Community college early childhood education programs prepare students for a career path that enjoys plenty of demand, although that's at least in part due to low wages that make hiring and retaining good workers a challenge. That challenge has become more acute during the COVID-19 pandemic, given the literally hands-on nature of the work. Demand…

Colorado has a significant shortage of special education teachers, particularly within rural areas. This article will compare two grant-funded recruitment and training projects drawing connections from the current research base in training and retention. High-Leverage Practices were infused into these projects to support authentic assistive…

The purpose of this study was to determine if certain variables predicted whether educators dropped out of a year-long, voluntary, professional learning program and whether participant characteristics predicted their attitudes and behaviors at the end of the program. Special educators volunteered to participate in the year-long program with their…

To capture the essence of the sense of belonging for first-generation students (FGS) within an academic unit of study in higher education, this qualitative inquiry used portraiture to provide answers to four research questions. Q1: How do FGS make meaning of belongingness in an academic unit? Q2: How do FGS describe the academic unit's climate…

A small group of midsize land-grant institutions in the western United States responded to a survey on what tools they used for troubleshooting, what activities they accomplished using the tools, and who performed their troubleshooting. Most respondents use subscription-manager administration tools, email programs, electronic resource management…

Given that paraeducators are increasingly utilized to deliver special education services, the need for their quality preparation has come to the forefront. The authors address how standards set expectations for appropriately trained paraeducators through the use of specific knowledge and skills, offer a process for revising an existing preparation…

Personnel standards are the foundations for how states and nations approve a program, engage in systemic assessment, and provide effective professional development to its early childhood professionals. However, despite the extensive use of paraprofessionals in early intervention/early childhood special education programs, there is a lack of…

The objectives of this study were to investigate types of supportive school services received and factors related to provision of these services. We conducted a cross-sectional study to describe the school experience of males with Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophies. Study subjects were identified through the Muscular Dystrophy Surveillance,…

Under the supervision of a licensed early intervention provider, paraprofessionals play an indispensable role in implementation of home and community-based services to infants and toddlers with developmental delays or disabilities and their families in Colorado. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 requires that…

Examines the feasibility of developing training programs in the Colorado community college system for paraeducators (i.e., technicians who provide personal care, instructional services and behavior management to students with disabilities and remedial needs) based on a survey of directors of special education, teachers, and personnel directors.…

This document discusses various aspects of the training and utilization of "teacher aides" (used here to refer to the paraprofessional, lay assistant, nonprofessional, teacher helper, assistant teacher, or auxiliary personnel whose work may include "all those functions the non-certificated person might perform in the educational…

This document contains 21 addresses, case studies, and other conference presentations, most of them by representatives of the state departments of education and state universities in New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arizona, Colorado, Arkansas, and Texas: "Measuring Educational Progress"; "Teacher Aides--Who Needs 'Em?"; "Training of…

The materials in this teaching guide represent the first quarter of a community college program designed to teach paraprofessionals how to tutor in an adult literacy program. Techniques for teaching reading and English as a second language are included. A pretest of paraprofessional knowledge of reading and a questionnaire for paraprofessionals…

The materials in this teaching guide represent the second quarter of a community college program designed to teach paraprofessionals how to tutor in an adult literacy program. Techniques for teaching reading and English as a second language are included. The first section of this workshop includes information for tutors on the principles of…

The instructional part of Trinidad's Follow Through program is based on the High Scope model developed by the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation, a nonprofit organization headed by Dr. David Weikart. Now in its second year, the program emphasizes the development of individualized conceptual competence. Certain kindergarten through grade…