Paraprofessionals play an important role by supporting teachers in the delivery of instruction. A classroom with a teacher and paraprofessional is not considered a co-teaching arrangement.
Paraprofessionals work under the direction of a certified teacher and support by working with small groups of students, leading a review of concepts already taught, and assisting a teacher in monitoring student attention, behavior, and work. Paraprofessionals may even carry out some activities that can occur in co-teaching, but it is inappropriate to expect a paraprofessional to be a co-teacher.
The strategic use of a paraprofessional supports the unique needs of all students and the execution of all instructional and learning activities purposefully and seamlessly. It is extremely important to maintain open communication among co-teachers and paraprofessionals to ensure the entire team understands the learning intentions, lesson delivery, success criteria and their individual responsibilities before, during, and after instruction.