Editorial: Work of paras worthy of more appreciation
Published 12:00 am Friday, July 11, 2003
It’s natural that with federal funding cuts coming, the Albert Lea school district, along with others, would need to reduce the budget. And it’s also understandable that a district would want the increased flexibility that comes from
having more versatile, licensed staff in place of paraprofessionals.
What doesn’t make sense is the appearance that some of the school district’s staff doesn’t appreciate the role that paraprofessionals play in the educational process.
Many paraprofessionals were surely offended by the suggestion by one principal that they aren’t good for much more than playing games and holding up flash cards. It’s true they are not licensed educators, but they are much more than warm bodies who could be replaced by anyone. In special education and other areas, caring, dedicated paraprofessionals make a serious difference for kids.
That’s what makes the layoff of 19 paras unfortunate for the school district. Some of those layoffs were unavoidable because funding will disappear, and some were a matter of school district priorities. The school has the right to decide it would rather employ licensed teachers in place of some of those paraprofessionals, and that may well make it easier for the school to work with less.
But it wasn’t smart for one principal to add insult to injury with comments that will send many of these dedicated paraprofessionals on their way with a bad taste in their mouths and probably leave remaining paraprofessionals wondering how much they are appreciated.