I am one lucky special education teacher because I have a fantastic group of paraprofessionals who are dedicated to helping children!
Whether you call them teacher assistants, paraprofessionals, instructional aids, support staff, or paraeducators the people in your room are your most valuable resource.
I have been teaching special education for the last 5 years and over that time period I have worked with 18 paraprofessionals! I first started teaching immediately after I finished college and I wish I had been required to take a course about managing the other adults in my classroom because it is hard work, and it can really make or break the atmosphere in your room.
So after 5 years of teaching I have developed a system which I am sharing with you! Think of it as the college class on management that you never got to take.
To purchase A Special Education Teacher's Guide to Managing Paraprofessionals click here.
I will be focusing on 5 major sections:
1. Command Wall (sharing information)
2. Organizing Materials
3. Sharing Knowledge
4. Write Down the Expectations
5. Getting to Know You
1. Command Wall
I have been in 4 different classrooms during my time as a special education teacher and in each classroom I created a "Command Wall" (yes- I made up that term).
My Command Wall contains general information for the staff in my room including the school year calendar, monthly calendar, the recess / lunch duty schedule and information that is more specific to my classroom.
I put each of the sheets below in a page protector sleeve, when I want to write a note I use an expo marker and wipe the note clean when it is no longer needed. I like the page protectors because I can just replace the page protector once it gets old or stained instead of printing and laminating each sheet again.
I have a note sheet where I can leave a generic note for all staff members to see. Honestly, all of my paraprofessionals have lockers- so I am more likely to leave them a sticky note on their locker, but if I have a message for everyone I will write it on the note sheet.
On the upcoming events sheet I normally write school wide events such as a field trip, a testing date, a date and time for an assembly. It helps my paraprofessionals be aware of where a class might be, or how their schedule might change.
The daily changes sheet gets used when I ask one of my paraprofessionals to do something other then their normal schedule. I might ask a paraprofessional to service a student at a different time because of a special event. Daily changes almost always happen in my room when someone is absent.
It is important for everyone in my room to know when someone is not in the building. When I find out a related service provider is absent I write their name on the who's out chart this way my paraprofessionals are not waiting for a related service provider with a child. Also if a classroom teacher is out who is the general education teacher for students on my caseload I do let my paraprofessionals know. Having a substitute can throw a student off and being aware of that ahead of time allows my staff to be proactive.
2. Organizing Materials
When you are setting up your classroom you should consider creating a space for your paraprofessionals to work with students and a place to hold their belongings. When I first started at my school I really didn't have a space for my para's personal belongs however, when I shared this problem with my school principal I was able to score these lockers for free!
My school's awesome administrative assistant was able to get these from the middle school. Your storage solution can be anything from crates for each person, to hooks, to cubbies but don't be afraid to ask for ideas and assistance with purchasing and installing storage solutions. The picture above is when we first got the lockers. My paraprofessionals love them and personalized the outside with sticky notes and magnets and the inside with pictures and locker decorations. Creating a space for my paraprofessionals to store their personal belongings in the room really created a better environment in my classroom.
My teacher assistants work with students at shared tables, I know some special education teachers who provide their paraprofessionals with desks or a shared desk however, this just doesn't work in a my small room.
In addition to providing a place for personal belongings you want to be sure to keep shared materials organized and within reach. My paraprofessionals often need to access school supplies such as scissors, pencils, and glue. In my current classroom I have school supplies in labeled drawers.
If you are short on space you could always hang your supplies in a shoe organizer. This picture was taken a few years ago, before I created cute labels with fonts and clip art.
If you are extremely lucky your paraprofessionals may be able to complete some clerical work for you. I want to use every free minute of their time so they can be productive and I can go home at the end of the day. In order to stay organized with this I keep a three drawer bin with the labels To Do, In Progress, and Finished. In the morning or during my planning period I put things that need to be copied, cut, or sorted into the To Do drawer. If my paraprofessionals finish the job they move it into the finished drawer with I check and empty each day. However, if the job was not completed it goes into the In Progress bin keeping the projects organized and off my tables.
I also keep an ongoing to do list on my desk. When I first come in each morning I write down everything that is on the top of my head to do and if a student is absent so something changes I am able to provide my teacher assistants with a list of meaningful tasks to accomplish.
3. Sharing Knowledge
It is so important to be on the same page as your paraprofessionals! I have found the best way to be on the same page is to have weekly meetings with the whole team. I know this can seem like an impossible task but ask your special education director, principal, or administrator if there is anyway your team could meet once a week as a group. My team meet every Friday afternoon - we found this time to be beneficial because most times students are doing fun activities where support is not needed. My school's administrative team has been very supportive of our meeting time, it hasn't been canceled in the last five years.
What do we talk about each week? Well I have an agenda items sheet on the Command Wall where I ask for questions or suggestions.
If there are not any suggestions I talk about upcoming school wide events, things I learned at professional development, or I use the opportunity to teach skills such as using technology. There are a list of suggestions included in the pack.
4. Write Down the Expectations
I have worked with paraprofessionals who have had no experience and those who were very seasoned. I have found it best to write down the expectations so every member of your team is on the same page.
My school didn't have expectations written down so I created a teacher assistant handbook. Print the handbook and keep a copy near the Command Wall so the handbook can be referenced. Print out an extra handbook and keep it in your desk in case your get a new paraprofessional in the middle of the year (trust me it will happen).
Sections I covered in the handbook are general information, responsibilities, special education teacher responsibilities, confidentiality, managing behaviors, instructional strategies.
5. Getting to Know You
I have found to become a strong team it is important to get to know the other members of the team. One thing that my team does is celebrate each other's birthdays. It is a nice tradition that has made us closer.
We write our birthdays up on the Command Wall and on the Friday closest to your birthday we bring in your birthday treat of choice. The person who celebrated their birthday last brings in the treat and a card for the next birthday.
My administrators have been supportive and helpful with creating opportunities for team building with in my room. In the beginning of the year before the students come I like to spend some time meeting as a team. During this time I ask my paras how their summer was and spend some time sharing about what we are looking forward to in the new school year.
During this time I give my paraprofessionals a small gift to show my appreciation for all of the work they will do to help me throughout the year. Last year I made paraprofessional survival kits.
You can read my post about these survival kits and download the printable for FREE here
To purchase my Special Education Teacher's Guide to Managing Paraprofessionals click here
Do you have any tips for managing the adults in your room? Let me know in the comment section below.
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