In the United States, people often feel like they need to choose between pursuing a conventional four-year college degree or working, leaving millions of people with no opportunity to achieve the professional and economic advancement that comes with a bachelor's degree. What if this is a false choice? Apprenticeship Degrees offer a hybrid option…

While there is a plethora of research on the benefits of positive teacher/student relationships, the experiences of the paraprofessional with students is understudied. Paraprofessionals are a vital part of the education system and spend an extensive amount of time with a wide range of students on a daily basis. This qualitative phenomenological…

In the United States English learners have performed at lower academic levels than their non-English learner peers (National Center for Education Statistics, 2020) demonstrating the need for a system that supports the academic growth of English learners in the general education classrooms. At a local level, the researcher has observed the limited…

The Texas Education Agency launched the Grow Your Own (GYO) grant program in 2018 to encourage districts to develop or expand existing high-quality education and training courses for high school students and to support district-employed paraprofessionals (including instructional aides and long-term substitute teachers) to pursue certifications…

The Texas Education Agency launched the Grow Your Own (GYO) grant program in 2018 to encourage districts to develop or expand existing high-quality education and training courses for high school students and to support district-employed paraprofessionals (including instructional aides and long-term substitute teachers) to pursue certifications…

To promote success among all students, schools hire an array of support staff, professional personnel, and administrators. The majority of a school's budget is dedicated to personnel costs, so when the Legislature cuts education funding, they are also cutting staff. However, changes in staffing have not been consistent over time or within staffing…

For many years a leading approach to teaching at-risk students and reducing school dropout has been the use of alternative schools. There are unique challenges to providing educational services in alternative schools and teachers in those schools need specialized knowledge and skills to address these challenges. The same can be inferred for…

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…

A continued loss of teachers from the already limited supply of those entering the field is likely to create a teacher shortage as student populations continue to rise. Because the supply of teachers does not meet the demand, it is necessary to consider the reasons that teachers leave the profession. The problem addressed in this research study…

This qualitative case study examined the inclusion program of students receiving special education services in a general education mathematics classroom at an exemplary middle school in the southern region of Texas. This study sought to identify the best practices of a highly effective middle school mathematics inclusion program. This study…

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…

The focus of this qualitative research study is the examination of academic interventions implemented by special education behavioral teachers, special education behavioral paraprofessionals, and general education teachers who work daily with students with emotional disturbance. "Which academic interventions did special education behavioral…

This paper describes an initiative designed to address the various problems that paraprofessional school personnel face in becoming certified teachers. Personnel directors from the Amarillo Independent School District, Texas, met with college personnel to discuss problems in helping teaching aides become certified in shortage areas. They…

The report covers the first two years of the 3 year Alternatives for Paraprofessional Training (APT) project. The project addresses the need for training paraprofessionals who currently are working with young handicapped children in rural and urban areas of Texas. APT provides onsite competency based training for paraprofessionals through a…

This booklet contains 10 job descriptions formulated from an analysis of the job performance of 684 workers in Texas day care centers. Five of the job descriptions are teaching positions while the other five are considered administrative. Each of the job descriptions, as well as the career progression and individual training records, are defined…