A Day in the Life Of

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.

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.

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. The Orange Peal staff recently spent the day shadowing Dickens in observance of National Education Support Professionals Day on Nov. 17.

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.

8:45 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.

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.

Name: Dwayne Dickens Role: Paraprofessional at Memorial Middle Years with OCPS: 19 Hometown: Orlando, Fla.

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9:56 a.m. – The class takes a stretch break with jumping jacks, running in place, hopping on one foot and taking deep breaths.

10:23 a.m. – The class begins center time with two independent work groups and two teacher-guided groups. Rodriguez works with one group of students and Dickens works with four students on i-Ready Nearpod.

11:00 a.m. – Small group centers rotate and Dickens works with four different students on a Reading Nearpod.

11:14 a.m. – The small groups wrap up and students return to their desks to prepare to line up for lunch. 11:16 a.m. – Dickens walks students to the cafeteria and returns to the class to eat, while preparing for an afternoon math lesson he will lead.

11:39 a.m. – Dickens picks students up from the cafeteria and leads them to the courtyard for recess.

12:00 p.m. – Dickens walks students back to the class.

12:05 p.m. – Students work on an independent practice Nearpod in preparation for a test the next day.

12:29 p.m. – Individual practice wraps up and students prepare to go to STEM special.

12:32 p.m. – Dickens walks students to STEM special and returns to the classroom to work with Rodriguez to prepare for the math lesson he will lead when students return.

1:12 p.m. – Dickens picks students up from STEM and walks them back to class.

1:20 p.m. – Dickens begins the math lesson (adding four two-digit numbers) and allows time for students to complete practice problems on white boards.

1:40 p.m. – Dickens selects students to share their solutions with the class.

2:15 p.m. – Students complete a "Check for understanding" question and begin to work independently on the Symphony Math software program.

2:35 p.m. – Dickens and Rodriguez assist students with reviewing math questions to prepare for a test the next day.

2:49 p.m. – Students begin to pack up to prepare for school dismissal.

2:53 p.m. – Dickens has the class line up and gives a group air high-five while walking them to designated pick-up locations for dismissal.

2:56 p.m. – Dickens supervises walkers in the hallway until dismissal.

3:01 p.m. – Dickens and Rodriguez walk students to the exit of the school campus and supervise them until all walkers leave the campus.

3:17 p.m. – Dickens returns to class to prepare for the next day and discusses feedback Rodriguez has regarding his lesson and areas of improvement.

3:37 p.m. – Dickens leaves Sadler Elementary for class at Rollins College.