The

Paraprofessional
and You
Kayla Little
UCCS/SPED 4031
April 7, 2017
 What is a Paraprofessional?
A paraprofessional is aneducational workerwho is not
licensed to teach, but performs many duties both
individually with students and organizationally in the
classroom.
The studentmay be assigned a one-on-one
paraprofessional as part of his or herIEP.
Paraprofessional's are there to help assist with different
needs of the child on the IEP, so that the child can be in
the general education setting.
 Why are they here?
Providing paraprofessional support for a student with a
disability may seem like an obvious way to facilitate
inclusion in the general education classroom.
Paraprofessional support can ensure that students with
disabilities receive an appropriate level of attention and
prevent these students from "falling through the cracks"
both worthy aims.

Adapted from:http://www.pealcenter.org/images/Giangreco-working_with.pdf
 What happens when a Para works
with the student too closely?
Although schools undoubtedly provide paraprofessional
support with the best of intentions and in the belief that it
will help students, little evidence suggests that students
do as well or better in school, academically or socially,
when they are taught by paraprofessionals.

The next few slides will give some descriptions of different

activities that happen with Paraprofessionals and the
outcome.
 Separation from Classmates
Student with a disability and paraprofessional are seated
together in the back or side of the room, physically
separated from the class.
There is also the issue of the Paraprofessional taking the
students out of the classroom for long periods of time, and
the student(s) removed misses out on content or learning
with the group.
Some students learn from listening to other students
explain it, so they miss out on the teachers explanation of
the content, and student interaction.
 Unnecessary Dependence
Student with a disability is hesitant to participate without
paraprofessional direction, prompting, or cueing.
 Interference with Peer
Interactions
Paraprofessional can create physical or symbolic barriers
that interfere with interactions between a student with
disabilities and classmates.
 Insular Relationships
Student with a disability and paraprofessional do most
everything together, to the exclusion of others (i.e.,
teachers and peers).
 Feeling Stigmatized
Student with a disability expresses
embarrassment/discomfort about having a
paraprofessional; makes him or her stand out in negative
ways.
 Limited Access to Competent
Instruction
Paraprofessionals are not necessarily skilled in providing
competent instruction; some do the work for the students
they support.
 Interference with Teacher
Engagement
Teachers tend to be less involved when a student with a
disability has a paraprofessional because individual
attention is already available.
 Loss of Personal Control
Paraprofessionals do so much for the students with
disabilities that they do not exercise choices that are
typical for other students.
 Loss of Gender Identity
Student with a disability is treated as the gender of the
paraprofessional (e.g., male student taken into the female
bathroom).
 May Provoke Problem
Behaviors
Some students with disabilities express their dislike of
paraprofessional support by displaying inappropriate
behaviors.
What is the general education teachers
role with a student with needs
The main roles of the regular classroom teacher are to
plan, coordinate, schedule, and evaluate curriculum and
instructional outcomes within a secure and positive
classroom environment for all students, including those
with disabilities.

The general education teacher should:

 Continued
Develop and implement weekly lesson plans that facilitate the participation and learning of all
students
Monitor and evaluate progress of all students
Maintain communication with students, parents or guardians
Meet with special education teacher on a regular basis and provide information necessary for
modifications and adaptations to be developed and implemented
Work collaboratively with special education teacher to assist in development of a support plan
that meets the needs of all students in the classroom, assist in the development of the Para
educator's schedule, and supervise the Para educator's completion of designated activities when
in the general education classroom.
Keep the special education teacher informed as to the performance of students with disabilities
in your class on a regular basis. Further, provide a copy of midterm grades and assign report
card grades collaboratively with the special education teacher.
 Continued..
The general education teacher must first and upmost buy into the
concept of inclusive programming and paraprofessional supports.
General education teachers will need to make sure that they
understand their role and expectations. General education teachers
must collaborate with the special education teacher as to the role
and assignments of both the student with a disability and the
paraprofessional

Adapted from: http://www.projectidealonline.org/v/specific-roles-general-educators/

 How we distribute
At the beginning of the semester the special education
team sits down and through an excel chart they break
down the needs of the students.
Some examples of needs:
1. Instructional Support, 2. Modification of curriculum, 3.
Fine-Gross Motor Skill, 4. Speech/Language, 5. Behavior
Support, 6. Safety Concerns, 7. Complexity of
Home/School communications, 8. Social Skills
communication, 9. Toileting/Feminine Hygiene, 10.
Feeding, 11. Sensory Needs, 12. Level of Adult
Supervision, 13. Medication Needed
 How we distribute continued
After looking at these different sections we rank them on the level of
need. We fill this out on an Excel chart so that we can see where the
level of needs are for each student, and then we distribute the students
evenly so that classes arent overwhelmed.
The students are color coated, (red=high needs, yellow=moderate
needs, green=low needs), this will allow us to see that we arent putting
five students who are red in the same general education class.
We look through and when we see a class with a few students with red
and yellow, then we distribute the EAs based on the level of needs.
 How we distribute continued
We make sure that the EAs are placed with students who
have higher needs and would be more of a challenge in
the general education class.
Our goal is to have these students in the general
education class either 49-70% or 80% of their time in
school. They will have small group with one of the Special
Education teachers, or the students high in the red with
more needs will be placed in the SSN (Significant Support
Needs) room.
 Great Sites to check out
http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/teach.index.htm
http://idea.ed.gov/
http://www.nea.org/home/18605.htm
https://www.edutopia.org/blogs/tag/teacher-educators?
gclid=CLPT_L-Bo9MCFZCLaQodZNoA5g