day — Jackie Stark and Erin Devriendt — as he attends a co-teach classroom. 

“I know he’s getting double the love, double the engagement, double the education, and leadership,” Jessica Carney said. “There’s double the eyes on my son at all moments. They know more about my son than I do at this point.” 

Each grade level from first to fifth grade has one co-teach classroom with two teachers and 31 to 33 students. As co-teach classrooms, extra opportunities for academic support are present through more small-group and one-on-one learning. 

All three of Jessica Carney’s sons Wyatt (fifth grade), Colton (third grade) and Bennett have been in co-teach classes. Jessica said she couldn’t be happier with her sons’ experience with the co-teach program. 

Jackie Stark and Erin Devriendt have worked together as co-teachers for three years. The first two were in first grade and this year they are teaching third. Due to moving up a grade, they have had some of the same kids for two years in a row, including Bennett Carney and Michael Serrano. 

Serrano’s mother, Grace Mierwa, said her son has told her having two teachers is beneficial because it is easier to ask questions and get answers in a more timely manner. 

“I’m grateful Gullett offers a co-teaching program to support different learning needs,” Mierwa said. “It’s encouraging to see teachers working together to create a welcoming environment where every child, including Michael, can do (his or her) best and feel valued.”

Photo by Madison Bierl

Stark said they are able to provide additional support to build confidence.

“By collaborating closely, we create a flexible learning environment where all students are challenged, supported, and celebrated as learners,” Stark said. “In addition, we each bring different strengths to the table, and by learning from one another, we continue to grow as educators while giving our students the very best we have to offer.” 

Julie Gierhart, the principal at Gullett, said there are a lot of aspects to consider when pairing two teachers together, including whether or not their teaching styles and ways of managing the classroom and student behavior would blend well. 

Wendy Vanskiver and Alyssa Iacobelli are co-teachers for third grade. 

“We call each other bookends,” Vanskiver said. “She's young, so we compliment each other. I bring my knowledge and my experience, and she is a wonderful writing teacher. She gets children to write like you wouldn't believe and I've learned a lot from her.” 

Iacobelli said she appreciates that she gets instant feedback from Vanskiver, which helps her to troubleshoot throughout a lesson to maximize the effectiveness of whatever she might be teaching. Iacobelli said having more than one teacher opens a door to multiple perspectives.

Photo by Madison Bierl

“When you have multiple teachers in a room, you only gain engagement, more one-onone time and individualized learning,” Iacobelli said.

Vanskiver said there are students who could “get lost” or overlooked in a classroom due to being quiet. She said having two teachers allows for another pair of eyes and allows students to be more engaged and take education to the next level. 

“Iacobelli is the one that makes everything fun and cool, and Vanskiver is the one who always keeps me on track, focused and relaxed,” said Lola Lagos, a third grader who enjoys the different skillsets each of her teachers provides. 

Gierhart said they are mindful about placing children in a classroom, co-teach or not. They think about the kind of environment each child would most likely thrive in based on the relationships. 

“What kind of teacher are they needing to be successful?” Gierhart said. “Do they need a teacher who might be a little bit more flexible, or do they need a teacher with clear boundaries?” So we're very mindful when we're placing students in any classroom, not just the co-teach.” 

The program originated from an issue the school was facing. It had more teachers than available classrooms. The program was first implemented in the 2022-2023 school year. 

In order to co-teach, staff members went through extra training and coursework through the Florida Inclusion Network. One of the two teachers also had to become Exceptional Student Education (ESE) certified, which authorizes educators to work with students with disabilities. Students with and without disabilities are in co-teach classrooms. 

“As long as I'm principal and I have the district support, I want to keep the co-teach classrooms,” Gierhart said.