Paraeducator News and Views
This website is designed to help paraeducators and educators together build the future.
Paraeducator
Recognition in February
School districts and other
educational agencies are encouraged to recognize the contributions of
paraeducators during the month of February in observance of Paraeducator Recognition
Month. The original proclamation recognizing paraeducators was issued by Iowa’s
governor in 2006. Governor Chet Culver in January of 2008 extended and
expanded the proclamation to be observed throughout the entire month of
February.
According to the Iowa Department
of Education 2009 Condition of Education Report, some 10,270
paraeducators (“aides”) were employed in Iowa public schools in the 2008-09
school year. That number, reported in full-time equivalencies (FTEs), reflects
an increase of 62 percent over the 6,341 FTEs reported by public schools in the
1997-98 school year. “As the educational system in Iowa evolves to face the
challenges of the 21st century, paraeducators will continue to play a critical
role in helping to meet those challenges,” says Norma Lynch, Iowa DE consultant
for paraeducators.
A resource designed to assist
schools in implementing effective paraeducator practices can be found at http://www.iowa.gov/educate/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=773&Itemid=1297.
Entitled Guide to Effective Paraeducator Practices, Edition II, the
document can be reproduced in unlimited numbers. Contact: Norma Lynch, Norma.Lynch@iowa.gov, 515-281-6038.