Teacher Assistant Contacts in School Districts and Related Agencies (128KB / 8 pages) provides contact information for personnel who deal with teacher assistants in districts, education collaboratives and related agencies.
Professional Development Networks
Joining a group of people who have an interest similar to yours is a great way to learn about a particular topic and share ideas with others. The following networks are open to a variety of types of personnel, including teacher assistants.
The Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) Network
The ASD networks aims to assist school personnel (including TAs), families & students in developing quality programs for students with ASD that meet the same high standards established for all students. The purposes of this network are:
- Maintaining the capacity of school personnel to meet the needs of students with ASD.
- Sustaining the work of school personnel to increase access to the general curriculum for students with ASD.
- Supporting personnel as they ensure the participation of students with ASD in state & district accountability & assessment efforts.
- Providing technical assistance on program development.
ASD Network Activities include:
- Meeting with current partners & examining current roles.
- Developing PD opportunities.
- Enhancing communication within the ASD network & ways to disseminate information.
- Increasing the # of individuals receiving technical assistance.
- Developing partnerships & resources for recruitment & retention of teachers, speech & language pathologists, OTs, other support staff including TAs to build the capacity of school systems to meet the needs of students with ASD.
- Identifying/addressing issues, needs & changing practices that impact quality educational & support services.
Meetings are held in the Student Union Ballroom at Rhode Island College. Visit the Autism Spectrum Disorders RITAP project site to register or learn more about the program.
The Individual Education Pprogram (IEP) Resource Network
The IEP Resource Network is designed to assist families, students, and school personnel in developing individualized programs for students with disabilities that meet the same high standards established for all students. The purposes are:
- Increase access to the general curriculum for students with disabilities,
- Ensure the participation of students with disabilities in accountability and assessment efforts,
- Provide technical assistance on IEP development.
The ultimate goal is to have at least one teacher and one parent in every school building in RI as a resource network member.
IEP Network Activities include:
- Monthly regional team meetings that provide professional development, support and technical assistance to district communities in implementing IDEA related to the IEP process and products.
- Gathering data on district needs related to IEPs, sharing questions and answers with other regional teams.
- Statewide professional development workshops each year designed to meet needs identified by network members.
Visit the Individual Education Plan RITAP project site to register or learn more about the program.
Teacher Assistant Networks
The RI Department of Education sponsors regional networks to provide teacher assistants the opportunity for professional development and the chance to network with teacher assistants from other districts. Networks meet three (3) times each school year (Fall, Winter and Spring) reaching 200+ teacher assistants each "season". These are located in Providence and at RI's four Regional Educational Collaboratives: East Bay (Warren), West Bay (Warwick), Northern (Cumberland) and Southern (North Kingstown) regions. Training topics are based on annual needs assessment. Sessions are 4:00-6:00 with light refreshments. Participants are provided with a certificate of attendance at each session and are encouraged to place a copy in their personnel records.
You must be registered to attend these sessions. You can register on-line via this site.
Links to Teacher Assistant Related Websites
Increasingly, there are many excellent resources related to teacher assistants. Many of these can be accessed through the Internet through websites related to teacher assistants (TAs) and special education topics. Here are only a few:
National Resource Center
for Paraprofessionals in Special Education & Related Services
Provides information from the National Resource Center for Paraprofessionals
in Special Education & Related Services related to TAs including national & state
standards, contact persons, training opportunities.
Trisped staff training solutions
Provides information on training programs for teacher assistants & supervising
teachers, & links to dozens of other sites.
Project PARA
Project PARA offers training that is comprehensive, easily accessible, & beneficial
to both teacher assistants & the teachers that supervise them.
US department
of education
Serves as a resource for information on roles of paraprofessionals, profiles
of programs employing them, sample job descriptions & other information.
National Information Center
for Children & Youth with disabilities
Presents the National Information Center for Children & Youth with Disabilities
with information of different types of disabilities including training, information
centers, legislation updates, etc.
Chadd
Describes attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder & has information on
discipline, training opportunities, local activities, etc.
Idoline
Has information for parents & educators on instruction, assessment & technology.
Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)
This website has a variety of resources of interest to people who work with students with disabilities. Visit CEC if you are interested in research articles related to paraprofessionals that have been published in CEC journals.
