1. Paraeducator/
Teacher Teams:
Two-Steppin’ in the
Right Direction!
Dawn White
Texas’ Statewide Access to the
General Curriculum (AGC) Network
• Statewide leadership in addressing identified areas of need in
special education services is provided through eleven
functions and five projects directed by various ESCs. Their
primary responsibility is to provide leadership, training,
technical assistance, and the dissemination of information
throughout the state. The ESCs coordinating these statewide
leadership functions and projects are responsible for the
implementation of many of the state’s continuous
improvement activities.
• Though both functions and projects provide statewide
leadership, ESC function leads establish and coordinate a 20-
region network. This ensures ongoing communication among
ESCs about state-level needs assessment processes and
planning, as well as implementing and evaluating statewide
activities. Project leadership focuses on a specific activity.
• Education Service Center, Region 20 provides statewide
leadership in the area of Access to the General Curriculum
(AGC).
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2. Joint Projects
• Joint projects of AGC Network and TEA:
– Online Module: Standards-Based IEPs
• Revisions/Updates in progress (likely
for 2012-2013 school year)
– Annual Goal Development Q&A
Document
• Updates posted February 2012
– LRE Q & A Document
• Updates in progress
– Preschool Least Restrictive
Environment/Settings
Joint Projects
• Joint projects of AGC Network and TEA:
– Co-Teaching Guidelines
• Posted December 2011
– Paraprofessional Guidelines
• Final edits in process (likely posted for
2012-2013 school year)
– Specially Designed Instruction vs.
Differentiated Instruction Resource
• Development in process; Scheduled
to be posted 2012-2013 school year
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3. Joint Projects
• Everything is free!
• www.esc20.net/agcnetwork
ACCESS TO THE GENERAL
CURRICULUM
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4. What is AGC?
• Access to the general curriculum
– Aligning instruction with enrolled grade-
level content expectations
– Using accommodations and
modifications when needed (or as
required by a student’s IEP)
AGC vs. Inclusion
• Inclusion
– Every student is, first and foremost, a
full member of the school community
– Every student has a right to be
included (as much as possible) with
“typical” peers
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5. Inclusion vs. Hosting
• Hosting: Student is “there” but not
included in some aspects of the class.
• Inclusion: Student is included in all
instruction and activities.
Continuum of Services
• IEP teams must determine the
appropriate “setting” (least restrictive
environment) for the student (at least
annually)
• The decision must be made individually,
based on the student’s needs
• Not all students will need “full” inclusion
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6. AGC vs. Inclusion
• AGC takes place • Inclusion takes
in ALL settings place in general
education (and
community)
settings
Engagement
• Shows responsibility for all students
• Show that the student is a full
member of the
classroom/community
• OUTCOME:
– More successful students
“Working with Paraprofessionals” Educational Leadership
– Teaching All Students, October 2003, Volume 61,
Number 2, pages 50-53
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7. Micah Fialka-Feldman
• “Mainstreaming is like visiting.
Inclusion is belonging.”
The Evolution of Special
Education
• In the same school
• In the same classroom
• In the same classroom
& learning the same content
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8. WHAT IS MY ROLE IN AGC?
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9. What is my role?
• Ensure all students are truly
included and have access to the
general curriculum
Strategies
• What are some ways you can
positively impact a student’s access
to the general curriculum?
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10. Teachers’ Thoughts…
• Relief!!!!
– However, assumptions abound…
“Working with Paraprofessionals” Educational Leadership
– Teaching All Students, October 2003, Volume 61,
Number 2, pages 50-53
Assumptions…
• Paraeducators have specialized
training for working with students
with disabilities
– And this training takes place BEFORE
the paraeducator is assigned to the
classroom/student
“Working with Paraprofessionals” Educational Leadership
– Teaching All Students, October 2003, Volume 61,
Number 2, pages 50-53
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11. Assumptions…
• The paraeducator is working from a
plan created by the special educator
“Working with Paraprofessionals” Educational Leadership
– Teaching All Students, October 2003, Volume 61,
Number 2, pages 50-53
Students’ Thoughts
• Parent/Caretaker
• Friend
• Protector from Bullying
• Primary Teacher
“Perspectives of Students with Intellectual Disabilities About
Their Experiences with Paraprofessional Support”
Stephen M. Broer, Mary Beth Doyle, & Michael F. Giangreco
Exceptional Children, 2005, , Vol. 71, pp. 415-430
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12. Thoughts?
• How do you think your students feel
about the supports they receive from
you? Do they understand your role?
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13. Leadership
• “Leadership isn’t a mysterious art
practiced by only a select few. It is
the daily response of every man and
woman who wishes to make a
positive difference in the world and
make it a little bit better place as a
result of their efforts.”
• “You Don’t Need a Title to Be a Leader”
– Mark Sanborn
What is my role?
• Ensure all students are truly
included and have access to the
general curriculum
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14. YOUR PLATE
Have To Do Want To Do
Have No Control Over Have Control Over
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15. The Varied Roles of
the Paraeducator
• What roles do you play during the
work day?
% Time Per Task
Task/ “Group” 1:1 Overall
Category Paraeducators Paraeducators “Average”
instruction 49.72% 37.43% 47.34%
planned by
professional
behavior 13.60% 21.58% 19.05%
support
self-directed 18.37% 21.58% 17.29%
supervision 7.37% 6.59% 6.84%
of students
clerical 8.77% 4.14% 4.40%
personal 0.72% 5.13% 3.40%
care
other 1.32% 0.56% 1.26%
Source:
“Questionable Utilization of Paraprofessionals in Inclusive Schools: Are
We Addressing Symptoms or Causes”
Michael F. Giangreco & Stephen M. Broer
Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities – Volume 20,
Number 1, Spring 2005 (pages 10-26)
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16. Use of Time
• How can you use your self-directed
time to assist students with
accessing the general curriculum?
The Tree
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17. Activity vs.
Accomplishment
• Activity • Accomplishment
– Filling time without – Improving the lives
impacting other of people with
people whom you interact
“You Don’t Need a Title to Be a Leader”
by Mark Sanborn
Have To Do Want To Do
Have No Control Over Have Control Over
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18. Influence
• Do you shape your life and career?
• Do you affect the quality of others’
experiences?
• Do you inspire or influence others?
“You Don’t Need a Title to Be a Leader”
– Mark Sanborn
Resume vs. Legacy
Resume Legacy
What you’ve accomplished What you’ve contributed
Results Relationships
The money you’ve made The difference you’ve made
The impression you leave The impact you have
Your career Your organization, family, and
community
Self-improvement Helping others improve
From “You Don’t Need a Title to Be a Leader”
by Mark Sanborn
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19. Legacies
• “In my experience, the marks in life
we leave – our legacies – are most
often left not in stone and steel, in
history and politics, or poetry and
literature, but in the lives of other
people.”
• “You Don’t Need a Title to Be a Leader”
– Mark Sanborn
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