Paraprofessional Associate Degree Program

Charter Oak State College

The Associate in Science Degree in Paraprofessional Studies prepares paraprofessionals to work in public schools.

Students in this program acquire skill in teaching methods designed to support the classroom teacher in accomplishing student goals. Students graduating from this program are able to work as either General Education or Special Education Paraprofessionals. They are also able to continue on for a bachelor’s degree at Charter Oak State College in either Child Studies or Early Childhood Education, which prepares them for entrance into a teacher certification program.

This degree requires a minimum of 60 credits. All major courses must be completed with a grade of C or above.

  • ECE 101: Introduction to Early Childhood Education

    3 credits
  • ECE 176: Health, Safety & Nutrition: Birth to Eight

    3 credits
  • ECE 205: Diversity & Ethics in Early Childhood Education

    3 credits
  • ECE 247: Child Development: Birth to Eight

    3 credits
  • EDU 100: Introduction to Paraprofessional Training

    3 credits
  • EDU 101: Behavior Strategies for Paraprofessionals

    3 credits
  • EDU 102: Exceptional Learners for the Paraprofessional

    3 credits
  • EDU 103: Autistic Learner and Assistive Technology

    3 credits
  • EDU 104: The Paraprofessional Internship

    3 credits
  • SOC 210: Sociology of the Family

    3 credits
  • Total

    30 credits

All General Education and residency requirements must be met in order to earn a Charter Oak degree. Students enrolled in the AS in Paraprofessional Studies degree are exempt from the global understanding requirement and must complete either the US History/Government or Non-US History/Culture requirement.

Students with documented disabilities who wish to request reasonable accommodations* under the American with Disabilities Act must follow the college’s procedure for requesting accommodations found on the Office of Accessibility Services webpage. Below are the Technical Standards with or without reasonable accommodations.

Students entering the program should:

  • Have adequate visual and hearing capacity to observe student behaviors in course videos and internships.
  • Have adequate functional vision, hearing, olfactory and tactile sensation to accurately observe or assess children's growth, development and learning in a classroom environment.
  • Be able to engage in physical activity. Students should have adequate motor function to participate in basic classroom activities and to provide effective, quality care to students. Motor function includes both gross and fine motor skills, strength and coordination, physical stamina, and should allow the individual to maintain periods of sitting, standing, walking, bending, lifting, and moving about in classroom and school settings as needed.
  • Be able to use various types of educational and assistive technology to assist children in learning such as using whiteboards, computers, tablets, screen readers and speech to text software.

Outcomes & Pathways

Students who complete an Associates of Science in Paraprofessional Studies will be able to:

  1. explain legal and safety requirements of paraprofessionals;
  2. apply education foundational knowledge and theory of child development;
  3. discuss the various types of learners that are enrolled in schools and how various teaching strategies must be used with different types of learners;
  4. demonstrate effective dispositions for working to support all students;
  5. communicate effectively both orally and in writing to support teachers in developing effective partnerships within the school, with families and within the community;
  6. apply developmentally appropriate pedagogical techniques and classroom management strategies to meet the needs of all learners in both general education as well as special education settings;
  7. explain the roles and responsibilities of paraprofessionals in supporting the teacher in developing safe, healthy, inclusive and culturally pluralistic learning environments for students;
  8. explain the need for Individual Educational Plans for students and how to interpret plans; and
  9. support teachers in developing partnerships with families.

Why Charter Oak State College?