Working with Para-Professionals

**This post originally appeared on A Special Sparkle on July 21, 2013.  It has been modified/updated a bit.**

One of the scariest things for me my first year was not the kids, but working with my paraprofessional.  I mean, she was old enough to be my mom (Sorry Ramona!) and she had been working in that classroom and school for at least 5 years.  

 When I went into my classroom for the first time she had her (very large) desk in the back corner with some stuff hanging on the wall near it.  The first thing I did was move her desk.  I had to make sure the room was mine and the way I wanted to be setup so that we could have a successful year.  We never met until the first day that teachers had to be in the building and all of the paras came to eat breakfast with us. Of course I was late to that breakfast because I got a flat tire (Go me!!)

 Our first year was crazy, but we became good friends and in the past 11 years, I have learned a lot.  I am no longer working in that school, I now work in a different district with a different group of paraprofessionals (all who I love dearly), but what I learned my first year (and every year after that) has been invaluable.   The paraprofessionals I currently work with are great!  We are friends and even though they sometimes get very motherly on me, I still wouldn't trade them for anything.  With that being said, here are a few things you should keep in mind when working with paraprofessionals.

Respect

 Treat your paraprofessional with respect.  Don’t ask him or her to do anything you wouldn't do. If they are expected to change a diaper, then make sure you jump in a change a few yourself.  

Expectations

 Let the paraprofessionals know what your expectations of are them.  I find it best to write it out.  That way you can always refer to it.  I made a plan a few years ago that I was told was very helpful.  You can check it out here.  Feel free to adapt it and use as needed.  Also, while blog stalking browsing, I read a great post on Make Take Teach where Julie explains how she structures student time in inclusion using a curriculum matrix.  This also provides that paraprofessional with a plan.

Open Communication

Keep the lines of communication open.  I can not stress this enough.  The ladies I work with are my lifeline at school.  If I am out, they are the reason the classroom runs smoothly.  There are often evenings where we are on the phone discussing something that happened during the day or texting reminders to each other.   This year I am planning on having a communication center where I can post notes for the day and a “ Ask Caitlin” notebook so they can write things down that I need to address at one of our meetings.  I also want to include a calendar in this area. 

Ask for help

 Ask the paraprofessionals for ideas and suggestions.  They are a wealth of information and sometimes will have an idea that you never thought of.  This can be for anything from a lesson idea, behavior modification or a suggestion on how to word an email. 

Have FUN!!

Most importantly, have fun!   

Here are some links to some other sites that you may find helpful information on working with paraprofessionals. 

• Paraprofessional Survival Kit
• Kindergarten Paraprofessional Handbook
• Working with Paraprofessionals
• SPeNSE Fact Sheet
• Advice for working with Paraprofessionals

Back to school Learning Ahoy style!

So, what do you think about the Who's that Blogger contest? One of my friends (who is also a fellow blogger, check out Not2Crumby: Teaching is a Piece of Cake) found my picture quite hilarious.  Have you figured out which one is me yet? Make sure you go try to win all of that free stuff and enter the giveaway for the Amazon gift card!

<-------- This cute graphic came from Crystal over at The Library Fox.  It is me!! I am so excited to finally get my own mini-me that I just wanted to use it somehow!

 I wrote a post over at TeachHub about getting ready for back to school, but it has not been posted yet. I feel like the information is important now since we are all in back to school mode, so I am sharing it here. I, of course, write a bit different on Learning Ahoy then I do for TeachHub, so there are some changes from the original.

Back to school time for special educators is a time where we can attempt to prepare ourselves for a year full of IEP goals, data collection, and of course fun. There are some things that I do(and am scrambling to do right now with the new position) to help make for a successful school year.

 1. Update my teacher binder: I have wrote about my teacher binder on TeachHub and it is something that I still continue to use. Every year I tweak it a bit and this year is no different. This year I bought a new binder (yay for the lovely school aisle at Target) and some new tabs, however it all still sits in a bag. I have updated my Student Information sheet to include texting (using Remind101) and I will give it to parents to fill out at Open House. I also include IEP information sheets in my binder. If you would like any of these you can find them by clicking  here. (They are FREE!!!)


 2. Update data binder: I found last year that my data section was just to huge to be included in my Teacher binder, so data got its own binder. I update my data binder to include my new students with copies of their IEPs, goals, and data collection sheets.


 3. IEP Goals: Speaking of IEP goals, I like to review my IEP goals and put each students goals on to one sheet. Another teacher I know even color codes hers by domain area. Having all of the goals on one sheet enables me to quickly look at a goal instead of flipping through 50 page IEP documents(or 75 pages....). I can also share these goal sheets with specials teachers(Art, Music, PE) and paraprofessionals so that they can also easily see what the student is working towards. I copy parent/teacher/therapist input forms that I use when we are writing the annual IEP and stick them in the back along with the copies of the data collections sheets (It is always great to have extras on hand so you are not running to the copy while trying to assess). There are some great ones available as a free download from Not2Crumby on Teacher's Pay Teachers. (Do I keep shamelessly plugging one of my best buddies blogs in here?  Yes, she is a newly wed and just started blogging and really needs some teacher blog stalker follower love.)


 4. Organize, Organize, Organize: I have admitted in the past how unorganized of a person I am, but I am really trying hard. I have found a few small systems that work for me, but I am still overwhelmed at times. I have finally come to the conclusion that to help me become more organized (which I feel will help me teach to my greatest potential) I need to purge.... big time. When you don't have as much stuff, then there is not as much to get messy. Do you really need to keep those copies of art orders from 1975 or lesson plans that you wrote in college?

 If you are looking for more information about getting ready for back to school as a special educator or just need some more info about special education check out the series going on over at A Special Sparkle.




 

Working with Paraprofessionals

Over at A Special Sparkle we recently started a series for first year special education teachers.  I wrote a post about working with paraprofessionals that I thought you might be interested it.  Click on the image or here to check it out!  I would love to know your suggestions for making a lasting partnership with the paraprofessionals you work with,

My first (non introduction) post on A Special Sparkle

Well, my first post on A Special Sparkle is up. It is all about Using Apps for Organization. I can always use help in that area so I thought you all might enjoy knowing what I use. You can read the article by clicking here.  I would love to know if there are any apps or computer programs that you use for organization.  Any little bit helps!!





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