Paraprofessional Training - Foundations of Best Practices

The Irvine Unified School District offers training for paraprofessionals (aka instructional assistants) on all of the following subjects:

• Foundations of Best Practices
• Classroom/Time Management and Instructional Content and Practices
• Autism and Social Skills
• Challenging Behavior and Positive Behavior Supports
• Effective Reading and Math Instruction
• Cultural Proficiency / Competency and ELL Students
• Data Collection and Health Care

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Paraprofessional Training

Module B: Foundations of Best Practices

Friday, October 19th, 2012

Notes / Information taken from the training:

What is a paraprofessional?

A special education worker who is not licensed to teach, but performs many duties both individually with students and in the classroom (Terri Mauro, About.com Guide)

The Role and Responsibility of the Paraprofessional:

- To assist the teacher and students in achieving individualized IEP goals and objectives that are set up through the IEP team.

- Observe the students to give input.

- Assist in maintaining a safe and healthy learning environment.

- Provide input to during an IEP when appropriate.

Role and Responsibility of the Supervising Teacher:

- To assure that the students are moving toward achievement of individualized IEP goals and objectives.

- Plan and prescribe the learning environment and instruction for the student.

- Train paraprofessionals in the specifics of the instruction.

- Evaluate student progress and monitor the effectiveness of the paraprofessional's implementation of the instructional strategies.

- Provide input to administrator regarding paraprofessional evaluations.

Categories of Disabilities:

- Autism (AUT)

- Deaf- Blindness (DB)

- Deafness (DEAF)

- Hard of Hearing (HH)

- Intellectual Disability (ID)

- Multiple Disabilities (MD)

- Orthopedic Impairment (OI)

- Other Health Impairment (OHI)

- Emotional Disturbance (ED)

- Specific Learning Disability (SLD)

- Speech or Language Impairment (SLI)

- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

- Visual Impairment (VI)

- Established Medical Disability (EMD)