Paraprofessionals in Newtown Public Schools participated in a professional development day on March 17.

It was the final professional development event of the 2021-22 school year for the group.

Reflecting on the event afterwards, Assistant Superintendent of Schools Anne Uberti and Newtown Public Schools Paraprofessional Union President Marlene Bucci both said it went well.

“I think it has been very positively received,” Uberti said.

Uberti and Bucci worked together to plan the day’s event, which included different breakout sessions on varying topics.

Breakout groups included gathering with colleagues for collegial discussion around topics. Other topics included supporting students with the least intrusive strategies and creating opportunities that lead to student independence; learning about profiles of learners on the autism spectrum and how to effectively support their learning; sensory processing and its impact on learning; and supporting English language learners.

The event ran from noon to 2:30 pm for paraprofessionals who work in the middle school and high school, and from 1:30 to 3:30 pm for those who work in Newtown’s kindergarten to sixth grade public schools.

According to Uberti, close to 150 of the district’s 170 paraprofessionals attended the event, either in person or virtually. A professional development day for paraprofessionals was also offered near the start of the school year; two other event options were hosted; and online training was offered this school year as well.

Uberti ran a session about the Scientific Research-Based Interventions (SRBI) process and Multi-Tiered System Supports (MTSS) and how they relate to special education. Bucci ran a session on preventing crises and de-escalating situations with empathic listening and ways to remain in control in any situation.

Bucci described her session in an e-mail as “to educate [paraprofessionals] to recognize different levels of behavior and respond appropriately. They learned that while they can’t manage how a student may escalate or de-escalate they can manage their own response to the situation and that what they say or do can have a positive impact on the student, and therefore, have a positive outcome to the situation.”

Bucci said overall, the professional development sessions provided the district’s paraprofessionals learning opportunities to grow and gain understanding of why students learn the way they do.

“The role and responsibilities of the [paraprofessional] have changed over time,” Bucci said. “There has been a paradigm shift in how we support them. It is not a ‘one size fits all approach,’ but rather each student has a unique way of learning and has different needs. It is our role to meet those students where they are at the moment and give them the strategies needed to be successful.”

After each professional development session, feedback is collected and used to inform future sessions.

Uberti said the format for next year is being deliberated now, with some people requesting in-person options and others finding it logistically challenging to drive between school buildings to attend.

Education Editor Eliza Hallabeck can be reached at eliza@thebee.com.