This study examined California's efforts to foster preservice preparation of early intervention assistants through a certificate program offered by community colleges, the Community College Personnel Preparation Project. Community colleges enrolled in the project must meet a series of requirements, including infusing early intervention assistant…

The issues regarding teacher shortages and retention have been a concern for many years within the special education field. School districts have struggled at not only maintaining quality teachers to fill positions for special education programs, but also to retain these quality teachers in their districts. As an additional challenge, many…

Over 5 months, the authors evaluated the efficacy of electronic assistive technology (the BrailleNote mPower BT-32 notetaker and Tiger Cub Jr. embosser) and associated software components in creating curriculum materials for a middle school Braille-reading student. The authors collected data at the beginning and end of the study from parents,…

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) "Special Education at a Glance," which includes a copy of the "Guide to Planning and Assessing School-Based Special Education Programs," provides in a single document, information about the special education population at each Montgomery County (Maryland) public school, including…

Much attention has been paid to the "highly qualified" requirements for teachers in the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), but the paraprofessional provisions have stayed out of the spotlight. With the deadline for compliance approaching, it is important to turn everyone's attention to these provisions to see who they affect, what new…

The purpose to this study was to provide a comprehensive analysis of per pupil expenditures at a specific school site. The objectives were threefold. The first objective was to determine per pupil expenditures, the second question was to determine variations in expenditures on a per student basis and finally, the third question in the study was to…

The authors share the results of a national study of the changing roles of paraeducators who work in inclusive classrooms. The purpose of the study was to add to the research with respect to paraeducators' voices, given that so few studies have been published between 1996-2006 of paraeducators in inclusive classrooms. In addition, the results of…

As a Response to Intervention approach begins to be utilized in our schools, there is growing confusion regarding the role of teacher assistants/paraeducators in this problem solving approach. In this article, the authors share survey and interview data from their experiences working with Rhode Island teacher assistants--both in leading teacher…

To address the need for teachers with the skills to effectively teach English Language Learner (ELL) students, Portland State University (PSU) collaborated with three Portland area community colleges and 17 school districts to develop a program to recruit and prepare bilingual/bicultural teachers. This nine-year-old program provides a career…

Paraprofessionals are increasingly utilized in inclusive art classrooms to support the art production of students with disabilities. For this descriptive qualitative study, we observed 18 paraprofessionals across elementary, middle, and high school inclusive art classrooms in Central New York. The findings suggest that these support staff act as…

To support teachers with their classroom responsibilities, schools have increasingly turned to paraprofessionals for assistance, with the largest numbers of paraprofessionals employed in the field of special education. Owing to this important role that paraprofessionals now perform in the education of children with disabilities in the USA, we set…

This study explores key indicators of special education service delivery based on responses from 92 special educators and 36 administrators in 19 Vermont schools. Special educators reported on their work, the work of paraprofessionals they supervised, and 103 students with disabilities who were receiving one-to-one paraprofessional supports within…

Over the past few decades, the role and presence of the paraprofessional, that is the educational assistant, within the classroom has evolved from providing teacher and student support to involving greater decision-making concerning instructional content and practice. The extent to which this shift is impacting students with a variety of mild to…

Project SUCCESS sought to recruit, train, and support paraprofessionals and mid-career adults in high-need teaching fields (math, science, special education, bilingual) in transitioning to teach in high-need schools. A 27-minute video was produced to supplement reporting of project evaluation outcomes. This paper highlights procedures and…

In this article, the author, a university faculty member, shares her experience of teaching young children as she tries to see if she can practice the ideas she has been advocating to university students. She narrates how she adjusted her classroom routines as Alex, a new child student, arrived. She demonstrates how she and her assistant manage…