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By Doug Van Oort The Bad News: Researchers have found that “exposure to unrelenting stress and repeated traumas can change a child’s brain, making it…harder to focus and learn.” (Flannery) The Good News: Educators can create trauma-sensitive classrooms where children learn to calm themselves when stressed or experiencing trauma and return to learning. (Flannery) Adverse … Read more The Impact of Trauma on Children

Interview by Wangui Njuguna, Education Daily with Marilyn Likins, Executive Director, National Resource Center for Paraeducators. Q: In your role as executive director for the National Resource Center for Paraeducators what do you hear from paraeducators about the supports they need in schools? A: Paraeducators need to have a thorough understanding of their roles and … Read more ESSA and Implications for Paraeducators: Questions & Answers regarding ESSA’s Impact on Paraeducators

The Seven R’s of Behavior: Dealing with Misbehavior Made Easy! (OK, easier) By Doug Van Oort, Assistant Professor, Kirkwood Community College (2008, revised 2010) Anyone who’s worked in a school knows that dealing with challenging student behaviors can be, well, very challenging. Nationally, nearly 50% of new teachers leave teaching within the first five years … Read more HOT TOPIC: The Seven R’s of Behavior: Dealing with Misbehavior Made Easy! (OK, easier)

CEC is the leading voice for special and gifted education. Through the vision and dedication of more than 30,000 members, CEC sets the standard for high quality education for children and youth with exceptionalities. The Council ensures the needs of children and youth with exceptionalities are met in educational legislation, establishes professional standards for the … Read more Council for Exceptional Children (CEC): The Voice and Vision of Special Education

Preparing Paraeducators & Education Majors Together in College Doug Van Oort, Paraeducator Certification Coordinator & Education Careers Faculty Kirkwood Community College, Cedar Rapids, IA Imagine actors in a play practicing their roles individually but never rehearsing together prior to opening night. Or, imagine the quarterback, backs, receivers, and linemen on a football team never practicing … Read more Preparing Paraeducators & Education Majors Together in College

Article by Steve Brandick Paraprofessionals make great teachers! That was just an assumption back in 1994 when the Los Angeles Unified School District Paraeducator Career Ladder was established. It is now fact. The program began as a union and management collaborative intended to improve the economic situation of low-income employees while developing a pool of … Read more LAUSD Career Ladder and the Apprentice Teacher Program

Ever wondered who else is looking into the NRCP website?  We have visitors from over 160 countries!  Check out the complete list: United States United Kingdom Canada Ukraine Russia India Turkey Philippines Australia Germany Kazakhstan Saudi Arabia Iran Belarus Bulgaria Netherlands China Sweden Ireland Moldova Mexico Portugal France Senegal Israel Spain Norway Romania Malaysia Belgium … Read more DID YOU KNOW?

The Distinction in Roles of Paraeducators and Teachers By Doug Van Oort Education Faculty and Paraeducator Certification Coordinator, Kirkwood Community College Maria, who has her high school diploma and recently acquired her Iowa Level I paraeducator certification by taking six college credits, is starting her 17th year as a paraeducator and is highly regarded by … Read more HOT TOPIC – The Distinction in Roles of Paraeducators and Teachers

In part 1 of our review of the paraeducator training results we went over how many of you have paraeducator training in your state or district and who provides that training. Here are the rest of the results from the survey: How many hours of paraeducator training are available per year? 36.3% of survey respondents … Read more Survey Results on Paraeducator Training, Part 2