Ep 74 | Wanted: Passionate Paraprofessionals

SPEAKER_01 0:00

To hear that we've prepared a teacher, they're from the local community, we've we've grown them at our local university, and they're going back into a high needs setting. That is full circle, that is our our hope, and it it's it's exciting. Like we just, you know, yay. We've accomplished part of that mission.

SPEAKER_02 0:24

Welcome to the Voices United in Education podcast. Each week we showcase the teachers, administrators, and community members who go the extra mile to contribute to the success of every student in Escambia County. You'll meet the real people behind the titles and learn about the amazing resources to support every student's success. Many students express a desire to help others when asked about the hopes for their future careers. But getting there can often be a winding path. One program is allowing students to stay the course and get paid while doing it. It's the Parent-to-Teacher Tuition Support Program. And today the director of the program and the principal at Escambia Westgate School are going to talk about how the program could be a fit for students wanting to work as paraprofessionals, fostering potential, facilitating development, growing teachers and community. Kathy Rudd and Dr. Carrie Fogle. Thank you, ladies, for being here. Thank you. Thank you. So, Kathy, I'd love for you to kick us off with painting a picture of what it is that a paraprofessional does.

SPEAKER_00 1:32

Um, everything. They come in, they assist the teacher with really anything the teacher needs. At Westgate, they assist with feeding, they work in small groups with students, they go to a special area with the students. Paras can help with getting kids on the bus or off the bus. That's just another listening ear for the student as well. But they just pretty much work in the classroom and assist the students and do anything the teacher really needs them to do.

SPEAKER_02 2:03

Are they helping with curriculum also, or is it mostly in Westgates scenario, the physical aspects of the student being in the classroom?

SPEAKER_00 2:12

They help with curriculum too. For example, if I was teaching addition, I could say I need to teach this skill to a certain student, and that pair can pretty much take the material and run with it, or come up with their own lesson. So they're very, very valuable in the classroom. We could not, we could not run Westgate without our paras. Wow.

SPEAKER_02 2:30

So it sounds like they almost act as a secondary teacher, adjusting to each individual student, especially because Westgate has very special students. Yes, that's exactly what they are. So tell me, what would make a good paraprofessional? What kind of qualities would a person have that would qualify them before they are certified to become a paraprofessional?

SPEAKER_01 2:54

First, passion for the students and their needs and and their future outcomes. There's a lot of challenges in special education inside and you know outside with stakeholders and in, you know. So it it's crucial for them to have that passion and can keep their focus on the students. Also, a a good amount of flexibility. Things change uh on on a routine basis in a special education classroom. So having that ability to change gears and and roll with it and um not stick to a rigid um set timeline or curriculum because at that moment that particular child needs more attention. So just rolling with it and that that flexibility and and a commitment to remaining in the field down the road because children in special education typically have numerous teachers and individuals come through the the doors over time. So they need to know that they can count on somebody that's gonna be there for them in the long run.

SPEAKER_02 3:49

Do you find that a lot of the students who come through the program have relatives who received care from paraprofessionals?

SPEAKER_01 3:57

Overall, the um the research literature tells us that that there's a a connection somehow to special education, whether you know it's the parent that they had a sibling or they were exposed to it through a best buddies program in high school. There's typically something that initially draws them into the field and they're they're curious and and they attach to that meaningful moment and to see the the faces light up when those children are able to accomplish great things.

SPEAKER_02 4:21

I love it when I hear that there's a lot of full circle moments in the school system in general. And it sounds like there's probably a few of those types of stories in the Westgate realm.

SPEAKER_01 4:33

Yeah, I would I would say definitely as a former special education classroom teacher in K-12, that full circle comes when you write the IEP and you sit there with the parents and you get to talk about the accomplishments of that student in the last year. We don't see it so daily, but when you write the IEP and you get to go, this is how far that child has come, you're you're handing a tissue box to that parent because they never thought their child could do that. And it's very fulfilling as an individual working with that student.

SPEAKER_02 4:59

I could totally imagine that and see how that would keep the paraprofessionals in that industry and and probably at the same school. So tell me about Westgate because it's a very special school with some special students. So paint a picture of who your students are and um what they've become capable of over the years.

SPEAKER_00 5:19

Well, to go to Westgate, you have to be significantly cognitively impaired. Many of our students are nonverbal. Our students are never left unattended on the campus. We take kids from pre-K all the way up to age 22. We have a four-year vocational program for students if they defer their graduation. And we have a students with Down syndrome, autism. We have medically fragile, physically impaired students. So it's just a wide realm of ages and exceptionalities.

SPEAKER_02 5:52

What's the um match process like when a parent is looking for the best option for their child and is trying to determine if Westgate's the right fit or not? You said they usually have significant cognitive impairment. What is that measurement scale like? How do you know if the student is a fit or not?

SPEAKER_00 6:12

It goes through the exceptional student education department. They look at test scores or we may do testing on a student and they determine if the student is appropriate for Westgate. A lot of people they might see our playground or something and think, oh, that's where I want my student to go, but the student is just academically too high. We don't want to put a student that's too high at Westgate because it just would be limiting. So it's usually made through the ESE department at the district level.

SPEAKER_02 6:44

And the ratio matters at Westgate also. Tell me about that, your teacher to student ratio.

SPEAKER_00 6:51

We try to have as small as classes as possible. Right now, I would say the largest class is maybe six students with one teacher, except pre-K is a little bit larger than that. If we have six, we try to have at least two AIDS, possibly three in there. And um, most classrooms have a minimum of two AIDS with a teacher. So it's about one to one or two to one.

SPEAKER_02 7:13

Is an aid the same as a p? Yes, I'm sorry, a pair, yes. Okay. Wow, so that is a really intimate ratio. It has to be. That's incredible. And what makes the pair program specifically unique at Westgate compared to like another school?

SPEAKER_00 7:30

Well, at Westgate, we've been very fortunate. We've had several come through that were able to work some part-time and some full-time while they were finishing their degrees as teachers. And in fact, we have one that's coming back and taking a class when she finishes her student teaching in December. So we're very excited that um, hey Juliet, that Juliet's coming back. Shout out to Juliet. Yes. And um, but she went through that program. So it's very exciting to us that we can grow our own teachers, essentially, is what we're doing. So I'm always looking for pairs. I always go through UWF and try to get as many through UWF as I can.

SPEAKER_02 8:08

I so wish that there was a visual component to this conversation right now, because Kathy, just as you said that, Carrie, both of y'all's face just lit up and you became like children on Christmas morning. This must just be so fulfilling for the both of you. I'd love to hear what what personally this means to you to be in this industry because it's not always fiscally rewarding and it's certainly got its fair share of challenges. Carrie, do you want to share first?

SPEAKER_01 8:38

That's why I mentioned that you have to have a passion for this field. And there there's so much out there that that could make people question. I mean, uh in our daily lives, people go, I could never do that. And so you you recognize that, but it's for us uh on at this level and getting teachers in the classroom, because we know how important those those um classrooms are are to fill these days, especially more so in special education, and to to hear that we've prepared a teacher, they're from the local community, we've we've grown them at our local university, and they're going back into a high needs setting. That is full circle. That is our our hope. And it it's it's exciting. Like we just, you know, yay, that we've accomplished part of that mission.

SPEAKER_02 9:23

I love that. What about you, Kathy?

SPEAKER_00 9:24

Well, I never thought I would do anything with ESE. I was always in the Gen Ed realm. And I became a consulting teacher that helps first year teachers acclimate and be good teachers. And I had, I think, five or six teachers at Westgate. And that was the first time I ever went to Westgate. And I was so, I just loved the school. You just it has such an atmosphere of love there because everybody that's at Westgate wants to be at Westgate. You don't work at Westgate if you don't want to be there because it's hard, hard work. So when the principalship opened up at Westgate and I applied, I was just thrilled. I felt like I was coming back home. It's just to me, it's God's work. It's the closest thing to God's work we have in the district. And it's the students just really need your support, and the parents need to feel like their students are being loved. It's just I just can't describe it. It's just a wonderful feeling. If ever I'm grouchy because of something I'm having to do, if I walk out into the halls and see the children, everything, all the paperwork and stuff just goes away. Wow.

SPEAKER_02 10:28

And as far as student impact, I know you've got just the stacks of stories. Does one certain story stand out to you that you could share?

SPEAKER_00 10:39

Well, we have a para that has been working with um two students trying to communicate with each other, and they are now talking back and forth with their communication devices. That's pretty cool because typically our students don't talk back and forth. We had a para, Heather, that was with us that just worked wonders in her classroom last year. She, I mean, she just made a huge impact coming every day, working with the kids, loving on the children. That's just really what we need is a lot of people coming in with a lot of love.

SPEAKER_02 11:12

Wow. And Carrie, you see things from the macro level, right? Being at the university. What kind of trends are you seeing as far as incoming and outgoing students and kind of the workplace needs and where it's kind of going overall?

SPEAKER_01 11:28

Well, unfortunately, there's been a downward trend in workplace needs and special education. Um, it's been like that for decades. And there's a teacher shortage crisis throughout the country. 48 states currently report shortages. Special education is always at the top. In the state of Florida, special education is the number one shortage area. So our work at the macro level is is vital. And trying to get our students through and understand and be ready for the classroom is one thing. And then on the other aspect, in relation to the their passion and what the things that they will encounter when they're they become teachers is to get them to see the big picture and how how you know that one classroom fits in this big picture because the funding that comes from the federal government will impact that classroom. It impacts the the teacher-student ratio that we we work with. So helping them see where they fit and then maybe getting their eyes to open and uh think about the potential for advocacy, because that's something this field has always relied on for hundreds of years, so they can see that there's more that they can do and find that real fit within this field.

SPEAKER_02 12:33

That's a really interesting point that you bring up about the advocacy, because as a paraprofessional, you have a unique opportunity to not only assess, but as you pointed out, Kathy, to adjust to that student's needs. You kind of have, maybe, am I wrong, a little bit more autonomy to make those specific adjustments and be able to make sure the kid gets what the kid needs.

SPEAKER_00 12:55

Yes, I think they do. And another cool thing about paraprofessionals, because we've actually hired some and then they've told us that they think they want to actually go into the classroom. In fact, I have a new recruit for you. She was um thrilled when I told her about the para to professional program because she's finishing her AA and she was concerned about how she would be able to pay for school. And we're really good about letting them work around their college schedule. A lot of people, they may come as a para and then they're going, ooh, I really like this. I want to have my own class. So it's just it's a great way to get people started as well.

SPEAKER_02 13:32

Well, you say we're really good about working around people's schedules. You know, that's something in the workforce that is thrown around a lot. But I would love for both of you to kind of dig into the specifics of this program because it's more than just something that is said. I don't think that just saying, you know, oh, we're pretty good about that really, it really conveys the meaning of it because it's so unique in exactly how flexible it is, which makes the two of you a really cool combo together because it you support one another by you, Kathy, truly having a flexible work schedule. And then you carry your, you can really sell it, you know.

SPEAKER_01 14:12

Yeah, I I can I can sell it in the aspect of that that tuition. And that's a a critical piece for a lot of students coming through, especially in in the field of education. We all know our salaries are are not the highest out there. So when students coming into that, they're worrying about you know financial aid and and you know having student loans down the the you know road when they graduate. So with the tuition support, they don't have to worry about that. And then that can assist them while they're having to do their field experiences and their student teaching. And it it allows us to kind of to think through ways and especially having a partnership with with you know Kathy at Westgate and uh finding those ways to be creative around the students' um requirements through their college coursework so they can fulfill all the state statutes in and get their degree.

SPEAKER_02 14:58

So when you say tuition support, can you dive into the details of what that looks like? What kind of support are we talking about?

SPEAKER_01 15:05

So we pay the tuition for our students historically. It's been we could guarantee two courses per semester. A lot of paras are not able to take a full load of classes. They're working full-time and then taking courses when they can and around their schedules. So typically the average is about three. We are trying to move that with some support from the Florida Department of Education to being full support. And if a student is taking four or five classes, we will fully pay for that. We're waiting on our new grant to be approved, and that will also start to include a stipend towards certification exams, which is a huge first step for this grant.

SPEAKER_02 15:41

Wow, that's a lot. Okay, so as someone that is maybe listening to this, they're out there in the workforce, they're working, you know, 40 plus hours a week. Maybe they are have a family too. They have a lot on their plate, but they want to make a difference. Maybe there was a paraprofessional in their school that had an impact on them, or they are a sibling of someone who received care from a para, but they just feel that draw to the profession.

SPEAKER_01 16:08

What's their first step? Their first step would be to contact us through the Par to Teacher Tuition Support Program. We have our own website and that that walks them through the requirements. And um they they don't have to be enrolled at the University of West Florida. We provide tuition support for any institution in the state of Florida that's a public institution, but they must be get earning a degree in special education that leads to initial certification. And that's the key.

SPEAKER_02 16:34

And if they want to work in the field, not just be an unpaid intern, then they can come to Westgate, right?

SPEAKER_00 16:41

They sure can. We have we have, I think, 10 openings right now for instructional behavioral assistance, which is the fancy name for paraprofessionals. And when I say work around your schedule, I really do mean work around your schedule. We've had some people work Tuesday, Wednesday. We have um one student right now that works Thursday, Friday only. So we just work around their class schedule. And if they have to go do a field experience, we just, you know, don't see them those days and they go do their field experience. So we are very flexible. I'd rather have a UWF student two days a week than not at all.

SPEAKER_02 17:18

Can you talk about what the pay is? Because sometimes, especially when a student is going to school, even you know, with the tuition support, there are extra expenses. Maybe they have to pay for a babysitter, for example.

SPEAKER_00 17:30

Well, the minimum pay for any district employment is $15 an hour now. Paraprofessionals, depending on their level of education, probably make start around $15.65, I think, or something around there. And then if you're a paraprofessional, you get paid over Christmas break, you don't lose time there. You don't lose time over Thanksgiving break. So that is a wonderful bonus as well. Did you know that, Carrie?

SPEAKER_01 17:57

Um, not when I was a parent.

SPEAKER_00 17:58

It didn't work like that. We had the openings.

SPEAKER_02 18:02

I saw your reaction and I was also reacting the same way because that is also a concern. So this is really neat because if it, you know, school teacher shortages are obviously an issue like you shared. And people in the paraprofessional department of that school shortage is number one, having these perks means a lot.

SPEAKER_01 18:27

Yes. Anything that to that will assist them uh in becoming part of the educational system is is vital. And, you know, salaries are part of it. And um, you know, anything we can do to be flexible around them and and many of them are actually working families and have, you know, children. So having that that schedule around their family also is a big benefit.

SPEAKER_02 18:50

I think having the security knowing that what is promised is delivered is a big benefit too, because every working parent has had that dilemma when they change jobs, worried that what was promised will not be what is actual and that they will have to, you know, make adjustments and sacrifices. And, you know, parents out there are already doing a lot of that. So this is hugely comforting, both for parents looking for to get into this profession and parents of older uh students who may be feeling the draw towards helping kids with special needs. Before we wrap up, is there anything either of you would like to share as we close?

SPEAKER_00 19:31

Um, I just want to just stress that the paras are the lifeblood of our school. And I have like 35 faculty but 60 paras. We're they're about two to one over a you know, they're they rule in the roost, but we could not function without paras. And sometimes I hear people saying just a para or she's just an assistant, and that is just so wrong. The great word paraprofessional is exactly what they are. I would encourage anybody that thinks, even thinks that they might want to go into teaching to try as a paraprofessional. You learn so much, and um, it's just a fabulous job.

SPEAKER_01 20:10

I would encourage that anybody that maybe they've got a family and that, you know, college and finishing their degree is is out of touch. I would say that that's not not true. Most of our paraprofessionals are uh returned to school at an older age. Um, I did, I w I became a paraprofessional, changed careers at 36 years old, completed my degree. I did not have access to this program. But so it's representative of that people can go back to college. I think their their biggest um fear is that they're intimidated by will I be okay? Actually, our I find the paras in our our courses and in my classes actually outperform the rest of the undergraduate students. So they make fantastic students. It's just taking that first step. It's okay if you need assistance on how to navigate the university university system. We're more than happy to assist with that and and we'll get you down that path because it is a goal and we don't want a barrier.

SPEAKER_02 21:03

Wow. Thank you, ladies, so much. I'm going to put all the links that you mentioned in the episode description so anyone listening can easily access that and take that first step. Thank you again.

SPEAKER_00 21:13

Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 21:15

Thanks for listening. Be sure to subscribe and share. Voices United in Education is a production of Scambia County Public Schools.