I am excited to introduce this week’s guest blogger, Jennifer from Sped Prep Academy. She is a special education teacher and coach. Jennifer is here to chat all about how to train paraprofessionals using an assistant handbook!

As special educators, one of the most difficult aspects of our jobs doesn’t have anything to do with the students we work with. Instead, it’s something that isn’t covered in our college courses. Something we don’t receive professional development on. And something that does not come naturally to many of us because our brains are wired to work with students.

I bet you guessed it!

Yep, working with and supporting the adults who work within our departments ( paraprofessionals, teaching assistants) can often be a tough part of the job. But with proper training, for both you and the paras, you will be able to not only lead your staff with confidence but create a true team culture in the process. Let’s talk more about how to train paraprofessionals in special education.

If you’re looking for a paraprofessional training binder, check out this resource!

Why do they need training?

IDEA 2004 allows school districts to use paraeducators to assist in the provision of special education and related services to children with disabilities, provided the paraeducators are appropriately trained and supervised by qualified special education personnel.

Did you catch that?? Appropriately Trained

Unfortunately, only 22% of states have actual professional development programs to assist paraprofessionals in their efforts to attain highly qualified status. That’s only 11 states!

But whether or not your state has a program or not, training the paras HAS TO BE DONE. 

Training the paraprofessionals who work in your room benefits everyone…the district, the teachers, the paras themselves and most importantly the kids. The paraprofessionals are helping to deliver services to students. They are supporting our students who have the most significant needs. They are helping you improve outcomes and meet goals.

So why wouldn’t you train them? But it’s not always as easy as it sounds. You might be asking HOW do I train them? What should I use?

What Should You Use to Train Your Staff?

The most simple answer is to use a para handbook. 

Of course there are many components of the handbook, but by implementing a binder that holds all the information they will need to be successful, you are providing them a lifeline when you can’t be with them.

This handbook keeps all your training materials in one place. This prevents you from having to hunt down resources when they ask for them. There are many binders you can find on the internet that are already made, both free and paid.

If you’re looking for a paraprofessional training binder, check out this resource!

But, if you want to make your own your handbook should include information about:

• Expectations
• Disability Areas
• Roles & Responsibilities
• Confidentiality
• Accommodations & Modifications
• Instruction
• Behavior
• Data Collection

This binder prevents you from forgetting useful information for your paraprofessionals and gives them something they can refer to whenever they need to. It also allows them to read the information when they have time. You can even add more information as the school year progresses to keep training manageable and make adjustments to the binder each year or as the information in it changes. 

Once you’ve gone through the entire binder with all of your staff to ensure everyone is on the same page, it is highly important to provide additional training based on individual need. Just like your students, the paraprofessionals will each have their own strengths and weaknesses. Use the sections within the handbook to go deeper and more intentional with the area your para is struggling with.

Obtain individual data on each para using an informal rubric that looks at their performance as well as a personal questionnaire getting their input on what they need.

Where to Start?

One of the most important and first things you will want to train on is the expectations list. When a paraprofessional understands your expectations and their role in your classroom, they can better meet student needs. Clear expectations allow them to more fully understand how they can help students learn the material and meet curriculum goals.

With effective training, paraprofessionals will communicate better with you and your students. That means they can help and support students with more targeted approaches based on specific students’ needs. They can also adhere more closely to students’ IEPs and offer support that helps them become more independent with their education, behavior, and social interactions. 

Once the expectations are communicated, you can break down topics in any way that works for you and your classroom schedule. You could go through the binder all at one time, dedicate a week or a month to each topic and have mini-trainings throughout the year.

Keep in mind, your paraprofessionals will learn through modeling and experience over the course of the school year, so by the time you go over these topics, they will likely have some knowledge of them.

Now that you have the information you need to train your paraprofessionals, you can work toward creating a team-oriented classroom environment for everyone. When you and your paraprofessionals have good communication and are working toward the same goals, your students benefit and you see results in your classroom.

Want to know more about paraprofessional binders, check out these posts!

Looking for better ways to work with your paraprofessionals, you’ll want to read this post.

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