Resources

4 Strategies to Help Paraprofessionals Feel Supported and Included- With targeted training for paraprofessionals, administrators can set their schools up to successfully support students in special education.

CEC Learning Library: Effective & High-Leverage Practices for Paraeducators - Free online and on-demand program was designed to provide paraeducators with a learning opportunity focused on their unique role and how that aligns with specific high-leverage practices (HLPs). In this FREE program, you will be introduced to four areas of high-leverage practice: Collaboration, Assessment, Instruction, and Social/Emotional/Behavioral. The courses are broken down into phases created for each of these four areas. 

Core Competencies for Special Education Paraeducators | Council for Exceptional Children - The Core Competencies for Special Education Paraeducators represent the required knowledge and skills all paraeducators need to safely and effectively support students with disabilities in K-12 settings. Paraeducators work in general education and special education classrooms, nonclassroom school settings (e.g., cafeteria, playground), and community-based learning sites supporting an entire classroom of students or individual students with disabilities. Paraeducators provide individualized services to students with disabilities through a range of tasks directed by the instructional team, consisting of licensed professionals responsible for planning and implementing specially designed services for students with disabilities.  

Paraprofessionals: What you need to know | Understood.org - Paraprofessionals are not certified teachers, but they are vital members of a school’s support staff. They are credentialed education professionals who work alongside and under the direction of a certified teacher or school professional. 

Paraprofessional Series | LRC-South - This professional development series is designed to provide paraprofessionals with effective strategies to help them better support students with disabilities in inclusive classrooms. The content is organized into five modules that are aligned to the six professional standards for paraeducators as outlined by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). Specifically, this series provides an overview of inclusive education and Disability Studies and provides paraprofessionals with practical tools and resources to help them remove barriers to inclusive education and to promote access for all students in schools. 

Paraprofessionals (Updated!) - Center for Parent Information and Resources - A special education paraprofessional or paraeducator, sometimes called a teacher’s aide or assistant, can be a real golden right-hand helper to the classroom teacher. Generally speaking, the para provides support to the teacher and especially to students with disabilities in the classroom who need modified instruction or assistance, in keeping with their IEP. Many a student and teacher rely on the skills and presence of paraeducators at their side.