Our Projects And Services

The PAR²A Center is primarily supported by grant projects funded by the U.S. Department of Education and contracts with state and local education agencies, classified employee associations, and private foundations. The majority of our projects focus on Colorado school districts, school professionals, and paraeducators. We have recently broadened the scope of our work and have received a contract from the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) to develop state wide training for paraprofessionals who work with families of infants and toddlers (birth through 2 years) with disabilities and developmental delays. Paraprofessionals who work with these families hold the title of Developmental Intervention Assistants (DI Assistants) in Colorado. In the recent past, the PAR²A Center has also housed projects that reach out to other states. The projects of the Center fall under four broad categories:

• Career Ladders are the projects designed to provide training to paraeducators, other non-certified school personnel, mid-career changers as well as recent graduates so that they can move into a professional teaching position.
• Training Projects and Services provide preparation for paraeducators and Developmental Intervention Assistants, as well as professionals and administrators regarding the employment, preparation, and supervision of paraeducators and DI Assistants using the CO-TOP Model.
• Paraprofessional Preparation Program Improvement Projects focus on improving the quality of existing paraprofessional preparation programs by including evidence based and standards based competencies into the curriculum.
• Research Projects focus on research about employment, training, supervision and effectiveness of paraprofessionals.