Paraprofessionals
Who Are Paraprofessionals and What Do They Do?
Paraprofessionals are a vital part of the classroom team with a wide range of responsibilities and skills.
Teaching
Opinion
A 'Communication, Action, Reflection' Cycle Makes a Teacher-Paraprofessional Relationship Work
Three educators share ideas on how to make a teacher-paraprofessional relationship work, including through constant communication, planning, and reflection.
Teaching
Opinion
Tips for Working With Classroom Aides
Four educators share tips on how teachers and paraprofessionals can work effectively together, including by maintaining regular daily communication and providing professional-development opportunities.
Teaching Profession
Paraprofessional With 'Gentle Spirit' Dies at 27 From COVID-19
A former high school athletic standout and homecoming king, Pedro Garcia III “could connect with anybody,” no matter the language, said a teaching colleague in Cozad, Neb.
Teaching Profession
When Strikes Happen, Teachers' Aides Have the Most to Lose
School support staff members, including paraprofessionals, can go unpaid when schools are closed—meaning they had more at risk during statewide walkouts than full-time teachers.
Teaching Profession
Washington State Taps Paraeducators to Fill Special Education Teacher Shortage
A new law creates a streamlined path for instructional aides, who already have deep experience working with students with disabilities, to gain teaching credentials.
Equity & Diversity
Bilingual School Staff Who Want to Teach Face Bureaucratic, Financial Barriers
With the demand for bilingual educators on the rise, a new report explores the kinds of hurdles that make it difficult for multilingual classroom aides to make the transition to becoming teachers.
Teaching Profession
Report Roundup
Paraprofessionals
Teaching assistants significantly contribute to student achievement, particularly in disadvantaged schools, according to a new study presented this month at the annual conference of the National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research.
Teaching Profession
Colleges Seek Out Future Special Ed. Teachers
Through new offerings and partnerships, education schools are looking for ways to bring more prospective candidates into the field.
Teaching Profession
Training Gains a Toehold for Instructional Aides in Special Education
Crucial for assuring that school inclusion takes place for students with disabilities, these workers have long been left out of the loop on professional development.
Education
Appeals Court Rules Against Muslim Instructional Aide in Ohio District
A district had grounds to dismiss an imam from his middle school job for disregarding orders to stop leaving school early to conduct services at his mosque, a court says.
Federal
AFT to Senate: Keep Paraprofessional Qualifications in NCLB Rewrite
The union says that removing the requirements for paraprofessionals in Title I schools could harm quality.
Education
Court Upholds Search of School Aide's Desk in Child Sex-Abuse Case
Maryland's highest court upheld a police search of an instructional aide's school desk for evidence of inappropriate contact with a student.
Teacher Preparation
Opinion
Michelle --- being a teacher assistant
Michelle --- being a teacher assistant, a substitute teacher, a long-term sub, a teacher's aide, etc. are all good alternatives to full-time teaching, if you can survive financially. Your academic achievements and volunteer experiences are excellent building blocks, but subbing, etc. places you directly in a public school classroom environment with 20-30 kids, other teachers, and administrators. So, the comparability to a full-time teaching position is very close. It is your job never to let someone make you feel like a second-class citizen. When you are serving in these alternative titles, the district depends upon your commitment and excellence just as much as if you were the full-time teacher. Try to meet the principal, the other teachers, the school secretary, and others who can remember you and your availability. Working only in one district allows you to deepen these contacts; however, it will limit your range of opportunities, so I would always suggest diversifying among at least 2 or 3 districts.
Teaching Profession
Most Aides Eligible to Return to Duty This School Year
Teachers may have another year to pass muster, but the deadline is past for the nation’s paraprofessionals.