Roberta Kaufman has been a P-12 special educator and university administrator in the Midwest where she has worked in both rural and urban settings. Her professional experience includes coordinating a partnership between multiple school districts in a metropolitan area and a university to design and implement a teacher preparation program for under-represented populations. Dr. Kaufman initiated a program providing instructional seminars followed by coaching support for individuals hired as special educators in a diverse urban school district. Practices described in Powerful Practices for High-Performing Special Educators were implemented throughout the seminars and observed in classrooms with follow-up coaching. As a result of the coaching and seminars, a dramatic increase in the retention of new special education teachers was documented and maintained beyond two years. She is currently on the faculty of the School of Education at the University of South Dakota.
