New paraprofessional to teacher position approved
What’s in a name? Quite a bit it turns out when it comes to titling and approving a new paraprofessional position in the Custer School District (CSD). This was discussed at the Custer School District Board of Education meeting Jan. 13 at the School Administration Building in Custer.
Superintendent Mark Naugle put together a job description for a lead paraprofessional special education position.
Under the section regarding the benefits of the position, it said, “Having a para with a higher level of coursework and training who can take over some of the classroom activities will allow time for the certified teacher to carry out the legal requirements of the IEP (Individualized Education Program) process (create IEP documents, evaluation reports, assess students and progress reports). The position will also help lessen the impact of larger caseloads due to staff resignation.”
For this position, “The candidate must work toward a degree/certification in the education field with at least 24 transcripted credits or be enrolled in the South Dakota Teacher Apprenticeship Program.”
Job requirements that went beyond the responsibilities of a regular paraprofessional were marked on the job description as well. The CSD is currently short a special education instructor.
“I can tell you as this person’s mentor, it would really help us out as junior high and senior high staff,” said special education teacher Alese Deuhr. “Because if we don’t have this position filled, then the three that remain working with junior high and senior high would have to fill this classroom position.”
As the mentor, Deuhr would be working with the lead paraprofessional to fill out paperwork.
“It’s time-consuming. It’s a lot of extra work. It does take up a lot of hourly time. So by not having this position, we’re going to have to completely reconfigure our entire schedule, which could even mean moving student schedules around and not having enough paras in the classrooms,” said Deuhr. “By having this position, it really could make or break how we function in special education. Not only would it affect us, but it would also affect GenEd staff. They would have to get used to new staff in their classroom. It would make a very big difference for us.”
Naugle asked if there were any other responsibilities for this position that would go above what was asked of regular special education paraprofessionals. Deuhr said the lead paraprofessional would be required to learn paperwork and do it alongside her as well as communicate with parents and GenEd staff, which regular paraprofessionals generally do not do.
One concern Naugle had was ensuring the district was not breaking any special education laws and requirements by having the lead paraprofessional do paperwork that is required by law. Deuhr said she had the final say when it came to paperwork for this job.
“I will sign off on everything. This job, they are required to be with me through the entire paperwork process so nothing would be decided from the person in this position. It’s all going through me. So that in itself would cover us legally.
“The one thing I will say when it does come to some legal challenges is if this position is not here, then we risk being out of compliance when it comes to us providing services for our students just because we have limited time and staff that can provide those services,” said Deuhr.
Board president Jeff Barnes asked what the benefit of this position was rather than searching out a certified teacher. Naugle said an advertisement for a certified teacher was out and would remain out, but there were currently no applicants. Should a viable candidate step forward, the lead paraprofessional would revert to a regular paraprofessional.
Board member Larry Baker asked how long the school has been short-staffed in this area. Naugle said the person formerly filling this role resigned at the end of the last semester.
In response to Baker’s question about how the paperwork would be filled out, Naugle said, “Alese would be filling the paperwork out. They would be working together if there are specific needs about the student that need to be included in that. They would be another set of eyes to help with that.”
Board member Michelle Lehman said she heard the position required the title of instructor versus teacher. Special education director Stacey Boutain said because the position was being opened up to someone in the teacher apprenticeship program, the title of paraprofessional could not be changed or the applicant could lose their scholarship.
Barnes said the job description said the lead paraprofessional would be supervised by a certified teacher and asked if supervised and mentored were the same thing. Deuhr affirmed this.
Baker asked if calling the position a lead paraprofessional would cause controversy.
“To me, that means they’re in charge of all the paraprofessionals,” said Baker.
Board vice president Travis Hartshorn said, “I still don’t agree with lead ‘cause to me, I’m with Larry. If you’re the lead, everybody below you, that’s your responsibility.”
“I think that would be the case in this classroom, that they can help organize and lead the paras to what they can do,” Naugle said. “I mean, a para’s not going to evaluate another para. That’s not how our system works. But they can organize a classroom and line up duties.”
Deuhr said she did not see anyone getting “agitated” over the word lead and there were a variety of alternative terms that could be used instead.
“I don’t see that being a major deterrent with our staff because they’ll understand that this position is acting as a teacher and this position is in the process of becoming a certified teacher,” said Deuhr.
“Is it just the responsibilities or is this person that would fill this position more qualified than all the other paraprofessionals?” asked Baker.
Naugle said the difference is they would have to meet the qualifications laid out in the job description and have some paper certification as well as job experience. Boutain further clarified that the lead paraprofessional would not have to have a four-year degree but would be required to be in a program working toward that education.
Hartshorn said to him the job description looked like it was all part of general duties to begin with. Naugle said everything marked with an asterisk was not the responsibility of a regular paraprofessional.
“When it comes to supervising teachers, we are highly qualified,” said special education teacher Michele Joint. “What we’re asking would not be that we want a highly qualified teacher because that’s something that we can do. It would be basically someone working with us until they can get their degree. So we would be providing the overview of the lesson and making sure that all of those learning requirements for those individual children are working.”
Joint said this would go beyond what a paraprofessional does and was a “great, innovative” program since not many people want to go into special education because it is so difficult.
“Why wouldn’t both paras get your same attention to do this job?” asked Hartshorn.
“Because we would be depending on this para that would be in this position to build a relationship with these children. It is kind of above and beyond,” said Joint. “It takes a lot more attention.”
“I will guarantee you every person that is in SpEd will care for every kid possible. I get that totally. But what I heard from you was, that if it is a lead para, that you’re going to try to mentor them in a better position than you would any other para in our classrooms. To me, everybody’s supporting staff should be given the same opportunities and be taught the same thing to raise them up,” said Hartshorn.
“A lot of this lead paraprofessional position has to do with learning due process that paraprofessionals do not have to learn. This is gaining teaching experience, which as we know is a huge part of special education. That is the part where they are going to become a certified teacher,” said Deuhr. “That is why they would have more mentorship than just a standard para.”
Naugle asked special education paraprofessionals Katie Dethlefs and Angie Dailey if they would agree that the responsibilities asterisked in the job description were above what they are asked to do daily. They agreed that many of the items were things they did not do regularly.
Barnes said he saw nothing in the job description stating it was temporary, depending on a certified teacher being hired, and did not like the title of lead paraprofessional.
“Anybody that reads the job title that says lead paraprofessional outside of any school is going to say they’re supervising,” said Barnes.
Naugle asked what he would suggest instead. Dethlefs suggested paraprofessional to teacher apprentice or interim. Boutain said this would make sense because it is called the paraprofessional to teacher apprenticeship program. Naugle said he was not set on lead paraprofessional, and Barnes said they just wanted to keep paraprofessional in the title so it did not affect scholarships.
Naugle said the CSD had people that were qualified for the position. It would be open and advertised for at least four days, which is what is in the negotiated agreement. Barnes asked if the board wanted it to specify that the position was temporary while the district looked for a certified teacher. Naugle said he would put this in a letter of acceptance.
Barnes asked what would happen if the position was needed for the 2025 to 2026 school year. Naugle said the board would have to come back and do this again. Boutain said there are three paraprofessional positions currently open that the district has not been able to fill.
For pay rate, Barnes said the salary is $3 to $8 more than the base rate depending on education and experience. The current starting rate for a special education paraprofessional is $17.85 hourly. Naugle said his recommendation is to start with $8 more based on the additional expectations that come with the position.
“We want to make sure we make the pay equal to or in the same area as what we’re asking,” said Naugle.
Naugle also said time over 40 hours a week would need to be approved. Barnes thought all of this needed to be added to the job description because it was more than a regular paraprofessional position.
“I’m lost,” said board member Sara Barrick. “If it is going to be creating more work for you, and you and everybody else, I am sorry, why do we need this position? From an outside person looking at it, I don’t understand this.”
Boutain said when she trained Deuhr, she knew it was worth her time because she would have a great teacher by the end. The problem is special education graduates are immediately being offered positions. Since the work needed to be done anyway, Boutain said it was worth it to have someone sit beside her and gain the skills to become a teacher in the district. The person in the position could also take over some classroom duties so special education teachers can work on other things.
“It’s really a creative way to get some assistance to the kids so the kids are getting all of their services,” said Boutain.
Naugle asked Deuhr if the position would cause her more or less time. Deuhr said it would be more work for her if she did not have this position because she would be doing paperwork, teaching, taking on extra duties in the classroom and communicating with staff and parents.
“Which is exactly why this position is in front of this board,” said Naugle. “It will help ease the loss of a certified staff. That’s all it’s intended to do.”
“I oversee a lot of employment training right now, and my biggest concern is we’ve been making some great gains with employing our upperclassmen. That program would more than likely have to be put on halt because I would not have the time to do both,” said Deuhr.
After further discussion about the position, what it would entail and how it would benefit current staff members, the board circled back to the appropriate pay rate. Dethlefs and Dailey said $8 above the base rate was a good start with the additional hours.
Currently, there are two people in the CSD going through the paraprofessional to teacher apprenticeship program. Hartshorn wanted to make sure that any paraprofessionals in the district would have a “fair shake” at the position when it was advertised. Naugle said the district always has and always will interview anyone who applies within the district.
Baker asked how much the position would help if they went from being short three special education paraprofessionals to being short four after one applied for the new position. Naugle said they had some ideas.
“But it’s going to put more pressure on what we have left for SpEd paras. They’re going to be required to do more. So now they’re short-staffed. We’re fixing one problem and creating another,” said Baker.
Currently, these positions are filled with long-term substitutes.
Naugle’s recommendation was to approve the position after changing the title to Paraprofessional to Teacher Apprentice, making 40 hours a week the maximum without approval, increasing the base rate by $8 an hour and stating in the letter of agreement that the position ends when a certified staff member is hired or at the remainder of the 2024 to 2025 school year.
“You’re right, Larry, it does make a hole. We’ve got a plan now to fill that. We’ll do the best we can. We want to make sure that we’re helping the kids and the teachers in that high school SpEd room right now,” said Naugle.
Baker asked which building was impacted more by being short-staffed. Boutain said being short a teacher was more concerning than being short a paraprofessional and the impact would be at the high school. Baker asked what the difference was between hiring a long-term substitute and creating this position.
“We’re telling you that it’s more important to have these qualifications with people that can take on some duties in the high school and help with the loss of SpEd staff than we are going to lose if we take a para from Hermosa or from Custer Elementary,” said Naugle.
Boutain said this was correct. Baker asked what made it more important at the end of the day. Naugle said the duties of this position would lessen the load of certified staff members.
With the addition that the applicant be supervised by a special education teacher, Lehman made a motion reflecting Naugle’s recommendations to approve the position saying, “Working in the SpEd realm, we have to follow federal guidelines. I think this will help benefit the teachers currently in that position to follow through. It will offer a good opportunity to the candidate as they’re pursuing their education to experience things hands-on under direct supervision that we require.”
Baker asked how bad it was realistically being a staff member short last year. Deuhr said, “I do question if we were in compliance the entire time, to be honest. I hate to say it, but it’s true. When we’re working with more severe disabilities, higher intensive needs, it takes more time, and it’s another thing that I even struggle to think that students that do have those more severe disabilities did not have the full scope of support and education that they need.
“It’s planning time. It’s working with them. We’re developing curriculum for individuals with cognitive disabilities, and we were short. And so, I think some students did suffer honestly. That’s really hard to stomach. And I will say, compared to last year and the year before, our caseloads have shifted where we are working with those more severe disabilities.”
Deuhr said they need full support for the students this year or she worries about compliance and not being able to provide the full extent of education that the students deserve.
For the final vote, Baker voted in opposition while Hartshorn, Barnes, Lehman and Barrick voted in favor. Board member Heather Grace was not in attendance, and board member Heath Reindl was asked to abstain from voting since his wife was eligible to apply for the position.
The next meeting of the CSD Board of Education is Monday, Feb. 10, at 6 p.m. at the Hermosa School.