Wednesday April 5th 2023, MMCRU celebrated Paraprofessional Appreciation Day. Here at MMCRU, we have many paraprofessionals that help many students throughout the day. Paras partake in daily classes and activities with students such as; a wide range of responsibilities that fall into five different categories; instruction, behavioral and social support, communication, personal care, and clerical. Some responsibilities can include; implementation of the student’s IEP, accommodations, and modifications, implementing and supporting behavior plans and strategies under teacher direction, communicating with special education teacher regarding student progress, providing personal assistance to students, as needed, to address mobility, positioning, personal care, daily activities, and utilizing the restroom, and assist in the organization of student work. Natasha Young, MMCRU Paraprofessional says, “It is not an easy job, it can be very demanding, but there are many positive and rewarding aspects to this role in a school. I feel incredibly grateful to be working with and alongside my student(s), it has given me a greater understanding of those individuals with special needs, helped me practice my patience when working with others, and created an appreciation for this line of work and the teachers that try hard every day to ensure that all their students’ learning needs are met despite any personal setbacks. I did not realize all the facets that paraprofessionals deal with to ensure that everyone in the class gets the quality education they deserve when I was in school.”