Under the No Child Left Behind Education Law, paraprofessionals working in Title I schools whose duties include instructional support and who were hired after January 8, 2002, must have:

1. completed two years of study at an institution of higher education;
2. obtained an associate’s (or higher) degree; or
3. met a rigorous standard of quality and be able to demonstrate, through a formal State or local academic assessment, knowledge of and the ability to assist in instructing reading, writing, and mathematics (or, as appropriate, reading readiness, writing readiness, and mathematics readiness). The paraprofessional assessment is expected to evaluate paraprofessional candidates at a level equivalent to the second year of college.

The duties of paraprofessionals include to:

1. provide one-on-one tutoring for eligible students, if the tutoring is scheduled at a time when a student would not otherwise receive instruction from a teacher;
2. assist in classroom management;
3. assist in computer instruction;
4. conduct parental involvement activities,
5. provide instructional support in a library or media center;
6. act as a translator, and
7. provide instructional support services.

In order to better prepare educational paraprofessionals for the formal assessment and the challenges of their numerous duties, ESC-20 offers a three-day Paraprofessionals Technology Institute. This institute covers the following areas:

• Introduction to Windows or Mac and basic desktop operations
• Introduction to word processing and desktop publishing
• Basic Internet navigation, searching the World Wide Web, and emailing
• Introduction to multimedia
• Introduction to spreadsheets

Please contact Susanna Garza for additional information or go to iLearning to sign up for a paraprofessionals institute.