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Assisting a student, paraprofessional Sara Rhodes reviews spelling. Rhodes said she enjoys her job because she is able to watch students mature and grow up. Photo by FHS senior Jazzi Davis.
Paraprofessionals Help Students Unlock Potential
Article author and FHS junior Zach Stolz is Entertainment Editor for the FHS Register newspaper.
They teach without classrooms, without textbooks and without a fixed curriculum, but to their students they teach the greatest lessons they will learn, they teach about life.
These men and women are the paraprofessionals of Fayetteville High School, and they have what can be considered one of the hardest jobs in the school, but also the most rewarding.
“You see these kids mature, and grow up they begin to finally comprehend what is going on and it makes you really happy,” paraprofessional Sara Rhodes said.
Paraprofessionals spend their days assisting special needs students around the school or in certain classrooms.
“I show up in the morning and I help students throughout the day in their classes. I’m mostly assigned to one kid but I help out [a few] others throughout the day,” paraprofessional James Stewart said.
“Paraprofessionals must be in the room to aid students,” said Dr. Denise Hoy-Whitfield, the Department Chair and Designee for the Special Education Department. “They support the students for intense learning and the sharpening of skills, they also help out with larger groups, and retesting.”
Training to become a paraprofessional requires at least two years of college education and they must pass the ParaPro Assessment test with a minimum score of 456.
Paraprofessionals cover more than academic assistance though. They also help to develop life skills and prepare students to face life inside, and outside, of high school.
“High school can be tough enough for regular kids, just imagine what it’s like for these kids,” Stewart said, “part of our goal is to help these kids be as normal as they can be, and to help them blend in and have a purpose-filled life.”
Many of FHS’s paraprofessionals have been in the field of assisting students for many years.
Paraprofessional Laurie Britt started out as a teacher’s aid for seventh and eighth grade students, working with the orthopedically challenged. From then on she has had a varied career of working with special needs students of all ages.
“High school is really the best age to teach it, I think when you get to see these sophomores graduate and grow up into adults when they become seniors is a really gratifying feeling,” Britt said.
Others found their way into the job through working with other programs. Paraprofessional Andrea Cleary worked in daycare for six years before becoming a paraprofessional. Cleary, along with Stewart, had worked with special needs children previously through the Arkansas Support Network, an organization dedicated to assisting children with disabilities and their families.
“I went to college to be a teacher and a basketball coach,” Stewart said. “I ended up doing work for the ASN and a few other organizations and realized that I would rather help out in any capacity that I could, I figured out that I wanted to coach lives.”
Being a paraprofessional proves itself to be a challenging job emotionally. Stress can build up, as well as frustration from certain situations.
“Sometimes you can’t help but have your work follow you home, some of these kids’ stories are so depressing you can’t help but take it home,” paraprofessional Luke Adams said. “Though on the other end of it there’s the beauty and peace of mind in seeing these kids graduate and grow.”
For Britt and Stewart, the downside would be respect, or the lack thereof.
“It’s an overall lack of respect at times that gets me,” Britt said, “but I think that comes from everyone, not just my kids. I think the whole student body has a lack of respect for its teachers.”
“Something that I always teach my kids is that you have to learn to respect yourself before others, that your character is best tested when you’re not being watched,” Stewart said.
“They’re teenagers,” Cleary said, laughing. “That’s the hard part. Sometimes they just act like teenagers will and you get frustrated. The flip side of that is that when I’m particularly down or in a bad mood, they can always, always, cheer me up.”
Rhodes finds it hard to find a downside to the job.
“Sure it can be stressful at times, but what job isn’t? You just have to be patient and be able to laugh at yourself. And be able to roll with it when unexpected situations occur. I find it’s best to remain easy-going, understanding, and just go with it,” Rhodes said.
The selection process for hiring paraprofessionals is one that involves looking at the applicants, scores and education, as well as their personality.
“We just have to size them up and see what they are like,” Hoy-Whitfield said, “Like Luke Adams, he moves with the beat and can adapt to different concepts, which is something that appealed to us.”
“This is quite seriously a great job, there’s a great staff working here for the kids, and it’s all about the kids, it’s really a team effort,” Stewart said. “I could just speak for hours about helping people. This is a job where I truly feel blessed to come to work every day.”