As the teacher shortage continues to sweep the country, Grow Your Own (GYO) programs designed to attract and prepare more individuals into the teaching ranks are gaining national attention, particularly those targeting special education. Assisting paraprofessionals who work with students with disabilities has long been considered as one strategy…

Public school leaders struggle to find teachers to fill the vacancies in America's classrooms. The teacher shortage crisis is a result of many overlapping causes which include the disparity in resources to attract potential teachers, a declining enrollment in teacher preparatory programs, a lack of teachers certified to teach critical shortage…

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…

This report examines what is known about enrollment, discipline, and support staff in alternative schools, among other objectives. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) analyzed data on alternative schools for school years 2013-14 and 2015-16 from Education's Civil Rights Data Collection (most recent years available); visited selected school…

The Teacher Data Use Survey can be used to query teachers, administrators, and instructional support staff about how teachers use data to support instruction, their attitudes toward data, and the supports that help teachers use data. This guide provides step-by-step instructions to help district and school planners implement the survey. The…

As health care institutions in the United States respond to shrinking budgets and nursing shortages by increasing the use of unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP), school nursing practice is changing from providing direct care to supervising activities delegated to UAP. Therefore, delegation is a critical area of concern for school nurses. The…

Teachers of students with visual impairments and paraeducators who work with students with visual impairments were surveyed to determine if previous research related to the competencies needed by teachers who supervise paraeducators applied to this subset of special educators. Both groups confirmed the importance of the competencies, but…

This article provides analysis of a site-based professional development model that is grounded in teacher best practices. Developed by the administration and teacher leaders of a racially/ethnically, socioeconomically, linguistically and academically diverse school in the USA, the teacher-centered coaching model described is an example of an…

This study attempted to determine whether parent educators in the Florida Follow Through Model were affected by their work in the program. The following changes in parent educators were studied: (1) Significant increase in feelings of self-esteem, (2) significant changes in teaching behavior, and (3) changes in life style. Self-esteem was assessed…

The use of paraprofessionals to fulfill the program planning functions of the college counseling office has proven effective at St. Petersburg Junior College (Clearwater Campus), Florida. Ideally, these paraprofessionals should be mature adults, have some college experience, and report to the same supervisor as do the counselors. They perform such…

In 1970 the Florida legislature enacted into law a plan to assist public schools to provide adequate guidance services for students and faculty and provided for creation of the position of occupational specialist. The article details the training, duties, and characteristics required in the position and responses to its creation. (AG)

This document reports on a project aimed at developing, implementing, and evaluating a plan for using volunteer classroom aides in the Palm Beach County (Florida) schools as a means for meeting various financial, human, and community needs. The desirability of a comprehensive volunteer plan was presented in a 10-point summary by an ad hoc…

Developed for use in an inservice workshop for occupational specialists in two Florida counties, this manual presents strategies for publicizing the activities of occupational specialists to gain continued public support for their role in school guidance and placement services. A public information program is outlined in the form of specific…

A community volunteer program was developed for Miami Southridge Adult Education Center in Dade County, Florida. The program was designed to serve a variety of needs, including providing remedial training for students preparing to take the General Educational Development examination, providing supervisory and tutorial services for the children of…