Things a Paraprofessional Should Know
As a paraprofessional, or teacher's aide, you are responsible for aiding the teacher with the mundane tasks of her classroom, such as passing out supplies, dealing with behavior and making copies of assigned classwork or homework, while the teacher focuses on running the classroom. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, your role is quite important. Between 2008 and 2018, the BLS website projects that job openings in your field will rise by 10 percent.
-
Duties
-
Your duty is to aid the teacher in the classroom, whether it is with one special-needs student, a group of special-needs kids or mainstream pupils. Ask your supervising teacher for her opinion of your role in the classroom, whether it is to circulate the classroom supervising the children's activities or to sit and monitor the activities of one pupil. Your building principal may also assign you responsibilities in the cafeteria or on the playground. In that event, your job is to walk around those areas to make sure children are playing, eating or interacting in a safe manner and to provide appropriate discipline to those who are not, whether it's reporting them verbally to the principal, writing referrals or assigning detentions. Each school has its own procedure. Find out through speaking with the principal what your school's protocol is.
Chain of Command
-
Know your chain of command. If you encounter problems with a student or your teacher, talk it over with your supervising instructor first. As the Student Teaching website says, it is she who is the leader in the classroom. She approves the lesson plans as well as the task delegations in that domain. If there is a task that she has assigned you that you don't think you will perform successfully, discuss that issue with her. If you have demonstrated aptitude coupled with an excellent work ethic in other areas, she might relieve you of your duties in that area and assign you elsewhere without complaining about you to upper management. Do not go to the one in authority over her, whether it is to the department chairman or the principal, unless you have tried speaking with your teacher.
-
Building Layout
-
Familiarize yourself with the layout of the building. As the Paraprofessional Orientation Manual says, you should know the location of safety equipment, such as fire hydrants, extinguishers and alarms, as well as fire escapes. Study the building plan, taking note of these places. In addition, ask your teacher or principal for a tour of the school. If they are too busy, choose a lunch-break period to take one yourself. This will alleviate the frustration of trying to locate these places once a fire drill or actual emergency situation has arisen and you become responsible for directing the students to safety.
School Safety Rules: Other Adults
-
Ask the teacher or principal about the procedure for admitting unknown adults into the building and giving them access to children. The school may require that you ask for identification, such as state ID, a specific color key chain or a password, that confirms the individual as the parent, guardian or designated adult to pick up that child. If you don't know this policy and you let someone in whom school officials do not know, the school could still hold you responsible for violating the rule, and you could incur repercussions.
Child-Specific Information
-
If your assignment is specific to a child, or a group of students, know what his (or their) special needs are, if any. Ask the teacher or principal what your school's procedure for accessing this information is, then follow it. Take notes on the information, but assign the students a fictitious name that only you will know. Take the notes home, and store them in a safe deposit box, well out of the reach of any other household members. Maintain the strictest confidentiality, in obedience to the Privacy Act of 1974, which protects information unique to a student. Failure to follow this act could cause your school to become liable and in turn cause you to lose your job.
Union Issues
-
As a teacher's aide, you should also know if your job affords you membership in a union, what the dues are and when that organization holds meetings. You should also be familiar with bargaining issues, as well as personnel issues such as your right to have representation present during a performance-related disciplinary meeting. Ask your union representative to explain these rules once you receive notification that you are officially a union member with the district.
-
