Paraprofessional Job Description

Also recognized as a parapro, instructional assistant, or teacher's aide, the paraprofessional functions in relation to the deliverance of concentrated or specialized educational assistance for the teachers and students associated with elementary and secondary educational institutions.

The professionals may also operate in schools that admit early childhood and special needs students. Other work settings available for them incorporate adult education centers, day care centers, vocational education centers, community colleges, middle and senior high schools, etc.

Those established overseas and with a strong command over linguistics including the native or regional languages can take up the opportunity to operate as foreign language assistants, assistant language teachers, or paraprofessional language educators.

Germany, France, and Japan are considered to be the prime placements of lucrative job prospects in this area.

The profile is substantially different from that of a teacher. The personnel may not execute the routine teaching jobs; however, certainly, perform teaching assistants and student supervision duties along with administrative support tasks.

Besides, classroom discipline and control, physical classroom maintenance, student management, directing of independent study, interlingual rendition, interpretation, parent-teacher conference management, invigilation of examinations, and one-to-one tutoring are significant varieties of the tasks handled by them.

There are specific courses and training programs available which enable the aspirants to develop or enhance their skills in recognizing special attention students and identifying the psychological or learning issues along with the educational needs of the students.

Such programs prominently aid in producing versatile and variedly skilled professionals who render crucial assistance to the teaching staff.

Those working under the supervision of special education teachers furnish assistance in performing the instructional and educational activities apart from the general non-teaching undertakings.

They employ peculiar techniques, materials, and educational plans such as the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) which are designed, formulated, and directed by the support or special education personnel.

Paraprofessional Job Responsibilities

• Assisting teachers in their teaching duties and other general responsibilities such as organizing teaching manuals, providing instructional support in media centers, rendering reinforcement activities, etc.

• Overseeing independent/guided practices and following up drills and prescribed activities to ascertain the application of concepts and skills as headed by the instructors

• Preparing the class before the commencement of lectures – patterning, exemplifying, and implementing standardized social and classroom conduct; preparing presentations and projects; exhibiting visual displays and demonstrations; documenting and retrieving system data; photostating/replicating teaching manuals; assisting in cleanup and food routines; etc.

• Exercising crisis management methodologies and stratagems such as the Nonviolent Crisis Intervention (NCI) to determine hostile behaviors leading to conflicts and ensure safety of the people around

• Examining and scoring test papers or class assignments and distributing the results

• Performing clerical tasks such as maintaining student attendance records, filing student information and progress reports, collecting fees, making appointments, drafting school letters, creating newsletters and articles, etc.

• Helping the teachers in counseling parents on the requirements and development of their children

• Recognizing the children with learning disabilities and pointing them out to the teachers

• Helping the teachers and students in executing extracurricular activities and school functions

• Aiding the teachers in rendering additional attention to special needs students

• Ensuring proper care and upkeep of educational materials, equipment, and supplies

Education Required

• High school diploma or GED

• Experience and skills in instructional role, use of technology, and interpersonal communications

• Paraprofessional certificate requiring an associate degree or 48 college credits

Career Advancement

Paraprofessionals can advance to become paraeducators, trainers, special education teachers, or general teachers with related experience and education.

Opportunities are vast but competitive in the special education sector as the professionals need to possess authentic skills, special certifications in physical restraint, behavior management, personal-professional boundaries, etc., including other qualifications suggested by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) to support students with different disabilities.