Paraprofessional

Procedures,
Responsibilities, and
Duties

Table of Contents
 Welcome to the Class
 Classroom Duties
 Responsibilities in the Classroom
 How to Support Students in Areas of the Classroom
 Classroom Schedule and Zoning Plans
 Areas of the Classroom
 Rules and Expectations in the Classroom
 Classroom Procedures
 Behavior Plans
 Prompts
 Sensory Needs

Welcome
to the
Classroom!
I would like to say that this is a start to a beautiful year! I am excited to
have you join me in my classroom to help better our student's lives.
Paraprofessionals are very important!
YOU are what keeps our classroom's running.
YOU are what makes the difference to create a smoothly running
classroom and...
YOU help our students retain the skills they are learning.
I appreciate all of the hard work you put into our classroom and lives of
our students. In this binder you will find answers to procedures, duties,
and how the classroom will run.

Classroom Duties
as a paraprofessional
Duties in the classroom include (as taken from job description):

 Maintain student records (IEP goal data, BIP data).

 Prepare and distribute teaching materials.
 Assist in grading student assignments.
 Supervise students during meal time, specials, staffings, field trips,
loading and unloading of buses or car rider, throughout campus,
and playground duty.
 Assist students with toileting and personal hygiene.
 Reinforcement of instruction to individuals and small groups in
various situations and programs
 Behavior monitoring and/or assisting with CPI.
 Direct students into safe learning activities and functions.
 Assist in shaping of appropriate social behaviors.
 Maintain or assist in maintaining an orderly, attractive, and
positive learning environment.
 Other related work-related duties as stated on PCSB website.

Responsibilities
in the classroom

 Setting/Resetting Groups and Schedules

 Assisting in behaviors by following best
practices and methods
 Leading a structured work group. Work groups
in our class include: math skills,
social/emotional skills, life skills, ELA skills,
and independent functioning skills
 Check backpacks in the morning and load
backpacks in the afternoon
 Assist students in gross motor movement
activities
 Assist in toilet training and other independent
living skills

How to Support Students in the

Classroom
 The
following pages are zoning plans. These
schedules will show what you are
expected to be doing during each part of
the day.

Ferguson’s Class Schedule 2021-2022

Day One Day Two Day Three Day Four Day Five
8:00-8:10 8:00-8:10 8:00-8:10 8:00-8:10 8:00-8:10
Breakfast Breakfast Breakfast Breakfast Breakfast
8:10-9:10 8:10-9:10 8:10-9:10 8:10-9:10 8:10-9:10
Math Math Small Math Small Math Small Math Small
Small group? group? group? group? group?
9:15-10:05 9:15-10:05 PE 9:15-10:05 PE 9:15-10:05 PE 9:15-10:05
Music Art
10:10- 10:10- 10:10- 10:10- 10:10-
10:10:40 10:10:40 10:10:40 10:10:40 10:10:40
Math Math Math Math Math
10:40-11:10 10:40-11:10 10:40-11:10 10:40-11:10 10:40-11:10
Science Science Science Science Science
11:10-12:10 11:10-12:10 11:10-12:10 11:10-12:10 11:10-12:10
Power Hour Power Hour Power Hour Power Hour Power Hour
20 minutes of 20 minutes of 20 minutes of 20 minutes of 20 minutes of
this time is this time is this time is this time is this time is
 social skills social skills social skills social skills social skills
12:10-12:30 12:10-12:30 12:10-12:30 12:10-12:30 12:10-12:30
Recess Recess Recess Recess Recess
12:35-12:55 12:35-12:55 12:35-12:55 12:35-12:55 12:35-12:55
Lunch Lunch Lunch Lunch Lunch
1:00-3:00 1:00-3:00 1:00-3:00 1:00-3:00 1:00-3:00
ELA ELA ELA ELA ELA
3:00 3:00 3:00 3:00 3:00
Dismissal Dismissal Dismissal Dismissal Dismissal
*Toileting, Speech, OT, and PT may cause delays or interferences in the schedule.

Ferguson Zoning Plan 2021-2022

Time/Activity DaVita (Group 1) (Group 2) (Group 3) Groups

7:30-8:00 Set up Classroom for small Retrieve student from Retrieve students from Group 1:
Bus and Car Duty groups Retrieve students Assist students with getting their Assist students with getting their Group 2:
breakfast and going to the breakfast and going to the Group 3:
classroom classroom

8:00-8:10 Take attendance. Make sure
Breakfast your Group 1 students are
toileted before their group
time if possible. Assist with
their daily living skills
during breakfast.
8:10-9:10 Unique 20 minutes
Math Small Group
Make sure your Group 2 students Make sure your Group 3 students Group 1:
are toileted before their group are toileted before their group Group 2
time if possible. Assist with their time if possible. Assist with their Group 3
daily living skills during daily living skills during
breakfast. breakfast.
IEP Goals 20 minutes IEP Goals 20 minutes Group 1:
Group 2
Group 3

9:15-10:05 Specials Teacher Planning Assist students as needed in Assist students as needed in Group 1:
specials specials Group 2
Group 3

10:10-10:40 Math Review Unique, Counting to Assist students with participation Assist students with participation Group 1:
Whole Group 100, Skip Counting, Days of during whole group if needed. during whole group if needed. 15- Group 2
the Week, Calendar, Colors, 15-minute break 10:15-10:30 minute break 10:30-10:45 Group 3
and Months of the year.
10:40-11:10 Whole Group Science Assist students if needed Assist students if needed Group 1:
Science Lesson Group 2
Group 3

11:10-12:10 Power 40 minutes of listening to Assist students as needed Assist students as needed Group 1:
Hour/Social Skills Tumble books, Vooks, or 11:30-11:55 Lunch 11:55-12:20 Lunch Group 2
GetEpic and the 20 minutes Group 3
of Social Skills with Choose
Love
12:10-12:35 Accompany students to Accompany students to recess Accompany students to recess Group 1:
Recess recess Group 2:
Group 3:
12:35-1:00 Lunch Teacher lunch Assist students with lunch as Assist students with lunch as
needed needed

1:00-3:00 ELA ELA Whole Group 15-minute break 1:00-1:15 15-minute break 1:15-1:30 Small
Introduce letter of the day, Small Groups 20 minutes each Groups 20 minutes each IEP
word of the day, alphabet, IEP goals, writing, and Unique goals, writing, and Unique work
vowels, picture walk of the work that teacher provides. that teacher provides
story. Follow the lesson
plan for the daily lesson.
Small Groups work on daily
lesson plan and SAO review
3:00 Dismissal Clean up classroom assist Walk students to their designated Walk students to their designated
students with toileting dismissal area. dismissal area
before leaving if needed.

How to Support Students

in the classroom

Be a Role Model!

YOU are the number one role model for our students.
YOU spend the whole day with them and they look up to you.
Remember to always put your best foot forward from the moment you
step into the classroom until the second the students leave for the day.
Model positive behavior, model working through problems, model
things that might make you upset and how you deal with that. Every
moment is a learning moment, don't miss out on incidental teaching.
Remember that our students do not understand sarcasm and think
literally.
 Areas in the
Classroom

Calm down Area- This area is a very important area to the classroom.
Our students have a difficult time regulating emotions. This area of the
classroom is for regulating behaviors.
Rules for the Calm down Area- This area is open throughout the day.
If a student becomes overwhelmed or upset, they may be offered a
break. They may take a break for the maximum of 10 minutes. When
they return to their designated area, they should pick up where they left
off.
EX- Joe is screaming in group, he may be offered a break "Do you need
a break?" He may then go to the calm down area and use a taught calm
down strategy. Once he has calmed down he may return to the group
and pick up where he left off. If the class has already transitioned to the
next activity, he will complete the activity he was working on before
joining the class.

Areas in the
 Classroom

Calm Down Area (Cont.)

 For students with more aggressive behaviors, they may need to be

escorted to the calm down area and need assistance in calming
down.
 For students who use calm down area as an escape behavior, they
may "earn" a break through "first work then break" system.
 Some students may need to be put in break for a given amount of
time. A timer will be set and they will remain in break until their
timer goes off. This may be used in place of "time out" when they
are aggressive towards another student or adult.
 calm down break data should be filled out for students with
behavior intervention plans (BIP)

While it is important to have a response strategy for student "meltdowns", it is equally (if not more
important) to make sure supports are put in place to prevent a negative behavior from occurring in
the first place. We are teaching coping/regulation skills.

Areas in the
Classroom
WORKGROUPS- This area is all you! Each staff member will be
assigned a workgroup. This is for you to OWN! You will become the
master of your workgroup. The workgroups in the classroom will be
assigned by the subject that the class is working on.
EX- The teacher has finished doing a whole group lesson on math.
Students will break up into assigned groups where you will work with
the students on skip counting by 5's and 10's. You will spend 15
minutes working on the task once the 15 minutes is up you will get a
new group of students and work on the same task with the students.
In these groups you will also keep data on how the students perform the
task.

Rules and Expectations

For students in the classroom

I hold our students to a very high standard. We are their chance at

independent living in the future. Although many have special needs,
they are capable. We work on potty training, living skills, and
independence. Students are required to do things on their own, with
only as much prompting as needed. For example, they are to be
independent in putting away their items after modeling and practice. It
is our job to teach them how to take care of themselves, not how to have
someone do it for them. We are here to give fading adult assistance.
This does include toileting.

Everything you do for me, you take away from me.

~Dr. Maria Montessori

Procedures in the Classroom

The classroom works well as long as procedures are being followed.
Transitions- before we transition to the next activity, as a class we will
"check our schedule" and do a countdown. We count down from 5-1.
We state "we are going to __ in 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1" Countdowns also work
well for students to make decisions. Give them the opportunity and then
tell them, "I am going to help you in 5, 4,3,2,1.
Token Boards- some students may have a token board to complete
activities. These should be used whenever the student needs to earn.
They may only earn from the choices given, and may only have the
earned item for an allotted time. If the student is allowed the item
longer than the time given, it will ruin the validity of the token board. If
an item should be added to the board please let me know and we will
discuss it and prepare the icon.
Transitions outside the classroom- students are expected to walk in
line. Line leader will be decided each day during Morning Meeting.
Depending on the flow of the classroom, students may have specific
spots in line. Hand holding is only allowed when absolutely needed.
We are here to reinforce their independence.

Procedures in the Classroom

Phrases- many phrases work well with our students. These phrases
include:

 "let me know when you're ready"

 "first ____ then _____"
 "I'm sorry you're upset, but I need ___"
 "Do you need to take a break and calm down?"

As we work with our students, we will develop phrases that work well
for them and you. Please remember that our students do not respond
well to sarcasm, as they do not understand it. They also do not
understand social cues, such as angry faces and sarcastic gestures
without words. They think literally and are still young. We are here to
teach, not mock.
Timers- Use them! Use the timer to your advantage. It can be used as
an option when "working for three minutes, then you can play", or when
a student has earned a reinforcement, "you may play for three minutes,
and then it is time to work". The beauty of a timer is that it cannot be
argued with. Timers are used for transitions, we give a five minute
warning, two minute warning, and then follow the phrasing for
transitions.

Procedures in the Classroom

Visuals- In the classroom we have many visuals. Our class is run with
the intention of making it similar to a typical general education
classroom. There is a whole class interactive schedule posted. Feel free
to ask if a specific visual is needed.
Parents- In our classroom, parent contact with non-instructional staff is
kept at a minimum. Any conversations parents want to have about their
child's progress or behaviors should be discussed with the teacher. You
can refer them to me at any time.

Behaviors- WE ARE A HANDS ON CLASSROOM. That means that

we guide when needed. It is an important balance to keep. We use
positive reinforcement and other methods to have students cooperative.
However we also are hands on when needed, especially when there is
physical aggression.
 Behaviors in the Classroom

Sometimes we will have behavior issues in the classroom. These behaviors stem
from the lack of understanding or the world around our students, lack of ability to
communicate and express wants and needs, and also the lack of follow through and
structure at home. We become the structure these students need.

As a behavior occurs, it will be assessed. Oftentimes the teacher will step in first
and handle the behavior as necessary. Staff will be informed on how to handle the
behaviors as they occur. When a behavior becomes common in the classroom,
whoever the behavior occurs with handles it. If it is a behavior you do not feel
comfortable handling, please speak to me in private and we can figure out a
solution.

This is when the calm down area is most helpful. See "Areas in the Classroom"
for information on the calm down area.

When assessing behaviors, remember to follow the ABC model

A- Antecedent (what happened before)

B- Behavior (what did the behavior look like)

C- Consequence (what happened afterwards)

Antecedent leads to Behavior which leads to Consequence.

Behaviors in the Classroom

Antecedent (A) - What causes the behavior? It can be a request or an
action of others. EX. Teacher requests that the student sit down.
Behavior (B) - What the student does in response to the antecedent. It
can positive or negative.
Negative EX. Student drops to the ground.
Positive EX. Child sits down in the chair.
Consequence (C) - What happens because of the behavior? It can be
positive or negative.
Negative EX. Child is requested to sit again.
Positive EX. Child earns a token.

Below are strategies that can be used in the classroom with the
students.

Strategies for Students

Limit verbal prompting and verbal direction. When the student is not
following a direction or is refusing to comply with a direction, use visual
prompts, command card, and gestures. Avoid verbal reprimanding or
stating many verbal prompts as these appear to further intensify and
heighten the situation.
 Have a first then card available everywhere they go. Just point to it
when they are not following directions and wait.
 Utilize the will work for cards and distribute reinforcement for
appropriate behavior.

Proactive Strategies

 First then card

 Token card to earn rewards
 Heightened verbal praise
 Command cards for redirecting
 Take a break opportunity during long periods of work or when they
appear to need quick change to regroup then return back to task.
Avoid doing this when they are upset, wait until she is calm and have
her ask for a break.

Responding to challenging behaviors:

If they are hitting or tantrum, remove her and wait her out.
Avoid talking to them at this time.

If a demand or instruction was placed, continue with instruction and just

wait until they responds. Avoid talking too much just use gestures and
visual prompts with command cards.
As soon as the student begins to work and respond, heighten the
reinforcement and give them access to a tangible items (IPad, toy,
stickers, or stamps).

When their behavior has escalated:

 Tell them, “That’s not how you get what you want. You get what
you want by (being quiet, asking for something, etc.)”
 Back away from student and do not engage verbally or physically
until they have calmed down.
 When calm, use the first then strategy.

Target Behaviors
 Refusals-refusing to follow instructions by shaking
their head, stating “no”, moving away from the area.
 Tantrums-screaming, crying at a heightened level
during instructions and/or while throwing items.
 Aggression to Others-hitting or slapping others with
open palm, biting.

PROACTIVE STRATEGIES
 Use of a timer to signal transitions (start activity, end
activity, etc.)
 Use of first then card
 Use of a positive reward system and token card
 Use of a visual daily schedule
 Use of visual rules and command cards
 Use of three breaks picture card during non-preferred
activities
 Positive praise for ALL appropriate behaviors!!!

REACTIVE STRATEGIES
If Student Does This
Refusals:
During an instruction, student
refuses to participate
You Do This
1. First set up first then card
and token card remind
student what they are
working for.
2. State your instruction.
3. Guide them to follow your
instruction and participate.
4. Each time they follow the
instruction and participate,
give them a token and praise
them for working.
5. Do not allow them to get out
of the activity. You can
lessen the demand in order
to contact the reinforcer
sooner.
6. Once student complies,

Tantrum
If student is screaming, crying at a
heightened level during
instructions.
Aggressive Behaviors
If student hits or bites a staff
member
deliver praise and the reward
they earned.
1. Restate your instruction and
avoid commenting on the
behavior.
2. Block student from leaving
the immediate area.
3. Once the student begins to
comply, praise them and
present them with a token.
4. Lessen the demand if
necessary, but avoid
removing the task altogether.
1. If student aggresses towards
you while escalated and
upset immediately move
away from them.
2. Avoid eye contact or talking
to them.
3. Guide them to the initial
activity that was presented.
4. Wait until they are calm
before speaking to them.
5. Once calm, praise them for
working.
6. After they have completed a
portion of the activity,
provide them an opportunity
to fill up their token card in
a short amount of time to
contact the reward.
 Prompts in the Classroom

Prompts are used constantly in the classroom. Types

of prompts from most restrictive to least restrictive
include:

Physical Prompt (P)

Partial Physical (PP)
Positional (PO)
Verbal (VP)
Gestural (G)
Visual Prompt (V or VI)

It is important to make sure prompts are only used as

needed.
 Sensory Needs
in the classroom

Working with students with autism, we also handle

many sensory behavior needs. It is important to
make sure they have appropriate outlets to express
their sensory needs. Sensory items will be located
on the shelf labeled sensory items. These items may
be used to help students focus during groups, or
students may earn them. Students are to take care of
the items, if a student is abusing the item it can be
taken away.
Students with large sensory movements may be
taken outside to run and jump.

Thank You
Thank you for everything that you do! I
appreciate all the hard work put into our
classroom.

Please come to me with any questions,

comments, and concerns about our classroom. I
do believe that we are a team and I welcome
constructive criticism. If you think we should
try something a different way please feel free to
tell me. I am open to trying new things in the
classroom.

I am looking forward to a great year!