Taken From: What I Wish I Knew My First Year Teaching Special Education Written by: Melissa Giles

 Know expectations ◦ What training opportunities are available for you and the paraprofessionals on a yearly/monthly/weekly basis? ◦ Can paraprofessionals receive pay for coming in early/ staying late a minimum of one day per week in order to communicate changes in the program, scheduling, students, and other questions/concerns? ◦ Would the principal or other school workers like to be involved in these meetings? ◦ Will the school district pay paraprofessionals for summer hours to be involved in the set-up of the room and it’s organization? (This will not only give you a hand with everything, but will also add a level of responsibility to the paraprofessionals as a sense of investment in the decisions and choices)? ◦ Do paraprofessionals participate in staff meetings or school-wide trainings? ◦ What has worked in the past? What has not worked in the past? ◦ What expectations does the school have on data collection? ◦ Who is allowed to write in communication notebooks between school and home? ◦ Are you able to meet with paraprofessionals individually a minimum of three times per year to discuss goals/expectations/feedback/progress/etc.?

 Ask for a copy of the paraprofessionals’ handbook, if one exists, so you can ask questions such as: duties paraprofessionals may have in addition to working with your students (such as lunch or recess), systems for sick days and finding substitutes when they are sick, and timesheets.  It is important to know how many breaks are legally allowed through individual contracts. Make sure to schedule breaks into the paraprofessional’s days. If breaks are not scheduled they can easily be forgotten. Discuss the importance of flexibility – for both you and the paraprofessionals’.

 Set high standards  Ask for input  Know the comfort level of the paraprofessionals in planning

 Frustrating and time consuming. The way you schedule your room may vary depending on the disabilities of your students and the ratio of paraprofessionals to students.  Work on individual children’s schedules. Post on student’s desk. Make posters to hang on wall for specialist time.  Scheduling paraprofessionals ◦ Schedule Breaks and Lunches ◦ Match paraprofessionals according to their personalities and energy level ◦ One-on-one support  Consider burn-out rates  Assign multiple paraprofessionals.

 Give each paraprofessional a copy of their schedule  Post all schedules in a central location in your room ◦ misplaced ◦ a substitute needs to reference it ◦ you need to locate someone quickly.  Dedicate a clipboard for each of your students ◦ Individual student’s schedule ◦ Copy of their general classroom schedule ◦ General educators should also receive a copy of student’s schedule

 Design a spot for paraprofessionals to work with the students they are assigned to ◦ This will reinforce the value you place on the paraprofessionals you work with, demonstrating how you are not just having paraprofessionals work with students as a time-filler, but as valued instructors.  Devise a system to communicate to everyone when the noise level is too loud. Some classrooms use visual reminders, such as a stoplight, with yellow

 File folder activities  Reinforcers (such as books, bubbles, and other toys) that may help motivate students while paraprofessionals are working with  Files of each subject addressed in the IEP  An empty file for completed work in order to collect finished papers to review and write on prior to sending them home.  At the end of the day paraprofessionals should put the clipboards back in the student’s bins

 When a paraprofessional works directly with a student on an IEP, it can be helpful for all, to have a list of objectives taken directly from the student’s IEP.  You can do this on a spreadsheet, listing all the objectives on the left and five rows of boxes on the right for data to be collected, one time per day.

 Create a warm environment  Start with a get to know you activity  Have an agenda  Be respectful of time  Discuss expectations  Show where items are located  Review schedule  Discuss confidentiality

The most important component of effectively directing paraprofessionals in your classroom is to communicate.

 Not always easy to find a common time  Be creative- talk while waiting for the bus  Keep a binder of what was discussed  Empower paraprofessionals  Build a team  Discuss communication styles  Discuss conflicts

 Encourage the person to go directly to the person who they are having a conflict with  Be a support if you are asked

 Act as a good role model with everything you do  Work directly with all your students  Informally stop by and observe students that are placed in the mainstream  Make a point to observe behaviors of students to best problem solve how to handle the behavior as well as to help train the paraprofessionals working with the student to enable them to be more independent and confident  Act as a support and walk the paraprofessional through challenging situations, enabling him or her how to better be able to independently handle the situation in the future

Once a good working relationship is established, you will be able to dedicate more of your time and energy to your students