pennsylvania’s state personnel development grant tom corbett, governor ronald j. tomalis,...

Pennsylvania’s State Personnel Development Grant

Tom Corbett, Governor Ronald J. Tomalis, Secretary of Education Tom Corbett, Governor Ronald J. Tomalis, Secretary of Education www.education.state.pa.uswww.education.state.pa.us

Making a Difference: Educational Practices That Work!

Tom Corbett, Governor Ronald J. Tomalis, Secretary of Education www.education.state.pa.us



Pennsylvania’s Paraprofessional Pennsylvania’s Paraprofessional Training InitiativeTraining Initiative

From Pilots to Statewide Scale-Up and Implementation

OSEP Project Directors’ National Conference Arlington, VA

March 6-7, 2012

Shatarupa Podder: Pennsylvania Department of EducationJanet Sloand: Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network



PremisePremiseIDEIA 300.156(b) requires that all paraprofessionals are appropriately trained and supervised, in accordance with State law.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s intention was to assure that paraprofessionals providing assistance to students with disabilities in Pennsylvania’s classrooms are appropriately trained and competent.

Stages of Community Stages of Community ReadinessReadiness

Community Readiness Model: Edwards, Jumper-Thurman, Plested, Oetting & Swanson (2000)

= SIG I= SIG II

= SPDG/SIG III



No Awareness/DenialNo Awareness/Denial• No orientation to school procedures when

hired• May not know who their direct supervisor is,

or even have one• Paid minimum wage or low hourly wages• May not have benefits• Minimal or no training provided• Present only when students are there– no time to collaborate with adults

• May be placed one-on-one with the most difficult students

• May not know who or how to ask for help



Vague AwarenessVague Awareness• Stakeholder group (October 2001) – Reviewed current training efforts, training

needs and competencies– Helped develop the competency checklist,

vetted by SEAP and adopted as Pennsylvania’s voluntary Pennsylvania measure of paraprofessional competencies

• Training of paraprofessionals not a priority for school districts; no plans or funds available



Vague Awareness Vague Awareness continued

• PaTTAN work group charged with developing trainings to enhance skills of paraprofessionals– Developed after-school videoconferences

disseminated to all intermediate units and any interested school districts



Pre-Planning: Review DataPre-Planning: Review DataApproximate number of paraprofessionals employed by LEAs

2001-2002 2009-2010

Special Education Teachers 18,14722,248 (+23%)

Paraprofessionals 11,47221,440 (+87%)



Pre-PlanningPre-Planning• Funded trainings through the federal State

Personnel Development Grant (SPDG)– After School Videoconferences– Summer two-day regional conference– Weekend Seminar – all expenses paid!

• Developed online courses aligned to paraprofessional competencies

• NCLB, IDEA 2004: followed by Chapter 14– 3 paths to become qualified

• Increased awareness and HR involvement



Fall 2001: SIG I - Preparation, Fall 2001: SIG I - Preparation, Initiation Initiation • Recognition of Problem

– Paraprofessionals are an integral part of IEP teams

– Receive little or no professional development to perform their duties

– Changing role from clerical and routine to instructional assignments

– Increasing number of paraprofessionals employed by LEAs



SIG I: Preparation, InitiationSIG I: Preparation, InitiationPA Focus Group PA Focus Group Raise awareness and develop concrete ideas for improvement: BSE, PaTTAN, community colleges, teachers, paraprofessionals, IU and SD administrators

Goals •Identify current training efforts for paraprofessionals•Identify training needs of paraprofessionals•Identify competencies for paraprofessionals•Develop a system of recognition for paraprofessionals demonstrating acquired competencies in the area of special education and related services



SIG II: ImplementationSIG II: ImplementationWork in process with high enthusiasm

• Created intensive workgroup to develop trainings on topics identified by Focus Group

• Developed after-school video conferences and weekend seminars for paraprofessionals

• State recommended professional development series leading to volunteer credential

• Offered after school, video streamed and available online for LEAs and paraprofessionals at http://pattan.framewelder.com

http://pattan.framewelder.com/





Feedback from SIG II activitiesFeedback from SIG II activities• Increasing ground swell of awareness and

need for highly-skilled paraprofessionals to support the changing instructional requirements of students with disabilities– Enthusiasm extremely high from paraprofessionals– Increasing awareness of need and importance of

highly skilled paraprofessionals, by paraprofessionals and administration

• Training focused on hot topics as identified, in addition to systematic alignment to the knowledge and skills in the Credential



SPDG/SIG III: StabilizationSPDG/SIG III: Stabilization• Partner with community colleges to align

courses with state requirements – pre-service strand

• Partner with LEAs in understanding the competencies and offering the online courses to paraprofessionals – in-service strand

• Provide resources and technical assistance to LEAs and IUs to develop administrative tools for supporting paraprofessionals



SPDG/SIG III: StabilizationSPDG/SIG III: StabilizationGOAL - All paraprofessionals meet requirements and have access to meaningful professional development

•Training plan now focused on systemic alignment to knowledge and skills in the Credential

– Specific training modules developed to build knowledge and skills needed to become qualified

– Offered after school, video streamed and available online for LEAs and paraprofessionals at http://pattan.framewelder.com





SPDG/SIG III: StabilizationSPDG/SIG III: Stabilization• Webinars, video conferences and

presentations targeted to supervisors and administrators on how to use the credential and competencies

• Promulgated FAQs and Penn Links to assist in implementation



Stabilization: RecognitionStabilization: RecognitionPennsylvania invited to host the 29th National Conference of the National Resource Center for Paraprofessionals (NRCP) -

Keyed In, Logged On, Charged Up! Paraprofessionals Connecting with

21st Century LearnersMay 12 - 14, 2011

Harrisburg



SIG I, II and SPDG – Increase in SIG I, II and SPDG – Increase in legislative requirementslegislative requirements• NCLB 2002 required Title I

paraprofessionals to be qualified• IDEA 2004 and implementing regulations of

2006 required special education paraprofessionals to meet state requirements

• Pennsylvania State Board of Education included standards for special education paraprofessionals in state regulations, 2008



Regulations – StateRegulations – StateChapter § 14.105. Paraprofessionals. (2008)Instructional paraprofessionals shall meet one of the following qualifications effective July 1, 2010:

•Have completed at least 2 years of postsecondary study•Possess an associate degree or higher•Meet a rigorous standard of quality as demonstrated through a State or local assessment



Regulations – State Regulations – State continued

Instructional paraprofessionals, each school year, shall provide evidence of 20 hours of staff development activities related to their assignment



Chapter 14 Paraprofessional Chapter 14 Paraprofessional RequirementsRequirements• Defined paraprofessionals– Instructional and Personal Care Assistants

• Requirements– Instructional: Qualifications and 20 hours of

professional development, annually • Have completed at least 2 years of

postsecondary study• Possess an associate degree or higher• Meet a rigorous standard of quality as

demonstrated through a State or local assessment

– PCAs: 20 hours of professional development, annually



PA Credential of CompetencyPA Credential of CompetencyCouncil for Exceptional Children (CEC) • Promulgated performance-based standards for

special education paraeducators in 2000• List of basic Knowledge and Skills needed to

work successfully in educational environmentsBureau of Special Education • Endorsed use of these CEC standards for the

initial preparation and practice of special education paraeducators

• Checklist format adapted from Twin Falls School District #411, Idaho, Paraeducator Portfolio Plan & Competency Checklist, 2002



PA Credential of Competency PA Credential of Competency continued

CEC will shortly release updated and expanded standards.

# 5: Learning Environments and Social Interactions# 6: Language# 7: Instructional Planning# 8: Assessment# 9: Professional and Ethical Practice# 10: Collaboration

Standards:# 1: Foundations of

Special Education# 2: Development

and Characteristics of Learners

# 3: Individual Learning Differences

# 4: Instructional Strategies

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500

5000

84

475

896749

726

1128

4923

2867

11/03-6/04 7/04-6/05 7/05-6/06 7/06-6/07 7/07-6/08 7/08-6/09 7/09-6/10 7/10-6/11

Total Credentials Issued: 11,848Total Credentials Issued: 11,848



PaTTAN TrainingPaTTAN TrainingParaprofessionals must work with their supervisors to ensure that courses are acceptable •Online courses for 10 Competency Standards – Certificate of Attendance•Video Conferences – Downlinked to all IUs and any interested school districts•Webinars – Use any computer with internet connection•Downloadable power points and training notes from PaTTAN website for numerous topic areas



PaTTAN Training PaTTAN Training continued

• DVDs available from PaTTAN KoP to school districts

Many IUs have developed their own courses for professional development

PaTTAN TrainingPaTTAN Training

*Attendees are counted for every training attended



Scale up and StabilizationScale up and Stabilization• Stakeholder meeting in November 2010

– Impact of initiative in LEAs– Professional development opportunities to in-

service special education paraprofessionals– Building a pool of qualified special education

paraprofessionals: pre-service



Scale up and Stabilization Scale up and Stabilization continued

• SPDG mini-grants to 5 Community Colleges to revise/create curriculum aligned to the competencies required for “qualified” paraprofessionals– New RFP out for additional community

colleges to participate in second round of mini-grants



Data System ResponsibilitiesData System ResponsibilitiesPDE • Maintains data on

credentials issued• Reports number of

qualified paraprofessionals employed

• Monitors LEAs compliance with professional development requirement

LEAs• Maintain and report data

on qualified paraprofessionals employed

• Responsible for providing access to relevant professional development

• Maintain data on compliance with professional development requirement

Conceptual Framework of Conceptual Framework of ImplementationImplementation

Fixsen, Naoom, Blasé, Friedman, & Wallace, 2005

Source

Communication Link

DestinationINFLUENCE

Feedback



Framework for Implementation of Framework for Implementation of Paraprofessional CredentialParaprofessional Credential• Source: Targeted training aligned with

the Pennsylvania competencies - knowledge and skills as outlined in credential

• Destination: LEAs, administrators and paraprofessionals

• Communication Link: accessible online modules and information results in fidelity of content



Framework for Implementation of Framework for Implementation of Paraprofessional Credential Paraprofessional Credential continued

• Feedback: Supervisors are skilled at assessing paraprofessionals on competencies

• Influence: Students have access to qualified paraprofessionals for instruction



Stakeholder Buy-inStakeholder Buy-in• PDE uses the Special Education Advisory

Panel (SEAP) as the entity to provide input and feedback on paraprofessional training issues

• SEAP and Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) initially vetted and supported the Credential of Competency

• PDE annually updates SEAP, PSEA, Pennsylvania Association of Intermediate Units and LEA administrations



Contact InformationContact Information

Shatarupa Podder333 Market Street, 7th Flr

Harrisburg, PA 17126Phone: (717) 772-2646

Fax: (717) [email protected]

Dr. Janet Sloand200 Anderson Road

King of Prussia, PA 19406Phone: (610) 265-7321

(800) 441-3215Fax: (610) [email protected]

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Tom Corbett, Governor

Pennsylvania Department of Education

Ronald J. Tomalis, Secretary

Carolyn C. Dumaresq, Ed.D., Deputy Secretary

Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

John J. Tommasini, DirectorBureau of Special Education

Patricia Hozella, Assistant Director

Bureau of Special Education

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