Assistant teachers are an integral component of the preschool classroom, planning and implementing educational activities and supporting individual children and small groups, and often bring linguistic, cultural, and racial/ethnic diversity to the teaching field. However, there is limited research on the impact of assistant teacher qualifications…

The practice of paddling students for misbehavior remains legal in 19 states. The practice was quite prevalent in the mid-to late-20th century and was implemented in order to instill fear in students, so that they would behave properly. To public school students, this was as normal as recess. To an observer with no former frame of reference,…

Living on fixed incomes and faced with increasing taxes, senior citizens frequently feel the squeeze of a tightening economy more than other populations. Their retirement dollars buy less as their property taxes inch upward, despite the fact that they don't have school-age children. The Hempfield and Manheim Township School Districts in…

Teaching technology is awesome! The author very rarely uses the word awesome, but there are few words in the English language that can convey the author's feelings concerning his teaching experience. Before becoming a technology teacher, the author served 27+ years in the US Navy. He graduated from Old Dominion University with a Virginia teaching…

The increasing importance of the paraprofessional as part of an education team warrants carefully contructed certification programs. This article (1) recounts the history of paraprofessionals; (2) provides four arguments in favor of certification; (3) describes one existing program; (4) suggests characteristics of effective programs; and (5) warns…

The Minneapolis paraprofessional program was developed with funds from Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965. Paraprofessionals are now an integral part of the Minneapolis Public Schools. They have contributed much to the education of students and staff and to good school-community relations. The New Careers and Career Opportunities…

This bulletin presents a case study of the development of a school volunteer program in Dade County, Florida. Part one, entitled "Initiating the School Volunteer Program," discusses the following aspects of the program: (a) determination of needs, (b) preparation of objectives, (c) planning and sequencing activities, (d) identification of…

This document discusses the educational aide program in the state of Ohio. Section I discusses the paid educational aide. The goal of the paid teacher aide program is to improve instruction; the objectives of the program are: (1) teachers will spend more time directly involved in significant high-level teaching and learning functions; (2) teachers…

The SMILES (Senior Motivators in Learning and Educational Services) program was initiated in 1977 by Salt Lake City School Volunteers, Inc., a nonprofit organization working with the Salt Lake City School District, as an addition to an established, successful school volunteer program. The purpose of the SMILES program is to recruit and train older…

The use of volunteers is one answer to the short supply of human and financial resources in our nation's secondary schools. There is evidence that volunteer programs planned with broad based faculty-student involvement greatly enrich classroom activities. The principal holds a key role in assuring the success of volunteer programs by coordinating…

Educators from over 35 Washington State school districts and education service districts briefly describe their programs for involving parents in the schools. Compiled for Washington's six regional "Partners in Education" conferences, held in May 1981, the collection also presents Gallup Poll data on school volunteers and 115 ideas for parental…

With regard to administration, three types of schools for mentally defective children are represented in this report: State institutions, private institutions, and city day schools. This bulletin covers the following topics: (1) Types of schools represented; (2) Number of schools reporting; (3) Instructors; (4) Assistants; (5) Enrollment in…

This paper presents a program which involves the recruitment and training of college students as counselor-aides in elementary schools. The function of the counselor-aides is to provide the necessary screening, testing and preliminary follow-up contact to facilitate the work of the professional staff. Some of the general goals for the…

A successful, flexible, system for coordinating volunteers in the Meigs, Ohio, local school district's elementary schools utilizes a file box containing the names of aides selected to participate in the volunteer program, the times and days they are available, and the services they can provide. A teacher needing a volunteer to perform certain…

Describes the unexpected benefits of a reading incentives program in which adult volunteers listen to students' oral book reports in a one-to-one situation. Benefits include (1) oral skill development, (2) increased student confidence, (3) heightened interpersonal understanding between members of different racial groups and generations. (SA)