Supporting Children With Disabilities in the Catholic Schools

Abstract

Many children with disabilities attend Catholic schools, but the resources to serve these children adequately are limited. Teacher assistants are increasingly being used to meet this need by assisting students with disabilities in regular classrooms. The authors maintain that such assistants can be effectively used in Catholic schools for this purpose, and others, if appropriately prepared. This article identifies the education needed to enable urban teacher assistants to work effectively with students with special needs in regular classrooms in Catholic schools. The article also examines a preparation program at