Mr. Chen did not consider paraprofessionals to be indispensable mem-
bers of his staff. He did not use regular school funds to pay their salaries.
At the time he was principal, Title I regulations stipulated that students in
supplemental classes were entitled to the services of paraprofessionals, so
Title I funds were used to comply with this regulation.
Students with disabilities were (and still are) entitled to paraprofes-
sional support, but this type of paraprofessional is not designated as an
“educational paraprofessional” and often provides a range of services for
students with disabilities, as designated by the students’ individual edu-
cational plans.
Any school district that has educational paraprofessionals who are not
seeking teaching positions is missing an opportunity for training future
teachers. If these districts negotiated a contractual change for future hires
to make enrollment in a teacher education program mandatory and set
a time limit (say, eight years) for completion, a pool of future teachers
would be created.
This same contract should stipulate that after paraprofessionals have
completed a specified number of credits and taken certain designated
courses, they could take on more teaching responsibilities, teaching single
classes or even units, under the supervision of certified teachers. Once
they completed their bachelor’s degrees, they would have a significant
incentive to remain in the school system because all their years as para-
professionals would count toward their pensions. If monies were directed
to this, instead of alternative certification programs (where a high percent-
age of the teachers leave teaching within five years), a cadre of classroom
seasoned and dedicated staff would filter into the ranks of teachers.
School aides are also key members of the staff. Unlike the paraprofes-
sional, the school aide has no real or imagined aspiration to advance.
Aides are hired to fill non-pedagogical needs to relieve the professional
staff of these chores. Principal Rivera found that most aides were older
people, less interested in the relatively low salary than in the excellent
medical coverage the district provided and/or the schedule with holidays
and summers off.
Aides fulfill two types of functions: clerical tasks requiring less criti-
cal acumen than that possessed by secretaries or security needs. In Ms.
Rivera’s school, the former handled tasks such as manning the main
152 Chapter 11