As part of the General Paraeducator Certificate, paraeducators must complete the Fundamental Course of Study (FCS), which is a series of professional development courses covering many domains of learning to be completed in one year. ESD 112’s Student and School Success (SaSS) department has been partnering with districts to allow access to these opportunities and create content that fulfills the FCS requirements for districts.

With increased demand for these trainings due to unexpected school closures, a partnership began with the Early Care & Education (ECE) team of trainers to offer additional FCS courses that build off of training content that has previously been made available to child care providers, especially around equity, cultural identity and diversity, safe learning environments, and classroom management topics. In some cases, elementary paraeducators and child care providers have attended trainings together, allowing a unique and rare space for conversation and collaboration across the P-3 system.

Zoom training session with both elementary paraeducators and child care providers.

We hope to continue this shared dialogue between birth-5 educators and K-3 teachers and know that it is crucial in helping strengthen the way in which our P-3 systems work together to provide seamless services on behalf of children and families.

For upcoming FCS courses, go to pdEnroller >