This dissertation focuses on teacher and staff perceptions of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) implementation at the middle school level. MTSS implementation at the secondary level proves to be a daunting task which includes many complex facets. Ensuring that teacher and staff insights are sought out and taken into account when implementing…

High-quality early childhood (EC) education has emerged as a national priority alongside the need for ensuring practitioners have the knowledge and skills to support the learning of all children, including those with disabilities and delays (Snyder et al., 2012). To create high-quality learning environments that meet the needs of children…

In the fall of 2021, the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) requested assistance from the Region 8 Comprehensive Center in finding research-based strategies for effectively recruiting teachers, especially teachers of color. This request stemmed from Indiana's growing difficulty in fully staffing schools, especially in high-need areas. This…

In response to local districts' needs for certified teachers with community roots who understand local schools and students, the authors developed an innovative alternative route for paraprofessionals based on a traditional bachelor's program. Their goals were to provide a rigorous, research-based program that allows paraprofessionals to get a…

Time is a highly contested resource in today's schools. Proactive physical educators and savvy school administrators are acknowledging the benefits of devoting time during the school day, beyond regular physical education classes, for students to engage in physical activity with an eye toward enhancing student's health and well-being, as well as…

Extended school year (ESY) is a summer program available for students with disabilities who meet specific qualifying criteria. Teachers are often hesitant to accept the position of the ESY teacher due to the ambiguities and demands of the position. The purpose of this article is to briefly share the impetus and focus of ESY and give special…

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…

This guide is designed to facilitate self-studies of planning and implementation of state-required summer reading camp programs for grade 3 students who scored at the lowest level on the state reading assessment. It provides a template for data collection and guiding questions for discussion that may improve instruction and increase the number of…

This article describes the need for career education support personnel in the planning and implementation of career education programs. In Project CHOICE (Comprehensive Humanistic Oriented Implementation of Career Education), the career specialist was available as a full-time resource person and proved essential to program implementation at the…

This report is intended: (1) to give local program developers and guidance practitioners an adequate base for conceptualizing and improving their programs for support personnel; (2) to provide a resource of concepts and of information about other programs; (3) to offer interested readers a comprehensive interdisciplinary coverage of the field of…

The Office of New Careers (ONC) was established in July 1969, to help program agencies realize the full potential of the new careers concept as a service-delivery vehicle. However, without knowledge of the current, general status of the New Careers basic component, the Office could do little to begin its leadership role. Therefore, the element of…

Describes the development of the Springfield School Volunteers program, the make-up of the paraprofessionals, their duties, and the rewards of the program. (AN)

This document contains seven reports on the first phase of EPDA programs in Utah which were intended to train people from the community to make a substantial contribution to the classroom. Carbon County School District provided a program for 19 teacher aides which included college courses and assignment to experienced classroom teachers. The…

Recent policy and program analyses conducted by our Center make it clear how few support staff are full participants at school and district tables where major school improvement decisions are made. It is not surprising, then, that student support staff are not appropriately accounted for in school improvement planning and implementation. This…

The primary purpose of this book is to serve as an overview for teacher aide training. It is an attempt to gather and relate introductory information necessary for the orientation and education of auxiliary personnel in education. Some of the areas given primary consideration are: (1) human growth and development, (2) history of education, (3)…