Half of Vermont’s school administrators say they would prefer to use fewer paraprofessionals, according to an interim report by the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
The full report is due this month, but an interim briefing with key findings was posted on the House Education Committee’s website.
The committee has been awaiting the results of the UMass study, which was commissioned by the Vermont Agency of Education (AOE) and the Vermont Legislative Joint Fiscal Office.
The study, which began in July, is focused on the use of paraprofessionals in the state’s public schools and was conducted by the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute (UMDI) Applied Research and Program Evaluation group. It was designed “to enhance public understanding of the role and impact of paraprofessionals, as well as the conditions surrounding and influencing their use in the delivery of special education services in Vermont public schools,” according to the brief.
The report analyzes how paraprofessionals are being used in the state’s schools, how the decisions related to using paraprofessionals are made, and the interest in reducing reliance on paraprofessionals in Vermont schools. Researchers gathered the information through surveys and site visits.
The UMass study noted the following “relationships” that policymakers may want to consider going forward in Vermont, including:
• Size and paraprofessional use: As the size of a school increases, so does the number of paraprofessionals, particularly those who deal with behavior issues. In larger schools there is also a tendency to use co-teaching teams to monitor, plan, instruct, and provide primary responsibility for students with behavioral issues;
• Supervision and paraprofessional use: There is a relationship between the degree to which paraprofessionals are supervised consistently, and the density of paraprofessional use. As consistency of supervision of paraprofessionals goes up, density of paraprofessional use goes down;
• Behavioral issues and paraprofessional use: Relationships between density of use, kind of use, and cost considerations.
Schools that are implementing schoolwide behavior programs consistently see reduced reliance on paraprofessionals, the study notes.
On the decisions in schools to use paraprofessionals, the researches say the most common factor “… is the belief that a paraprofessional is the appropriate support for the student in question.”
Assigning a paraprofessional to a student can offer flexibility and a fast response, they can be used for multiple purposes and their period of employment can vary, the report says.
“The factor that most commonly influences administrators not to use a paraprofessional is the belief that the quality of instruction is best assured by a special education teacher,” the report states.
According to the interim report brief submitted to lawmakers, “Almost all superintendents and special education directors surveyed would like to reduce the number of paraprofessionals in their SU ‘to some extent.’ About half of principals shared this interest in reducing the number of paraprofessionals.”
When the full report comes out later this month, the researchers note, it will “explore relationships between patterns of paraprofessional density and use, and academic and behavioral outcome measures.”
The researchers noted, “The study revealed a strong perception that behavioral incidences are on the rise and that the seriousness of those behaviors is increasing. How might this issue be better understood?” they asked.
