San Juan School District (SJSD) has partnered with the Utah Education Policy Center (UEPC) for the past four years to provide systematic, ongoing professional learning for paraeducators in its rural K-12 schools. Given the district’s vast geography, ensuring equitable access to high-quality training has been a challenge. A strategic partnership was formed to deliver in-person, synchronous online, and now asynchronous learning opportunities to address this.
This session will highlight how this multi-year collaboration has supported paraeducators since 2021 and how we are developing a comprehensive asynchronous professional learning course aligned with Utah Paraeducator Standards and national best practices (e.g., Learning Forward, 2022; , Rorrer, Groth, & Colvin, 2024; Timperley, 2011).
By the end of this session, participants will:- Understand how strategic partnerships enhance paraeducator professional learning in the San Juan School District and explore ways to leverage partnerships to build paraeducator capacity in their own contexts.
- Examine a blended learning model that integrates in-person, synchronous, and asynchronous supports to meet the diverse learning needs of paraeducators
- Identify and apply actionable strategies to strengthen paraeducator support structures within their local education agency (LEA).
Why This Matters:Paraeducators play a critical role in student success, yet they often lack structured professional learning. This session will provide research-informed strategies to help schools and districts build sustainable, high-impact professional learning models, ensuring ongoing support for both current and future paraeducators.
Participants MUST HAVE one of the following platforms/devices in order to participate in this session: Not Applicable
Participants MAY FIND IT USEFUL to have one or more of the following platforms/devices during this session: Not Applicable
