Join this session to hear first hand from NH educators about the unique partnership between the New Hampshire Department of Education and 321 Insight to ensure that all paraprofessionals in the state have the opportunity to learn job-specific skills, collaborate, and grow. This program, funded by Title II, Part A state funds, aimed to ensure the success of paraprofessionals in ESEA Title schools and statewide, increasing retention, job satisfaction and effectiveness. Paraprofessionals play a critical role in schools, yet often suffer from a lack of access to job-specific professional development. With this in mind, the NHED sought to develop a program to help their paras develop skills to address challenging behavior, build strong relationships with students, and be more effective in their roles. In this session, NH educators and 321 Insight will share best practices and lessons learned from this project, including 3 strategies that you can use now to train paraprofessionals.
Sue Lyons is a former middle school educator, and has been delivering professional development in K-12 schools for over 20 years.