Sped Summer Blog Hop: Week 4 Working with Paraprofessionals

Welcome to Week 4 of the Sped Summer Blog Hop!  

If you have missed any of the past Sped Blog Hop posts, click below for the link you need!

Week 1:  Scheduling

Week 2:  Classroom Setup

Week 3:  Back to School Forms

This week, as you can see above is about working with paraprofessionals (classroom assistants, instructional assistants, etc).  You know what they don't teach in college coursework?  How to work with paraprofessionals!  That's okay...now...I've had several years of experience working with paraprofessionals and I feel pretty good about it now.  However, when I was straight out of college and many of the people I worked with were older than me and had been in special education longer than I had been, well, it was intimidating to say the least.  I have some tips for all of you to make working with paraprofessionals a little more comfortable.

1.  Respect!  Respect their opinions, their ideas, their perspective.  Some of my paras have been in special education or working with students for years and some have been brand new.  Everyone brings something special to the table, everyone has their own life experiences and it is so important to get to know the people that will be working with you day in day out.  Ask your paras what they expect, what they think the job they are doing is about, for suggestions, and listen to what they say.  You never know when someone is going to know or say something that is going to be useful for your students.

2.  Leave the adult "stuff" at home.  As mentioned in number 1, everyone is bringing something different to the table.  We all have our own "junk," but keep in mind that you and your paras are here for the kids, first and foremost.  If there is something going on, be sympathetic, be a good listener, but be professional and keep the student first and deal with the other stuff at a different time.  

3.  Communicate! If there are things going on at home or school, keep those lines of communication open.  My para and I shared a room and were able to talk daily, but there have been schools I've been in that I don't see my paras all day, everyday and at the end of the day everyone is ready to go home.  Schedule a time to meet with your staff.  This allows you time to address needs and gives your staff time to express needs.  This is something I would actually like to implement myself this year.  Sometimes, I have great intentions, but really need to be more intentional...this is my year for that! :)

3.  Training.  As a special educator, you have the experience and the schooling that qualifies you to teach students with special needs, but your para probably will have little to no training.  It is important to train your para about various types of disabilities (depending on your student needs), how to handle specific situations, and set clear expectations about what he/she should be doing with the students or in the classroom.

4.  Teach expectations!  We teach expectations to our students, but sometimes we leave this important piece out when training an adult.  Sometimes we assume that because the para is an adult working with children with special needs, that they should know or already have the same expectations as you.  That is not always the case.  I have and have had WONDERFUL paraprofessionals, but it can be confusing for that person if I have not told them what I expect of them.  At the beginning of the year it would be a good idea to have a meeting or conversation with your paras to outline your expectations.  

{You can find my paraprofessional handbook that lays out all of the expectations at my TPT store: The ABC Guide to Paraprofessionals' Roles and Responsibilities.  This is one of my best sellers and has great reviews!}

Another great way to communicate your expectations is with your schedule.  I shared in Week 1 of this blog hop my para schedules.  Decide who/what/where you want your para to be with based on IEP needs and then schedule that para accordingly.  I like to include 4 columns on the paraprofessional's schedule:

Time

Location (classroom, resource room, lunch room, playground...)

Students needing assistance

Task to complete

I have found this to be extremely helpful and important!

Example of Paraprofessional Schedule

5.  Paras sometimes get the dirty job...seriously!  From changing diapers to cleaning vomit...the life of a para can be less than glamorous.  Show your appreciation to your paraprofessional.  Switch places with them sometimes.  Don't ask your para to do anything you wouldn't do yourself and give them a break sometime and actually do those less desirable jobs yourself!

Paraprofessionals are so important in the special education classroom!  I am so happy for the amazing paras (that are in da buildin'-----Amy---that one's for you!) and I couldn't do my job without them!!

Kim

Hop along to Pam's blog!! 

http://www.mrspspecialties.com/

Special Ed. Summer Blog Hop: Week 2 Classroom Setup

Welcome back for Week 2 of our Special Ed. Summer Blog Hop!

 I hope you enjoyed Week 1 and you were able to learn something that you could take back to your classroom this upcoming school year.  This week's topic is...

As a special education teacher, there are some years that I spend more time in the resource room and other years I spend most of my day out in the general education classrooms doing coteaching with my partner teachers.  This year, much like last year, will be a healthy dose of both settings.  The setup of my resource classroom is based on student needs from year to year.  There are some years when I only really need a table to do small group intervention and then there are years (like last year)  that I had several grade and ability levels of students all in the resource room at one time and I had to design and then redesign my room to help manage my classroom effectively.  

Any way the needs of my students go, I feel like there are areas of my room that are important to incorporate.  The graphic above gives an outline to this post and what I consider when setting up my classroom from year to year.

 I think that my room needs to echo the design of a "regular" classroom as much as possible.  I believe that helps my students feel more comfortable and makes my room feel like all of the other classrooms in the building.

Here is a list of the areas that I like to incorporate into my classroom setup:

1.  Small Group Intervention 

2.  Individual Work Station (or 1:1 Teaching Area)

3.  Computer/Technology

4.  Library

5.  Cool Down Space

6.  Teacher Area

7.  Materials/Classroom Supplies

My classroom is currently in a state of disarray for summer cleaning, so I will post updated pictures of my room closer to the beginning of the school year.  Until then, I'll share with you an easy way I have found to "work" on my classroom without actually being there or moving the first piece of furniture.  By using PowerPoint, I can design my classroom at home :)  The gray pieces are furniture that can be moved around and the blue pieces are fixtures in my classroom that must stay where they are.

I do not overdecorate in my classroom for a couple of reasons.  First of all, I personally do not like a lot of "stuff" around.  If I do not really work on keeping my space organized then I can quickly let it get out of control.  So, if I start with only what is actually need then I am less likely to create a mess of all of the cutesy, teacher things laying around.  Second of all, the students that I work with typically have diagnoses of ADHD or ADD, anxiety, autism, learning disorders, etc. and limiting the visual clutter in my classroom helps them become less distracted.  I have been in rooms that even I can't concentrate in because of all of the posters on the wall or bright colors.  Now, I'm not hating if you are that type of teacher, it just doesn't work for me and typically doesn't work for my students.  Neat, labeled and organized helps my students and help teaches them to be that way by example.  

Lastly, classroom management is extremely important in the resource room.  Beyond setting up high expectations, clearly outlined rules, and a structured environment, a good behavior management and incentive program has always been helpful in my classroom.  I have students for a very short period of time during the day, but we have a LOT to get done in that amount of time.  It is important that each and every minute is used efficiently and effectively.  A visual behavior system has been useful to implement in my resource room over the years.  

In the past I have used a clip chart system with students earning a point if they stay on green for the class.  

I have also used a class store.  This worked well for me last year, because my reading program incorporated points and I used the reading points and behavior points as currency to shop from the store.  

This year, I have a few different ideas that I promise to share with you as the new school year gets closer!

To find out more about how others setup up their classrooms, hop on to the next blog: