Despite legal mandates and evidence of predictors of success in transition, there continue to be poor outcomes for students with disabilities as compared to students without disabilities. This article describes the first steps of a quality improvement project, including a needs assessment and description of the current constraints of transition…

To increase parent involvement and meet the need for adult help in classrooms, a preschool director implemented a practicum in a church-owned, nondenominational preschool serving 250 children from an upper-middle-class community in the Northeast. The intervention offered a wide range of parent involvement activities, including the formation of a…

The paper provides guidelines for establishing and operating teacher aide programs in special education. Chapter I considers legal aspects of using paraprofessionals with emphasis on the stance of the Nebraska Professional Practices Commission. A second chapter outlines the roles and duties of teachers and aides, offers sample job descriptions for…

A training needs assessment instrument was developed by a school district (Lubbock, Texas) with 59 campuses that each plan and provide site-based staff development. The instrument was designed to obtain information regarding self-perceptions of educators' efficiency level in various professional teaching competencies/skills, and their…

An evaluation was conducted of a Michigan pilot project that sought to expand the activities of aides concerning promotion of least restrictive environment for students with disabilities. The evaluation consisted of a historical summary of the project, on-site observations, and analysis of follow-up evaluation instruments submitted by 49 general…

A rationale, background information, and a discussion of methodology are presented for a needs assessment process intended for pilot implementation at Western Piedmont Community College (WPCC). This process was designed to assess the local need for paraprofessional programs in the Human Services area, i.e., Early Childhood Associate, Mental Health…