My First Week

A practical orientation for the new paraprofessional

Welcome

Your first week as a paraprofessional is going to feel like trying to drink from a fire hose. There are students you don't know, schedules you don't follow yet, language you don't understand, paperwork you've never seen, and adults who are too busy to fully orient you. This is normal. Almost every para feels overwhelmed for the first two to four weeks. The job becomes manageable; you will learn the rhythm; you will get to know the students.

This brief is a practical orientation. It walks through what to focus on each day of the first week, what questions to ask, what to observe, what NOT to try to do yet, and what early warning signs you can flag if something is off. Use it as a checklist; come back to it at the end of the day.

| |

| :-: |

| If your first week has not yet startedPrint this. Put it in the front of a folder. Bring a notebook. Bring snacks. Wear shoes you can move in. |

Day 1 — Get the lay of the land

1\. Arrive early

Get there 15–20 minutes before students. Find your classroom. Find your supervising teacher. Find the bathrooms. Find the front office. The mental map matters more than you'd think.

2\. Find the safety basics

Where is the nearest fire exit?

What does a fire alarm sound like, and what's the procedure?

What does a lockdown signal sound like, and what do you do?

Where is the school nurse?

Where is the AED, if there is one?

Who is the building's first-call admin?

If you can't get answers to these from your supervising teacher in 5 minutes, ask the front office. They'll know.

3\. Get the schedule

Ask for a written schedule, even if it changes. Periods, students, rooms, what you're doing each block. If it's not written, ask, "Can you write down where I should be each period today?"

4\. Get an introduction to your students

Names. Faces. One-sentence summary of each student you'll be supporting today. You will not remember everything; that is fine. Write the names down. Practice pronunciations.

5\. Stay alongside the supervising teacher

On day one, your job is to observe more than to act. Stand near the supervising teacher; watch how they handle transitions, behavior, instruction. If a student approaches you, be warm but lean toward the teacher for direction. "Let me check with Ms. Allen" is a great line.

6\. Take notes

Names. Routines. Things you don't understand. Acronyms you hear (most of which are in the Master Index glossary). Questions for tomorrow.

7\. At end of day

Ask for 5 minutes. "Can we talk for 5 minutes about how today went?" Topics: anything urgent for tomorrow, any student you should know more about, anything you didn't understand.

Day 2 — Find your routines

1\. Sign in / sign out

Confirm you're on the timekeeping system. Some districts run electronic; some still use paper. Get this right early.

2\. Find the materials you'll be using

Where are the data sheets? Where are the worksheets? Where are the IEPs and BIPs? Where are the supplies? Where is the photocopier and what's the code?

3\. Read the IEPs and BIPs of students you support

Yes — read them. Brief 02.05 in this library walks through how. As a school official with legitimate educational interest, you have access to records you need to do your job. Ask the supervising teacher to walk through the most important pages with you. "For each student I'm with this week, can we look at the goals and the accommodations together?"

4\. Watch the supervising teacher run procedures

If a student has a BIP, ask the supervising teacher to model the procedure. Watch a transition. Watch a hand-on-shoulder regulation cue. Watch how a break card is delivered.

5\. Notice the rhythm of the day

When does Marcus get tired? When does Maria struggle? When are transitions hardest? Which periods are smoothest? You're building a picture of the day's energy curve.

6\. At end of day

If your supervising teacher asked for a quick debrief yesterday, do it again. Build the routine.

Day 3 — Start contributing actively

1\. Run small things you've watched

If you watched a procedure on day 2, try running it on day 3 with the supervising teacher's eye nearby. "Can I try the morning warm-up with Marcus today?" Their feedback is more useful when they've watched than when they're guessing.

2\. Ask for written guidance for at least one block

"Could I get a one-line written plan for the math period? Just what I should be doing, with whom?"

3\. Start collecting data

If a student you support has data being collected — start. If you can't collect today, ask for a model and try a sample tomorrow.

4\. Build a peer relationship

Find another para in the building who's been there longer. Ask if you can ask them questions. Don't try to figure everything out from your supervising teacher; experienced paras are an essential resource.

Day 4 — Build the questions list

By day 4, you've heard a lot of acronyms, names, references. Write a list of things you don't understand. Bring it to your supervising teacher (or save for the end-of-week check-in).

Common acronyms in your first week may include:

IEP, 504, BIP, FBA — see brief 02.05 and 05.03.

LRE, FAPE — least restrictive environment, free appropriate public education.

ESY — extended school year.

OT, PT, SLP — occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech-language pathology.

FERPA — see brief 13.01.

MTSS, RtI, PBIS — multi-tiered systems.

AAC — augmentative and alternative communication.

Para's name for the IEP database (Frontline, IEPPLUS, PowerSchool, Goalbook, depending on district).

All of these are in the Master Index glossary.

Day 5 — End-of-week check-in

Ask for 20–30 minutes with your supervising teacher. Even better: put it on a recurring calendar slot.

Topics for the end-of-week check-in

How did this week go for each of us?

What is working that I should keep doing?

What is not working — what should I change?

Are there students I should know more about?

What's coming next week?

What training would help me — that the team can arrange or that I can pursue on my own?

What's the right communication channel for X (urgent, end-of-day, weekly)?

Here are 5 things I didn't understand this week (acronyms, processes, etc.).

| |

| :-: |

| If your supervising teacher doesn't make timeSome don't, especially in the first week when they themselves are overwhelmed. Don't take it personally; do reschedule. "Could we put 20 minutes on next Friday?" If still no traction, see brief 16.05. |

What to observe in week one

Observation is most of the work in your first week. Worth tracking even informally:

Each student's strengths. What do they do well? What lights them up?

Each student's signs of dysregulation. What does "about to escalate" look like in their face, voice, body?

Each student's regulation strategies — what brings them back from a hard moment?

Each student's preferred interaction style. Some students like banter; some don't.

Each student's communication mode. What do they say with their words; what do they say with their behavior?

The classroom rhythms. Hardest period. Smoothest period. Predictable trouble points.

How the supervising teacher uses you. What do they cue you to do?

How the gen-ed teacher (in inclusion settings) treats your presence.

Adult dynamics in the building. Who supports whom; who's stretched; who's the building's go-to person for behavior, for crisis, for information.

What NOT to try yet

Don't try to fix anything. Even if you can see things that aren't working, week one is for learning the system, not changing it. You'll have many opportunities to surface concerns once you understand the context.

Don't promise students things you can't deliver. "You'll get a break" — only if you know that's authorized. Stick to what you've been told.

Don't share opinions about other staff with anyone. Keep neutral and observant.

Don't try to befriend the family on day 3. Warmth at drop-off is fine; substantive contact runs through the supervising teacher.

Don't post about your job on social media — even with names removed. (See brief 13.01 and 13.03.)

Don't try to handle a crisis as primary responder unless you have to. If something serious happens, get help to the student fast; the trained adults handle it. You document and stay close.

Don't run a procedure you haven't been trained on. "Trained" means modeled and observed, not just described.

Don't take the day home in your head. Talk to a partner about your week, not about specific students.

Things to flag right away if you encounter them

A student you're supporting whose IEP or BIP you cannot find.

A medical condition (allergy, diabetes, seizure disorder) without a clear emergency plan you've seen.

A scheduled service that isn't happening (e.g., the IEP says 4×30 of OT but you don't see it on the schedule).

A request that feels outside your scope (delivering specially designed instruction unsupervised, administering medication you're not trained on).

A safety practice that concerns you (a student left alone, a transition without supervision).

A student showing signs of abuse or neglect (cross-ref brief 13.02 — your mandated reporting obligation begins on day 1).

Anything you witnessed that felt wrong but you couldn't immediately name.

"I don't know if this is something — but I want to flag it" is a perfectly fine sentence. The supervising teacher will calibrate with you.

Self-care from day 1

Eat lunch. Take your contractual breaks.

Drink water.

Wear comfortable shoes. You will move more than you realize.

Have a way to process the day — a colleague, a partner, a therapist, a journal — without sharing identifying student information outside the team.

Sleep. Days are physically and emotionally demanding; sleep recovery is non-negotiable.

Don't take work home in your head every night. Set a mental closing time.

Notice if the work is hitting harder than expected — talk to someone. Vicarious trauma is real, especially in this role. (See brief 14.03.)

Where to keep learning

Beyond what your district provides:

IRIS Center modules — iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu — Free self-paced PD.

OPEPP free lessons — opepp.org — Open to paras anywhere; aligned to CEC paraeducator standards.

AFIRM modules (autism) — afirm.fpg.unc.edu

Foundation Reference (this library) — 00 folder — Cross-cutting overview of paraprofessional best practice.

Master Index (this library) — 00\_Master\_Index — How to find a brief on whatever you encounter.

A note on what to expect

Most paras describe the first two months as the hardest period of the role. By month three, the rhythm is established; by the end of the first semester, you know the students well; by the second year, you've grown into a meaningful resource on your team. The fact that the first weeks are hard is not a sign that you've made the wrong choice.

If you do nothing else from this brief: ask. Ask for clarity, ask for written guidance, ask for modeling, ask for the weekly check-in. The teachers who do this work well almost universally appreciate paras who ask. The ones who get frustrated are usually frustrated by the structural lack of time, not by your questions.

Welcome. The students are lucky to have you.

Page of