Renay has been dealing with some pretty interesting issues, but was reflecting on the needs of the staff at school, which are diverse on a good day.
Staff changes are starting to take shape on some campuses. While some were about placement earlier in the year, the staff changes in the middle of the year are impacting next year.
Retaining Staff For the Year
When we spoke about staff changes before, we mentioned mostly the positive aspects. There are negative aspects as well, including gossiping and ignoring new staff.
There are negative aspects as well, including gossiping and ignoring new staff.
Judgement about people who continue to move through the school system is complex. Some people just miss assigned; that connection or grade level is the wrong match. There are some things that staff members with family need more help at home, or someone who needs that time to cope with. Then, finally, there are good-byes that we are not certain about. The staff member who retires. The staff member who transfers across the district. The staff member who quietly leaves without being noticed.
There are differences in how they each feel and why they are leaving. But the attendance still needs to be turned in; the students need to learn to follow instructions, and the world keeps spinning.
Most of all, for those of us who stay, our job is not just be the pillars of being on campus. It is also about ‘what might have been’. All the time you turned and wished to share with one individual. Now life is a lot more connected than it was twenty-six years ago, so it is just the memory to recall and text a person, but those experiences firsthand are not always as connected as spotting the event one wishes to share. The story has multiple vantage points, and they are not always evident to those who are not directly involved.
It has taken a while to understand a shift in perspectives. Teachers and paraeducators may leave any given district with or without warning for many, many reasons.
It has taken a while to understand a shift in perspectives. Teachers and paraeducators may leave any given district with or without warning for many, many reasons. But the reasons have significantly changed over the time ParaEducate has observed. And we are not certain how to continue to support those teams yet.
But what works: sincere thanks daily. A knowledge that institutional knowledge is irreplaceable. And the familiar for the students, all students matter.
There are many pieces to retention, and not all of those pieces are able to be fixed. When everyone is as supportive as they can be, that is all we can hope for.
The Parts That Are Uncomfortable
We cannot say that the past January has been anything we can just work through as ‘normal’.
In the United States, we worked very hard to follow the understanding that the Constitution is a critical document to the running of our nation. This also includes the amendments to the United States Constitution, that every citizen is entitled to the rights given to us by that document.
And yes: the students in our classes with and without disabilities have the same rights. They have the right to assemble peacefully without the threat of violence. They have the right to expect an education and being held to educated standards.
We have the responsibility of imparting appropriate information about our government. For example, in the third grade in California, students learn about their local elected leaders by title—mayor, county supervisors, school board members, and state governor. By no means are we criticizing their jobs; we are letting students understand these are citizens who are given the task when citizens vote for them into office. Their job is to represent not just the people they like but all the people who live within their area.
The jobs of firefighters, police, ambulance emergency personnel and other medical community helpers may also be included in this conversation.
A different note
ParaEducate will be celebrating an anniversary this month. We cannot wait to share how we celebrate!
Do you have any comments about this month’s blog? Do you have a question for us? Would you like to have an opportunity to pilot some materials at your campus? Find ParaEducate online here, here, here, and on our website. ParaEducate is a company providing materials, information, and strategies for people working in special education inclusion settings for grades K-12. ParaEducate, the blog, is published once a month during the academic school year. ParaEducate shares its findings at conferences, through its books, and through its academic adaptations.
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