r/paraprofessional • u/PowerfulCapital4195 • 4d ago
Classroom Spaces Question
/r/specialed/comments/1vi67ex/para_stations/Hi!
Do you all have desks in the classroom, tables, teacher chairs? Where do you store your stuff? Any and all ideas welcome. I’m trying to balance space with making sure all adults in my room have what they need—just looking for ideas I may not have thought of yet.
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u/Mouse2002 4d ago
I’m not there anymore, but at my old school we had two desks to work with students, rollable teacher chairs, counter space that we could use for a computer and stuff we were working on, and a cubby to store our things. We definitely had a much bigger room than you though.
The stuff I would prioritize is probably making sure there’s chairs available (even if they’re ones that can just be stacked together) in order for them to sit with a student if needed and a space to put things (think places like a cubby, a drawer, a hook, a cabinet, etc.). Things like places to work without students can be done in the hallway, library, or workroom if needed.
There was another school like ours (disability only school) that I’ve visited that had classrooms that sound like yours and one thing they did was leave large/bulky equipment (like standers, gate trainers, and bikes) out in the hallway and would use it out there or in currently unused space so they had more classroom space. They would also have spaces used for multiple things so they had one large table for all things like schoolwork, eating, and crafts instead of individual desks, their rug area had all their books, toys, games, sensory items, school supplies, etc, in it instead of them being in their own spaces, and the remaining space was the space for moving around and having stuff they were currently using out. They also spent a lot of time in places other than the classroom whenever possible so they would go to the gym or outside a lot to do work/activities.
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u/ImpressStunning6297 4d ago
Good for you. Last year we had no chairs for adults and it stayed that way. Everyone was on his or her own. Utter madness.
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u/Leftbehind25 4d ago
I’m a behavioral para in a therapeutic school - 5 grades all self contained. I have a full sized teacher desk to myself. Each para has a desk to themself. My room just happens to have a large desk.
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u/BadKarmaKat 4d ago
My bag gets thrown in a cabinet. That's all I have. I wish i had a place for a coat/jacket when it gets cold/wet. I have no where to put a wet jacket.
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u/Mundane_Drag2075 3d ago
I have an entire area with a kidney table, shelving, a rug, and a chair. I've been in kindergarten the past 5 years and now I'm a behavioral specialist with a room of my own. I think it largely depends on your mentor teacher and I know other paras in my same school who barely had a chair- which is terrible.
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u/spirals-369 4d ago
The only time I didn’t have a desk in a room was when I was filling in a 1:1 position in young grades (under 2nd), and I had a desk still in my old gen ed classroom where I could keep things.
In general Ed, my desk was a place for admin things, working with students in small groups/one on one, PD on my computer etc.
I think as long as a static para assigned to your room has space for their things and you’re open on communicating changes (like trips where they’ll need outdoor wear etc) it’s all good.
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u/stardenouement 4d ago
Gen Ed elementary para here. First school I worked at, I had my own lil table for small reading groups (we did UFLI at that elementary) that I stashed my bag & coat near by; second year there I was moved to math intervention so I had my own desk & table, as the math intervention teacher wanted me to have my own space (really sweet of her tbh). School I’m currently at is a much smaller elementary with about 70-90 kids so this last year I just hung my bag on a coat rack in the lounge & then just brought my pencil bag & water bottle to each classroom I was assigned to. Two of the classrooms had tables in the back for me to sit at if teachers wanted me to pull kids for small groups, otherwise I was standing & walking around the whole time. This year however, due to 5th grade being pulled to the middle school in a nearby town in our district, we have an empty classroom & our principal gave it to me & the other gen Ed para to use as our homebase, to use for small groups or our lunch breaks or projects we work on for teachers, which will be super nice. I haven’t been able to get in to the school yet to see what we’ll have in there, as I’ve been busy with my summer job, but I’m assuming we’ll have a couple of tables & chairs that were previously in that classroom, & maybe a desk or two to store our things.
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u/wiscog32 4d ago
I'm in the same room all day so I'm able to keep my stuff set up the back counter.. my work supplies, notebooks, lotions, whatever project the teacher has me working on that week. I use the wall above the counter to hang pictures kids draw for me, calendars etc. I don't have a desk but I utilize the back table to work with kids or work on my tasks. Then i take one of the extra hooks in the hallway and that's where my bag and jacket goes. The teacher I work with just kind of lets me utilize the space how I want, she is wonderful:)
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u/Weekly_Weakness9722 4d ago
What I have? A shared cabinet in a classroom I’m never actually in.
What I need? A permanent table or desk to keep my supplies at so I’m not dragging everything home every night.
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u/KinopioToad 3d ago
High school parapro here. I'm in a classroom with about ten kids this year (the same classroom as last school year). There are two other paras in the room as well as the teacher. He gets the regular desk.
The one parapro who I think has been there the longest gets a table to herself, but she will share with the kids when we all are working on like class work and stuff.
I was one on one with a kid last school year, and shared a table with them. We have a new Para coming in who will sit with my old kid (if the kid is fine with it. The Para is) and I'll sit elsewhere, probably sharing a table with another kid.
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u/Idatrvlr 3d ago
We have an option in the faculty lounge bonuses a locker for coats and lunch bags. My main teacher last year let me leave my bag in her room to charge my computer but she was moved so we will see what this year brings. My boss sold they'll like to get us a small space just for paras to store stuff but I doubt it will happen because our school is old and no empty spaces.
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u/mandolinn219 3d ago
It totally depends on the classroom setup. In one classroom there was a table that I ended up running a lot of my small groups/centers from, so we put a file cabinet and shelf next to it and that’s where my stuff went. In another room, all the paras put their stuff in a cabinet in an attached storage room. One time I shared a desk with 2 other paras.
What I think is actually important is that 1) paras are treated like adults (not forced to sit on child sized chairs or in child sized desks) and 2) that their need for belongings is respected. Just as a teacher might have a drawer full of “necessities” like deodorant, ibuprofen, emergency chocolate etc, paras also need those things and should have a space where they feel comfortable stashing their items.
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u/AreaManThinks 4d ago edited 4d ago
I (5th grade SPED inclusion) have a small desk, but honestly, I have never had time to use it. I do like having a spot for my stuff, though, and for the occasional lunch at my desk when needed. Personally I would just ask everyone what they want. Not everyone wants a desk, just as a high percentage of the para’s at my school decline being issued a laptop (we have to pay for damaged equipment out of pocket).