Paraprofessionals serve primarily as a support system for students who need it, be it academically or emotionally. Since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, however, the job descriptions of “paras” changed somewhat.
Some paras now have their typical one-on-one time with students in a virtual setting. Many spend an hour or more after instruction time cleaning and disinfecting surfaces in the buildings. Last spring, when students began distance learning, several paras spent the day on buses delivering meals to students.
With Pequot Lakes' shift to distance learning in November, most of paraprofessional China Harmala's student interaction has come by way of a computer. Dan Determan / Echo JournalDan Determan / Echo Journal
“Our paras are second to none,” Pine River-Backus Elementary School Principal Rick Aulie said. “They have been doing an outstanding job adjusting to new protocols. Many of them are on different schedules on different days or different weeks as staff have been on quarantine … It's not an ideal situation, but paras here have been the glue that is holding a lot of our work together.”
“I've never held our paras on this high of a pedestal, and I have been very impressed,” Pequot Lakes Middle School Principal Mike O’Neil said. “We have a great team. For the most part, everyone has risen to the occasion and accepted the challenge … It’s a pretty cool environment to be a part of.”
Work changed again for paras in Pequot Lakes in November when the school district adopted a fully remote learning model, making para-to-student connections trickier to achieve.
— Pine River-Backus Elementary School Principal Rick Aulie
“With a lot of it being online - I guess I wasn’t expecting that,” first-year Pequot Lakes paraprofessional Travis Tank said. “My intention with this job was being more hands-on. I like being with the kids, and it’s hard to be with the kids through a computer.”
To better serve the students who need some level of in-person learning, Pequot Lakes Middle School established a “learning center” in the school cafeteria, where students can come receive some hands-on help from paras in a safe environment.
“We have had our ups and downs, but a lot of good things have come out of it,” Pequot Lakes Middle School para Tammy Schroeder said. “We have made some better, closer connections with the kids, spending all day with them here in the cafeteria … A lot of the kids that came (to the learning center) were more receptive to our help than they are in the classroom, because they don’t want to be singled out.”
Schroeder and Tank were two paras who spent the majority of distance-learning time in the cafeteria with students who needed the support.
“It basically didn’t even feel like school at that point,” Tank said. “It was much more like you are just hanging out. You are one-on-one helping as much as you can.”
At Pine River-Backus, many of the paras are not seeing as many students as they are used to because of distance-learning constraints.
“(We are) missing some of the kids that are distance learning, but we haven't been doing a lot with distance learning,” PR-B para Sarah Rugroden said. “We just want to see some of those kids we were used to seeing. We miss them. Being here for six years, you get used to having a relationship with some of these kids.”
Because of distance learning, China Harmala is one of several Pequot Lakes paraprofessionals whose time with students has shifted to a virtual setting.
— Pequot Lakes Middle School Principal Mike O’Neil
“The hard part for that is trying to structure and schedule times for students, so that you are able to help them when they don’t have to be in a certain class,” Harmala said. “We either catch them between classes or towards the end of the day - between say 1:50 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. … The kids have done amazingly well.”
The higher grades at PR-B have been distance learning since the school year began, and only a few students are reporting in-person.
“Right now we only have special ed kids, and not everyone,” PR-B High School para Kelly Johnson said,” but it's a fairly good group of them Monday through Thursday and flex Fridays. It is any kid that wants to come in for extra help.”
Johnson said some of her regular students who have shifted to distance learning are dealing with more distractions - siblings, pets, etc. - and many of them need a more personal approach to learning.
“The kids in school are on their computer constantly. They are on the screen with their teacher listening with earbuds and trying to interact in that way, which is clearly not the same as in-person learning. It seems a lot of my job lately is just approaching kids to remind them to stay on task and keep their mask on and that type of thing.”
Masks have been another serious change that paraprofessionals now deal with on a daily basis. Though not convenient, many have adjusted to these new requirements.
“Some days are easier than others and some days you feel like you can't do it,” Rugroden said. “Other than that I think it all has gone really well … As far as paras, we are easily adjustable. We're a team and we adjust well to whatever the situation is.”
Despite all of the changes and challenges, the paras feel that many of the kids are also adjusting well.
“The kids got used to seeing us (in the learning center),” Schroeder said. “In fact, they got very comfortable and then we started seeing behaviors, because they are so comfortable being with us.”
While O’Neil said it has been both “challenging and rewarding” for paras, many in Pequot Lakes feel the learning center has been a welcome addition to the district, so much so that some hope a variation of it sticks around once the pandemic subsides.
“When a kid knows that they have at least one adult that cares about them that has a vested interest in their progress, research shows us that that kid is going to be better off for it,” O’Neil said.
“Our district really stepped up to provide a center for the kids that really needed support,” Harmala said. “These kids are living through something nobody else has had to live with in this pandemic situation. Hopefully next year we’ll all be back at school every day.”
Tank has had more teaching moments than, perhaps, he could have wanted. The first-year para is taking online classes at night to earn his special education degree, and feels the experience he is getting as a para will be invaluable to him with his future aspirations.
“It’s teaching me to be prepared for what you can’t be prepared for,” Tank said. “We just got an email one day (in November) that we are not going to have school for the next few months. You have to be prepared for the crazy things. (The paraprofessional job) has been doing a good job of helping me see how unpredictable everything is and how some of the teachers are handling it.”
“His innate interpersonal skills have allowed him to make connections with some really challenging kids, and make real special connections,” O’Neil said of Tank. “I love his hunger and his energy. It's all genuine, which makes it really exciting to think about where his career might take him.”
Despite certain positives that have come through in this trying time, local paras admit that some of these students in need of additional support are slipping through the cracks for various reasons.
“It's hard to have those kids at home,” Johnson said. “We see how important it is for them to be coming in and being in school and being more accountable. We're trying to do the best we can to reach out to them with phone calls, postcards and Google Meets, so we can see each other and try to help them pull their grades up.”
When those situations come up, it becomes imperative for the paras to recognize the good work being done in other parts of the job.
“You have to focus on the triumphs,” Schroeder said. “You focus on the ones that are getting A’s on their tests and are getting all of their work done on Thursdays so they don’t have to come on Fridays. It’s the little things like that.
“I think we are rocking it,” Schroeder said. “I think we have a great team … and we have been here to support them as best we can."
Dan Determan may be reached at 218-855-5879 or dan.determan@pineandlakes.com. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/@PEJ_Dan.
Travis Grimler may be reached at 218-855-5853 or travis.grimler@pineandlakes.com. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/@PEJ_Travis.
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