AFTER A SURVEY OF THE LITERATURE AND OF THE EXISTING TEACHER AIDE PROGRAMS IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, THE FOLLOWING CONCLUSIONS WERE DRAWN--(1) TEACHER AIDE PROGRAMS CONSTITUTE A NEW AND USEFUL SERVICE TO TEACHERS AND STUDENTS. (2) AN AIDE IS ONE WHO RELIEVES THE TEACHER OF NON-PROFESSIONAL DUTIES. (3) AIDES' TASKS FALL INTO THE BROAD CATEGORIES OF (A) CLERICAL WORK, (B) LAY READERS, (C) PREPARATION OF ENRICHMENT MATERIALS, AND (D) ASSISTANT IN INSTRUCTIONAL AND RESOURCE MATERIALS CENTERS. (4) 10 DISTRICTS IN THE SAN FRANCISCO AREA ARE USING TEACHER AIDES AND CONSIDER THEM A WELCOME ADDITION TO THEIR STAFF. (5) BOTH PAID AND VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS ARE WORKING WELL. (6) THE PROGRAMS DO RE-DEPLOY TEACHING LOADS TO ALLOW MORE TIME FOR INSTRUCTION. (7) AIDE PROGRAMS MUST HAVE SCHOOL BOARD AND SCHOOL PERSONNEL ACCEPTANCE. A NUMBER OF RECOMMENDATIONS ARE MADE. THEY MOSTLY EMPHASIZE THE NEED FOR PREPLANNING, COORDINATION, AND FULL JOB DESCRIPTION. QUESTIONNAIRES AND DETAILED FINDINGS ARE PRESENTED. (RP)