Search results matching tag 'nrcp conference'

Presentations from the 2012 Conference Now Available

Anonymous — Fri, 04 May 2012 02:42:33 GMT

There are now over 20 presentations available online from the 2012 conference. Stay tuned for more information coming soon on the Call for Papers for the 2013 Conference in Salt Lake City on April 16-20, 2013.

Reflections on the NRCP's Paraeducators Conference

Anonymous — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 02:05:50 GMT

Article submitted by Ludmila Battista, Faculty-Educational Studies,
Kaplan University

This was my fifth trip to join my colleagues in the paraeducator field and as in every time in the past, I was invigorated and inspired by what I saw and heard at last month’s annual conference in San Antonio, TX. Dynamic keynote speakers, passionate and dedicated paraeducators, a seamless conference experience all left me proud to be a member of such an enthusiastic organization. As an instructor in Kaplan University’s online paraprofessional program, I have the opportunity to interact with my students who are either already serving as paraeducators or have plans to do so in the near future. So, I’m already very much aware of the dedication and concern that paraeducators have for their role in supporting students who often have a range of challenges they are trying to overcome. But combine that with the opportunity to meet with other educator leaders, policymakers, administrators and experts in the educational field and I realize how much we can accomplish when we work together and how many successes we have already had! Imagine my great excitement when I coincidentally ran into one of my former students who was presenting at this year’s conference, herself! It was a great opportunity to congratulate her on her own accomplishments, not only in working to earning her online degree, but in being inspired enough to attend the conference (on her own dime, no less!) and to feel compelled to give back by presenting a session herself (if you’d like to check out her session see her session notes entitled “Classroom Management for Paraeducators—What Can I Do?”

My conference experience in sunny San Antonio (a pleasant break from the dreary New Jersey weather back home!) began with a Leadership Session offered for conference participants who work in a leadership or administrative position, offer training/education to paraeducators, are involved in educational research or in some other way are involved in supporting or providing resources and instruction to paraeducators. As in the past, this was a wonderful opportunity to meet with other leaders who I now consider friends and find out more about what is happening across the country, and even abroad related to the field. The following days were filled with inspiring and thought provoking speakers who shared their wisdom and experience with conference attendees. As usual, the over 50 conference sessions offered provided opportunities to learn more about a wealth of educational topics both specific to the paraprofessional field and beyond. I was especially motivated by my experience in Laren Samet and Julie Bowman’s presentation on “Advocating for Profession.” As an educator, I am often focused on preparing my students for their academic roles and instructional strategies, but I was motivated to use their ideas and strategies for preparing my students to be future advocates for themselves in the field, as well. Likewise, Kent Gerlach’s session on “Ethical and Legal Issues Concerning Paraeducator Employment, Training, Supervision and Evaluation” provided me with the necessary current information to take back to Kaplan University and integrate into our revisions to our current courses so that we can have the most up-to-date information available for our students in the program as well.

Finally, it was also my opportunity, to hone my own presentation skills and share the benefits of my experience and research into the areas of learning styles, Multiple Intelligence Theory and collaboration and teamwork strategies as I presented in two sessions, as well.

My experience at the 30th National Conference was well worth the trip west and I returned to my “virtual office” armed with information, a wealth of resources and most importantly, I think, the energy and enthusiasm to use what I have learned to further inspire my own students. I will continue to encourage them to become active members in their profession and of course will continue to take them on “virtual field trips” to the NRCP website and encourage them to learn all that they can, network and share their experiences. Once again, this conference opportunity was a top-shelf experience and I am grateful to Marilyn Likins, Director of the NRCP, and all of the many dedicated support staff who work so hard to pull off such a great event. I’m already looking forward to next year’s conference and a return trip to Salt Lake City, UT (my second chance to visit this wonderful city after attending the NRCP conference a few years back in SLC). Thank you to NRCP for providing a terrific opportunity for educators and paraprofessionals, alike, to learn and grow from these experiences! I’ll be back!

Conference Coming Soon- Hotel Discout Extended!

Anonymous — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 04:04:51 GMT

The 2011 Conference is quickly approaching and we are looking forward to seeing many of you in Harrisburg in just 3 weeks!

If you haven't yet reserved your hotel room, the Sheraton let us know today that you can still get the special conference rate, but it is only available by contacting Lisa Chenoweth directly at 717-558-4607 or by e-mail at Lisa.Chenoweth@sheratonhershey.com.

If you still haven't decided on whether or not you would like to attend, check out this list of 5 reasons why you won't want to miss this year's conference:

The opportunity to:

Meet and network with paraprofessionals from other states.
Attend diverse workshops covering ELL, special and general education, reading, writing, behavior management, nutrition and much more.
Learn techniques for improving student behavior and academic performance.
Earn up to 15 In-Serivce or ACT 48 Hours and 1 University Credit.
Discuss paraprofessional training and career development with local, state, and national leaders.

Conference Coming Soon- Hotel Discount Extended!

Anonymous — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 04:04:51 GMT

The 2011 Conference is quickly approaching and we are looking forward to seeing many of you in Harrisburg in just 3 weeks!

If you still haven't decided on whether or not you would like to attend, check out this list of 5 reasons why you won't want to miss this year's conference:

The opportunity to:

Meet and network with paraprofessionals from other states.
Attend diverse workshops covering ELL, special and general education, reading, writing, behavior management, nutrition and much more.
Learn techniques for improving student behavior and academic performance.
Earn up to 15 In-Serivce or ACT 48 Hours and 1 University Credit.
Discuss paraprofessional training and career development with local, state, and national leaders.

List of Conference Sessions Now Available!

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 06:19:24 GMT

If you are thinking about attending the 2011 National Conference for Paras in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania but haven't made up your mind, take a few minutes to read over the incredible sessions that will be available at the conference.

Keynote speakers and a full schedule will be coming soon, but the session list will give you a good idea of the number of high quality sessions that will be available.

Don't forget that there is still time to register and receive the full Early-bird discount. See you in Harrisburg!

Conference Pictures Now Available!

Anonymous — Tue, 12 May 2009 11:26:35 GMT

Over 200 pictures from the conference are now available in the Conference Photo Gallery. Stop by and take a look to remember how much fun you had and/or what you can look forward to next year!

The same pictures have also been posted to our Facebook page.

(Stay tuned for many of the conference presentation slides that will be made available soon...)

Consuelo Castillo Kickbusch Conference Keynote

Anonymous — Thu, 07 May 2009 04:51:40 GMT

Consuelo Castillo Kickbusch was the Saturday keynote speaker at the National Conference this year as she shared her love, laughter and tears with us. If you ever get a chance to listen to Consuelo, do not pass it up!

Right after her Keynote address she had a table full of books in the hall that quickly sold out. For anyone who is still interested, her book is titled Journey to the Future: A Roadmap for Success for Youth.

From the biography on our Keynote Conference page:

Born and raised along the border in a small barrio in Laredo, Texas, Consuelo Kickbusch is all too familiar with the challenges of poverty, discrimination and illiteracy. Although she grew up without material wealth, she was taught by her immigrant parents that she was rich in culture, tradition, values and faith. The values she learned as a child were reinforced throughout her career in the U.S. military. After graduating from Hardin Simmons University, Consuelo entered the U.S. Army as an officer and served for two decades. During that time, she broke barriers and set records in the military where she became the highest-ranking Hispanic woman in the Combat Support Field of the U.S. Army. When the opportunity to assume a command post arose, LTC Castillo Kickbusch shocked the military by deciding to retire. She chose to honor her mother's dying wish to get back to her roots and become a community leader.

She also shared these slides in a separate presentation about SLICK, a youth mentoring organization that she started

Preparing Tomorrow’s Leaders Today

More about Consuelo Castillo Kickbusch:

Educating the Whole Child with 21st Century Skills

Anonymous — Sat, 02 May 2009 01:25:06 GMT

Linda Mariotti was our keynote speaker this morning and gave a wonderful presentation titled, "Educating the Whole Child with 21st Century Skills"

Educating the Whole Child for the 21st Century

She discussed the differences between digital immigrants and digital natives and contrasted the skills of 20th century educators with those needed by 21st century educators. Are you ready for our 21st century students?

More about Linda:

Linda began her career as an educator in 1971, teaching middle school English in California. Moving to Utah in 1985, Linda taught English in junior and senior high schools in Granite School District. She moved to the district office as a secondary language arts/foreign languages curriculum specialist in 1992. After receiving her administrative credentials in 1996, she worked as an intern administrator, assistant principal at both the junior and senior high school levels, and then as a junior high school principal. Linda returned to the district office in 2000 as the director of curriculum services. The following year she assumed her current position of assistant superintendent.

Paraeducators in China

Anonymous — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 17:19:30 GMT

Meet Jessica Dai (parent of a child with autism), Larissa Feng (social worker) and Sophie Xie (special educator), pioneers in promoting the important work of paraprofessionals in China.

Their presentation was highlight of the State Leadership Meeting last night. Lacking government funding, they have established a Parent's Club and a training center where they provide training for paraeducators that are paid for by the parents of childrens with disabilities. We congratulate them on the work they are doing and hope to hear more from them in the future!. Their presentation is available below:

Para Educators In China

State Leadership Meeting Review

Anonymous — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:24:58 GMT

The conference had begun and last tonight leaders from all over the country and world gathered here in Salt Lake City to discuss successes and challenges in their own states and countries, including three visitors from China.

The last half of the meeting was spent going around the room to hear about good things that were happening with paraprofessional all over the world. There was a lot of information and coordination that came really fast, but here are a few of the notes I was able to write down:

If you were there and I missed anything or you would like to add a website, just leave a comment!

>Susan Simon From Iowa:

Iowas has now had voluntary paraeducator certification for 10 years, with large numbers of people certified.

Barbara Jo Stahl from Minnesota:

Barbara shared a new series of graduate level courses: Practical Strategies for Supervising Paraprofessionals, with online classes coming soon.

Ashleigh Molloy from Canada:

More and more people taking on the paraeducator role. Unfortunately still no national organization for paras.

Jill Morgan from Wales:

Learning Support- a publication for teaching assistants in primary schools. A growing number of publishers producing books for teaching assistants.

Ritu Chopra from Colorado:

Working with the Para Center on a training program for who want to become teachers. Statewide paraprofessional training, under part C of IDEA. Setting standards with a coalition focusing on roles and responsibilities, also developing a curriculum (15 courses) train the trainer model.

Elena Sandoval-Lucero fro Colorado

Working on bilingual issued for teachers and paraeducators in urban settings.

Donna Broyles from Arkansas:

Focusing on how to work together as a team and a para to teacher initiative with community colleges and universities and partnering with school districts to get paras into that pipeline.

Carla Mitchler from California:

with the California CSEA with 80,000 paras in their membership. California just had their 12th State paraprofessional conference, open to anyone who wants to go. They also have a paraeducator task force and a magazine with tips for paraeducators.

Marilyn Likins from Utah:

Asked by the state to write a handbook for instructional paraeducators that wil go out to paraeducators, administrators and teachers. Working with the Professional Employment Center on career pathways for a para to teacher program.

Sue Koprowski from Wisonconsin:

We had an active task force that provided a lot of training through state and regional conferences as well as stronds within the teacher conferences. Unfortunatley in January the funding was dropped. Working on establishing more avenues for students to move on to get teacher education.

Kent Gerlach from Washington:

Washington State has 14 competencies that paras must get within three years. Now focusing on school administrators and teachers- we have worked some paraprofessional interview questions for special educators. Concerned about the appropriateness of some training packages.

Betty Montgomery from Alabama:

Established a new Paraeducator Coordinator position to work with paraeducators and instructional data assistants.

Sally ???? from Alabama:

150,000 students, 125 schools and 2400 paraeducators in their district. Making sure the voice of the para is heard and that training is happening. Working on university partnerships. 60% of their 2400 paraeductors already have a 4 year degree.

Anna Lou Pickett

Ann Lou wrapped things up saying, "I'm sitting here listening and getting cold chills up my spine because we have made so much progress. However sometimes it feels like we are reinventing the wheel." She gave everyone the advice that whenever progress is made to make sure that there are people and policies in place so the progress will continue after you are gone.