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Nicole Beck

Paraprofessional Assignment

September 29, 2013

Part 1

The paraprofessional that I observed works in a middle school life skills classroom.

The paraprofessional that I observed has the same schedule each day and spends most of

the day with one particular student. The student that she spends the majority of her time

with is nonverbal and in a wheelchair. In the morning she works with him on his reading

and his workboxes. She will also assist him to ride an exercise bike. In the afternoon, she

assists him at lunch and during P.E. During 7thhour, she takes one of our students to a gen

ed classroom. If there are schedule changes or if the paraprofessional needs to do

something differently for the day, my cooperating teacher will talk with her about the

changes, or, if she is not there, she will leave her schedule for her so that she knows exactly

what she is supposed to be doing and when. My cooperating teacher and the

paraprofessional in our classroom have worked together for the past few years and they

have developed a very good relationship. They are able to openly communicate with each

other and discuss any concerns that they have with each other. The role of the

paraprofessional in this setting is basically the same as the teachers. She guides the lessons

and assists the students in any way that she can.

Part 2

After interview my cooperating teacher, I was able to find out a lot more information about

the paraprofessionals in the school that I am working at. My cooperating teacher does not

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hire her paraprofessionals. The Special Education director and the principal meet with and

interview the candidates. Once the paraprofessionals are hired, my Co-Op assigns their

duties and oversees their position. The paraprofessionals have no formalized training.

They receive CPI training if needed and they have to pass a test online in order to get the

job. Kelly said that her primary role is to make sure that all union things are abided by. For

example, she has to make sure that they are receiving the right amount of breaks and that

they have enough time for their lunches. She also makes sure that they are comfortable

with working with the students and that they are safe when working with the kids. Since

she is not a supervisor, she does not provide evaluations to her paraprofessionals but she is

able to verbalize her feedback to both of them. Kelly said that it is very important for her to

show by example and to make sure that they have an open line of communication so that

she can express any concerns that either of them has. In order for her paraprofessionals to

provide feedback to her, they can either talk to her personally or they can talk to the

principal about any concerns that they have. Kelly said that the most important thing about

working with paraprofessionals is to have mutual respect and open communication. They

do a lot of work throughout the day and it is important to show appreciation toward them.

Part 3

I think that the main role of the paraprofessional is assist the teacher in the classroom and

to supervise and educate the students in their classrooms. Kelly had told me that the

paraprofessionals in their building do not meet their cooperating teachers until the first

day of school. I think that in order to be as successful as possible, teachers and their

paraprofessionals should meet several times before school starts to discuss the way things

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will run. I also think that additional training would be helpful for paraprofessionals. For

example I think that they should have CPR training and I believe that they should be

trained in whatever content that they are expected to teach. If they show up on the first

day and have to teach a child something that they no nothing about, it is not fair to either

the paraprofessional or the student. I think that it is very important for the teacher and

their paraprofessionals to have an open line of communication. By having that, they will be

able to discuss any concerns or questions they have right away. Being comfortable with

each other is very important when it comes to having a successful relationship. There are

many ways to facilitate an open line of communication. Having weekly meetings with each

other can help both the teacher and the paraprofessional stay updated on what is going on

in the classroom and with the students. In any relationship there are going to be

disagreements or arguments and I think that the best way to address those issues is to

address them as soon as possible. If there are differing opinions, bringing in a third party

outsider to give input may be helpful. Another thing that both parties should keep in mind

is that their relationship is a partnership and in order for it to be as successful as possible,

both people need to be willing to compromise. Welcoming opinions and suggestions from

each other will also help to facilitate a strong partnership.