The Paraprofessional's Handbook for Effective Support in Inclusive Classrooms

Julie Causton-Theoharis

• Publisher: Brookes Publishing
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781598576740
• Topic: Pedagogía
• Subtopic: Educación inclusiva

What does a great paraprofessional need to know and do? Find out in this handy survival guide, equally useful for the brand-new paraprofessional or the 20-year classroom veteran. Packed with friendly guidance, practical tips, and relatable first-person stories, this book reveals the best ways to provide effective, respectful services to students in inclusive classrooms.

Julie Causton-Theoharis, a teacher, professor, and educational consultant with more than 10 years of experience as a paraprofessional instructor, knows exactly how to help readers stop feeling overwhelmed so they can start making a difference. She answers all the urgent questions paraprofessionals have as they navigate their complex job in the inclusive classroom, showing readers how to:

• provide skillful and subtle support to students while encouraging their independence
• resolve challenging behavior in gentle and positive ways
• find students' strengths and match support practices to them
• fade their support
• make informed decisions about content-specific accommodations, modifications, and adaptations
• presume competence and keep expectations high
• facilitate peer supports and friendships
• partner with teachers, SLPs, psychologists, families, and other members of the educational team
• relieve their own stress and avoid burnout

To help them master the daily ups and downs of the inclusive classroom, paraprofessionals will get ready-to-use practical content: tips for supporting students with specific disabilities, helpful question-and-answer sections, examples of successful problem-solving, a quick-guide to acronyms in education, easy ideas for improving teamwork, and more.

The essential guide for every paraprofessional—and a must-have for the educators and other professionals who support them—this empowering book takes the guesswork out of a critical classroom role and helps students with disabilities reach their full potential.

1

The Paraprofessional

I was told I got the job, and I vaguely knew what that meant. I knew I would be supporting a student named Helena, but before school started, I hadn’t met her and I wasn’t really sure what I would be doing day in and day out. To me, I thought it might be a good idea to have some information or training about what the job of paraprofessional really entailed.

—Sue (paraprofessional)

Like Sue, paraprofessionals are hired each year with various amounts of training or knowledge about how to support students with disabilities. This book is meant to provide essential knowledge and guidance about 1) what it means to be a paraprofessional, 2) basic information about special education, 3) inclusive education, 4) how to work within a team, 5) new ideas about how to think about the students you support, 6) how to provide social supports, 7) academic supports, 8) behavioral supports, and finally 9) how to take care of yourself while doing this important work. Let’s start by walking together into a kindergarten classroom and meeting a student named Helena.

Helena arrives in her kindergarten classroom. Helena’s friend Sam greets her. Both students talk excitedly for a little bit about their weekend as they proceed to the folder bucket. A paraprofessional helps Helena remove her take-home folder and puts it into the rectangular bucket. A paraprofessional then helps Helena remove her jacket, boots, and mittens. Sam races ahead to his table, and Helena drives her wheelchair to her table. The paraprofessional follows.

Helena is a creative, bright little girl who is supported by a paraprofessional. Because she has cerebral palsy, she needs someone to assist her with several tasks throughout her school day. The paraprofessional assigned to her positions her on the floor for circle time, helps her use her computer to answer questions in class, writes down her ideas for stories and assignments, and facilitates social interactions with the other children in her class. Because of the nature of her physical disability, Helena needs regular and ongoing adult support.

This chapter will familiarize you with the job of paraprofessional. I will outline the history of paraprofessionals, a definition of paraprofessional, the roles of paraprofessionals, the benefits of paraprofessionals, the different types of settings for paraprofessionals, the most common tasks for paraprofessionals, and some commonly asked questions.

Many professions have job responsibilities that mirror the roles of paraprofessionals. In restaurants, sous-chefs help to prepare dishes by cutting and chopping food for chefs to put together in their final masterpieces. In medicine, physician assistants support doctors in providing medical care to patients. In law, paralegals perform essential tasks, such as filing briefs and drafting documents, to support the work of lawyers. In education, paraprofessionals support the work of teachers in educating students.

In classrooms, paraprofessionals are analogous to each of these professions in certain ways, working under the direction of qualified teachers and special educators. Although the role of paraprofessionals is not to plan or design classroom instruction, they can make important contributions to classroom instruction when they effectively implement important delegated tasks for which they are specifically trained. Paraprofessionals can be very useful supports that help keep classrooms running efficiently and effectively (Causton-Theoharis, Giangreco, Doyle, & Vadasy, 2007).

The History of Paraprofessionals

The responsibilities of paraprofessionals have changed over time. The history of inclusive education has had a large impact on the employment of paraprofessionals (Giangreco & Doyle, 2002). It has only been since the passage of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (PL 94-142) that students with disabilities have had a legally protected right to attend public school. Before this time, students with disabilities were educated mainly in the home, in segregated settings, or in institutions. As a result, before 1975, paraprofessionals mainly worked in these separate settings for only children with disabilities. It was believed that students with disabilities could not learn as much as students without disabilities and that they did not need certified teachers to support them; therefore, students with disabilities were typically supported by people in paraprofessional roles (Brown, Farrington, Knight, Ross, & Ziegler, 1999).

In the 1970s and 1980s, however, a strong, parent-driven push was started to educate children with disabilities in general education settings alongside students without disabilities. At this time, the regular education initiative began (Will, 1986), and parents began to learn about the idea of mainstreaming or inclusion. The role of paraprofessionals accordingly shifted as students with disabilities began participating in general education classrooms. At this time, paraprofessionals began to provide greater academic support.

By the 1990s, a wider array of students with more significant disabilities was included in classrooms across all grade levels in school, and there was a large boom in the hiring of paraprofessionals. From 2000 to the present, inclusive education has been more of a legal mandate, particularly with the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) of 2004 (PL 108-446). Therefore, the use of paraprofessionals to support students in inclusive settings has increased steadily (U.S. Department of Education, 2007). Now, because students with many more significant disabilities are being included in general education settings, paraprofessionals are more critical than ever.

What Does Paraprofessional Mean?

The job title paraprofessional is described in section 14B of IDEA 2004:

Paraprofessionals . . . who are appropriately trained and supervised, in accordance with State law, regulations, or written policy . . . are to be used to assist in the provision of special education and related services . . . to children with disabilities. (20 U.S.C. § 1412)

In other words, paraprofessionals are hired to support special education services for children with disabilities. You should be trained and supervised by trained general and special educators; your training should begin before you start to work in the schools, and it should continue throughout your career.

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 (PL 107-110) defines paraprofessional as someone who “is employed in a preschool, elementary school, or secondary school under the supervision of a certified or licensed teacher, including individuals employed in language instruction, educational programs, special education, or migrant education” (20 U.S.C. § 119).

The qualifications for paraprofessionals have changed since 2001. According to NCLB, all paraprofessionals should have

A. completed at least 2 years of study at an institution of higher education

B. obtained an associate (or higher) degree

C. met a rigorous standard of quality and can demonstrate through a formal academic assessment

a. knowledge of, and the ability to assist in instruction, reading, writing, and mathematics; or

b. knowledge of, and the ability to assist in instructing reading readiness, writing readiness, and mathematics readiness, as appropriate. (20 U.S.C. § 6319 [c])

I have listed the legal definition of paraprofessional and the legal qualifications for doing the job; now, let’s discuss what this means in practical terms and what you actually will be doing.

Paraprofessional: From Caregiver to Learning Facilitator

The role of paraprofessionals is essential in public schools today. Paraprofessionals in the United States number more than a half million, and that number is increasing (U.S. Department of Education, 2007). This increase is attributable to many factors. The number has increased primarily because many more students with more significant disabilities (e.g., autism spectrum disorder and cognitive disabilities) are included in general education classrooms. In addition, there has been a slow increase in the number of students who are being identified as having disabilities. Many educators view the support of a paraprofessional as key for an inclusive classroom. In other words, students are included in general education settings because they are accompanied by paraprofessionals.

Moreover, the role of paraprofessionals has become much more complex as it has moved from caregiver to facilitator. In the past, students with disabilities were warehoused in rooms for only children with disabilities, and the supports they received were more related to personal care and keeping them occupied. Educational goals for students with significant disabilities were essentially limited to life skills and job-related tasks. For example, common activities for such students, regardless of age, were to place pegs into peg boards, practice dressing, or use appropriate table manners. As a result, the role of paraprofessionals was mainly caregiving. Now, educators in the field have learned that students with disabilities are just as capable of learning as their general education counterparts. Consequently, the goals many students now have in their individualized education programs (IEPs) closely resemble those of their same-age peers. Paraprofessionals are now responsible for helping to educate students using materials appropriate to their grade levels and for helping to facilitate complex social networks and friendships. Because of these new roles, paraprofessionals have become integral members of teaching teams with increasingly challenging new responsibilities.

My Title Is Teaching Assistant. Is That the Same Thing?

You might not be called a paraprofessional; instead, you might be called a teaching assistant or another term. Just as the job has evolved, the title paraprofessional has changed over time and still varies from district to district. The terms aide, assistant, one-to-one, teacher aide, program assistant, clerical assistant, and teaching assistant commonly are used to describe the role of paraprofessionals. Although this title varies, many times the job responsibilities are similar but distinguishable by the number of students that the person supports. A one-to-one assistant tends to support a single student, a teaching assistant usually supports more students, a clerical assistant tends to do more work with the materials for instruction, and a program assistant typically supports an entire classroom.

The Role of Paraprofessionals Today

Paraprofessionals have varied responsibilities. Your role is likely determined by the unique needs of the students you support and the unique classroom context. These responsibilities typically include supporting children socially, academically, physically, and behaviorally. Social support includes helping children make and maintain friendships with other children. For example, a paraprofessional might assist a student in communicating with a peer, in selecting a ...