The Urban Paraeducator Goes to College

Abstract

The ParaMet training program was jointly established by an urban university, a disability service provider, and an urban public school system to assist the school system in complying with the paraeducator training and supervision requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Amendments of 1997 and, eventually, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001. This article analyzes the strengths and needs of the first 2 cohorts of paraeducators accepted into the ParaMet program. The findings indicate that the paraeducators, who are predominantly from the minority group served by the local public schools, bring unique strengths to the special education teams. However, many will also require extraordinary academic supports to be successful in undergraduate-level training.