Assessment Toolkit

Students with extensive support needs (ESN) often benefit from the support of a staff member during community-based work experiences. Due to logistics and staffing, this role is often fulfilled by a paraprofessional (i.e., teacher’s assistant). In this capacity, paraprofessionals are essentially acting as a “job coach,” a central feature of supported employment for adults with disabilities. In this webcast, the presenter will share practical implications from research aimed at understanding paraprofessionals’ role in job coaching for students with ESN and how they are prepared to fulfill this role. Presenter's Bio: Hannah Brenner Nieto received her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in May 2024 and is now an Assistant Professor of Special Education at North Central College in Naperville, IL (a suburb of Chicago). Previously, Hannah was a high school special education teacher in Chicago Public Schools focused on providing high-quality transition experiences for her students with extensive support needs. Hannah’s research is centered on promoting effective and inclusive community-based work experiences for students with extensive support needs that contribute to positive employment outcomes. Hannah is particularly interested in paraprofessionals’ growing role in job coaching and how school districts can train and supervise paraprofessionals to effectively prepare students for competitive, integrated employment.