I’ve been busy getting ready for a para-professional workshop the last couple of weeks…no time for blogging! Originally, I had hoped to present a Web 2.0 workshop…a topic that is near and dear to my heart. If you have read my blog for a while, you can probably imagine my initial disappointment when I learned that I had been selected to develop and present the Para-Professional workshop. Yet, once I got past that initial disappointment I realized I was the perfect person to present on the topic since my career journey in education began in the paraprofessional realm.

Yes, I was a teacher assistant for seven years before I made the leap to return to school and become a teacher/administrator. My husband and I smile as we look back on the mid-life journey I took. He laughs as he relates that it took many years to convince me that I should go back to college and it only took five years for me to catch up with three degrees under my belt (and an empty wallet to show for it). All kidding aside, I vowed that I would try to make the workshop upbeat and meaningful for all who attended, though I was somewhat confined to the topic outline I was given.

I have embedded a copy of my PowerPoint…it is missing the music, activities, and stories we shared as a group, but perhaps you will find it useful if you have an opportunity to work with Paraeducators in your school. I have also embedded some of the handouts I developed for the workshop.