Special Education Paraeducators Navigate Distance Learning
Whitney Barber, a special education paraprofessional at Middlebury Union Middle School in Middlebury, Vermont, admits she’s a worrier by nature. But her worries about her students and the COVID-19 pandemic are a constant cascade.
“I worry about all of the children and the unknown traumas; what their daily life is like stuck at home, especially since not all of them are in an environment where they should be 24/7,” she says. “But for our special education students, the ones who need consistency to function, who rely on the safety of a school routine, I worry about the suddenness and uncertainty of these past months and the impact it’s had. I worry how they’ve been coping.”
Barber feels that she and her colleagues will be able to meet the students where they are when they return, but nobody knows exactly how much will be lost. Educators agree that there will be a significant “COVID slide,” and that it will be particularly steep for special education students and low-income students.
All students benefit from face-to-face interactions, but Barber says her students need it. She works with 7th and 8th grade students with special needs, some of whom are on the autism spectrum, a few of whom are nonverbal.
“They respond to our smiles and words of encouragement, our gestures, facial CONTINUE READING: Special Education Paraeducators Navigate Distance Learning - NEA Today
