A Day in the Life of ... a Paraprofessional Before the school bell rings, Dwayne Dickens is already in Ms. Rodriguez’s second-grade class preparing for the lessons of the day. Dickens, who has spent 19 years with OCPS as a paraprofessional, is a current intern pursuing a degree in teaching via the Pathways to Teaching program. The program is a partnership between OCPS and Rollins College that provides OCPS paras the opportunity to obtain their bachelor’s degree in elementary education at no cost.
The Orange Peal staff recently spent the day shadowing Dickens in observance of National Education Support Professionals Day on Nov. 17.
Dickens wanted to make a bigger impact with students and decided that the program was a perfect opportunity. As part of his internship he is statused with Rodriguez’s class at Sadler Elementary. In less than two months he will complete the program and take the teaching certification test.
8:45 a.m. – He welcomes students into class and provides hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes for students to clean their desks and laptops. The class uses dry erase boards to share how they are feeling during a short discussion.
Dickens grew up in Orlando and graduated from Jones High in 1991. He attended Bethune Cookman College, majoring in criminal justice and started working in juvenile justice with troubled youth. After nine years of work in various states along the East Coast, love brought him back to Orlando, and a passion to help children guided him to OCPS in 2002. With the district he has worked as a physical education para, on-the-job training coach and most recently a PASS (Positive Alternative to School Suspension) coordinator at Memorial Middle.
16 | Orange Peal
8:25 a.m. – Dickens arrives at the classroom to plan and discuss with Ms. Rodriguez the day’s lessons. 8:40 a.m. – He places laptops and worksheets for the day on students’ desks.
8:53 a.m. – Rodriguez begins the class writing-andsight-word lesson while Dickens observes and takes notes while also entering student attendance. 9:10 a.m. – Students begin to work in pairs to complete practice work, and Dickens walks the room to assist students as needed and ensure they are on task. 9:20 a.m. – The class begins a reading lesson led by Rodriguez followed by a phonics and comprehension lesson.
