Your paraprofessional is part of your instructional team. Developing a good working relationship with him or her will benefit not only the two of you but your students as well. Here are some tips from Minnesota paraprofessionals and teachers on how to build an effective team with each other.

Communicate. Touch base with your para every day if possible, but at least once a week, particularly when it comes to your goals for your students. Your para might spend more time with some of the students than you can, so listen to his or her insights and be open to suggestions on new ways to approach different situations. Everyone on the team should know what’s happening.

Compliment. A little praise goes a long way toward making the work more enjoyable. If your para is doing a good job, let him or her know you appreciate it.

Share lesson plans. Paras will appreciate it if you provide copies so they know what they can expand on with students.

Clarify expectations. Be sure to tell your para what you want to achieve with your class. Be very clear about the tasks you will do, and which you will transfer to the para. Provide your para with guidance, but allow him or her some flexibility in how to accomplish tasks. Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, your roles are specified, putting you in charge of designing instruction and evaluating your students’ progress.

Be respectful. Treat your para as the integral part of the classroom team that he or she is. If your para is not performing his or her job correctly, be upfront about it but be professional. Never use destructive criticism or put-downs, and never assume you know what your para is thinking or feeling.

Get to know each other. Schedule time when you can talk about your backgrounds, goals and your approach to different situations. You might find that your interests and skills provide a good complement to each other.

Seek feedback. Ask your para if you are meeting frequently enough and providing clear guidance. Ask if your job roles are defined clearly. Does your para feel overburdened or underutilized? What areas or aspects need improvement? Are you each sharing the information you both need on student progress? Seek out your para’s input regularly.

Celebrate. Take time to recognize your accomplishments and the contributions you each make to the team. You are both important in your students’ education, so take time to congratulate each other on your successes.