Resources

The Demanding Classroom is a blog run by husband and wife team Sara and Richard Finegan and they have put together a great series of posts on paraprofessionals.

You can view all of their paraeducator posts at this site, a few of which are highlighted below:

I went over to YouTube tonight to look for paraeducator videos- I was only able to find one, but it is a good one from the National Education Association. Watch Arthur Goff explains how he became a paraprofessional and tell about some of his experiences:

Anyone else willing to video yourself talking about the importance of paraprofessionals? If you do, post it to YouTube and let us know!

In last month's newsletter we mentioned an online paraeducator survey that is part of a study underway and hosted at three major universities in Arizona, California, and Florida.

Here is an announcement from the survey administrators:

A Survey of Paraeducators

Your opinion matters to us! Are you a paraeducator who works in a classroom where students with disabilities are educated alongside of their peers without disabilities? What you do and how you work with the children and the teachers is the subject of a study underway and hosted at three major universities in Arizona, California, and Florida! Co-principal investigators Ann Nevin and Ida Malian attended our conference in Albuquerque. Those who attended their session gave feedback on a previous version of the survey which they said was easy to follow!

Take the Paraeducator Survey here

If you have any questions or want to add any details, please contact Ida Malian or Ann Nevin.

The Iowa Department of Education and Kirkwood Community College have graciously allowed us to share this wonderful video that offers a sneak peek into the daily life of a paraeducator.

The Education Support Professionals division of the National Education Association has made available two excellent publications that you can download or view online.

The NEA Paraeducator Handbook

The NEA Paraeducator Handbook acknowledges the important role that paraeducators play in the educational system.

From the Handbook:

This Handbook is intended as an information source for paraeducators to give them a strong and accurate sense of the increasing nation-wide recognition that they are full-fledged members of the professional education team.