AFT-trained paraprofessional are helping their colleagues meet No Child Left Behind standards—and get better at their jobs at the same time

A little over a year from now, the deadline for paraprofessionals working in Title I programs to meet federal job qualifications will arrive. The vast majority of paraprofessionals will have to pass a test, as required by No Child Left Behind (NCLB), if they want to keep their jobs. While the AFT has never liked that part of NCLB, the union took an unfortunate requirement and designed a training program that not only provides members with a different way to meet the NCLB standards but also helps them improve their skills and become better at what they do in the classroom.

Rave reviews from participants are a good measure of how successful the program is. To cite a couple: “The training was just excellent. We were shown effective strategies that can be applied

easily in the classroom,” one Montana paraprofessional said. A member in Louisiana commented, “Great presentation. I look forward to additional workshops.”

An alternative to multiple choice

In case anyone needs a reminder, the deadline for paraprofessionals working in Title I programs to meet the NCLB employment standards is January 2006. The law outlines three options for current paraprofessionals—even those on the job for 20 years—to meet by that date: an associate’s degree, two years of college, or passing a test of their knowledge and ability to instruct students in reading, writing and math. While some paraprofessionals have taken college courses to meet that requirement, for the vast majority, passing a test is the only realistic option. And not surprisingly, many school districts and state departments of education have taken the easy route and are using standardized tests developed by the big educational testing companies, the most common being the Educational Testing Service’s ParaPro assessment.

The AFT-developed alternative, however, grows out of the national union’s long-standing and highly respected Educational Research and Dissemination, or ER&D, professional development program. Two summers ago, the AFT tested a program for paraprofessionals based on ER&D, which has been mostly aimed at teachers over the years. Modules in reading, math, parent involvement and student discipline, as well as foundations of effective teaching, were developed by the AFT and tested by teams of paraprofessionals from a number of different AFT local unions. This past summer, groups of paraprofessionals—some back for a second year—were trained in the different modules and have since been teaching classes to colleagues back in their own districts. The AFT training, held at the Maritime Institute outside of Baltimore, was more intense than most of the paras had ever experienced—more than four full days of instruction, and more like a college seminar than any training typically offered to school support staff.

Montana moves ahead

Montana is one state that has enthusiastically embraced the AFT training. A number of school districts there have gotten approval to use what they call “Paraprofessionals Achieving Standards Successfully” (PASS) as an acceptable NCLB option. Paras who complete the four-day training and pass the accompanying assessments in math and reading are deemed qualified by the state.

Helena is one of those districts. During the MEA-MFT (the merged state federation) educators conference in October, 37 paraprofessionals completed the training, and the vast majority passed. The training was noteworthy for a couple of reasons, says Karen Lewis, president of the Helena Paraprofessionals and a participant in the original AFT pilot training in Maryland. It was the first time paraprofessionals had ever been offered their own training during the conference. And better yet, Lewis says, their own colleagues were teaching the classes. “People were really taken with the fact that our own paras were doing it,” she says. “And they were thrilled that it was coming from their own union.”

Paraprofessionals in Billings, where union-sponsored training this summer attracted about 50 people, can also meet the qualifications by successfully completing the course. “Our school district turned a potential negative into a positive by sponsoring MEA-MFT PASS and allowing the test to be used to meet the new federal standards,” says Janet Baum, president of the Billings Classified Employee Association.

In Pinellas County, Fla., the local union is hoping to use the AFT program to save the jobs of paraprofessionals in the district who have not yet passed the ParaPro exam, reports Randy Dodds, president of the Pinellas Education Support Personnel Association. The five members who attended the AFT training this summer have been working with teachers and district staff to put together a series of workshops on Saturdays starting in January. The course will be targeted at about 40 Title I paraprofessionals if the union and the district can get an agreement from the state to accept the course as an alternative to the ParaPro. “We really don’t want to lose any more people,” says Dodds, explaining that almost 400 PSRPs lost their jobs as a result of budget cuts a couple of years ago.

Eager for information

Even in places where the district won’t accept the AFT program as meeting the NCLB requirements, the training still offers some of the most effective professional development that paraprofessionals have ever had. Jefferson Parish, La., for example, is only using the ParaPro test, but the Jefferson Federation of Teachers is going ahead with workshops for its paraprofessionals led by the members who attended the AFT’s summer training. “The paras are so excited to have workshops given by their peers,” says Laura Harper, the union’s paraprofessional leader. “The evaluations have been absolutely excellent.”

Her members are like sponges, Harper adds, “soaking up all the information that’s available to them. Whatever we give them, they want more. They just want to do a good job when they’re working with children.”

Likewise in Anchorage, Alaska, AFT-trained union members are presenting the courses as ongoing training rather than anything linked to NCLB. One challenge is finding time (and sometimes money) for paraprofessional training. TOTEM, the AFT’s paraprofessional affiliate in Anchorage, presented four classes during two in-service days in October and plans to repeat them during conference days this spring.

Whether helping members meet NCLB requirements before the 2006 deadline or exposing them to research in math and reading about what works to help kids learn, the bottom line is that the training helps paraprofessionals improve their skills. As Dodds puts it, “Even though we’re a union, we’re not always fighting with the district. We’re on the forefront of trying to make things better for employees and for students—the children are our focus.”