Essay On Paraprofessionals

According to Bennett (2014), paraprofessionals are “school personnel employed to assist professional staff in carrying out educational programs and otherwise helping in the instruction of students’ with disabilities” (Bennett, 2014, p. 96). The paraprofessional plays an important role of the special education team for students’. They are the second set of “eyes and ears” in the classroom, are often the ones who have the most interaction with special education students’, and they can be pivotal to the success of inclusion and/or mainstreaming students’ with disabilities. As a teacher, it is so important to understand the role and responsibilities of the paraprofessional in the classroom so they can be utilized in the appropriate manner. In my experience, I have seen teachers’ abuse these roles and

I have seen teachers use paraprofessionals as a secretary and/or administrative type person (i.e. correcting papers, making copies, decorating classroom walls, washing down desks, etc.). I think some of those tasks are okay when there is down time; however, paraprofessionals should be utilized and treated as an important part of the special education team. Teachers’ need to make sure that they are thoughtful in preparing materials for paraprofessionals to use, assign meaningful tasks that help students grow and be successful academically, provide necessary training, and be mindful when taking on the supervision role. According to Bennett (2014), to promote the success of paraprofessionals in the classroom it is important to present a written description of the person’s job responsibilities, identifying the specific types of activities individuals need to complete, give paraprofessional opportunities to actively work with students, and not place paraprofessionals in the position to engage in initial teaching or make instructional decision without input from