Tips for Paraprofessionals & Teachers

Dec 21, 2008 by Susan Fitzell

Solutions: What’s a Paraprofessional to do?”

I just came across a well written blog article, Tasks for Paraprofessionals: Expectations for Instructional Aids in the Classroom .  The benefit to reading this article is that it helps sort out what paraprofessionals can do to support teachers and students in the classroom.

The ways a paraprofessional might assist in the classroom are as individual as the students they are responsible for, the classrooms paraprofessionals work in, and the grade level in which paraprofessionals teach. In my book, “Paraprofessionals And Teachers Working Together” are checklists filled with options for the general education teacher, the special education teacher, and the paraprofessional to consider when defining paraprofessional roles in the classroom. Use these checklists as a tool to negotiate the working relationship in the classroom before the paraprofessional starts “on the job”.

Also, you might be interested in my Audio Presentation, “Increasing the Effectiveness of Paraprofessionals and Classroom Teachers Working Together” available at www.ber.org.