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SRPs get training on ways to
handle difficult students October 8 , 2003 Talking about standards and tests are, from left, Charlett King of Hempstead, Lori Stone of Syracuse, Nancy Peluso of Syracuse and Linda Smith of Hempstead. Peluso is a leader of a debut inservice program targeted for teaching assistants in the Syracuse area, with sponsorship by NYSUT's Professional Development Program. It will be offered with three hours of classes a week running for five weeks, beginning in mid-October. In 23 years in the Elmira schools, Jeanne Schlecht's job title has changed once - when she went from a teacher's aide to a clerical control clerk. "But my job changes at least once a month, whether it's new job duties or new programs," said Schlecht, who for the past 13 years has tracked scheduling in a high school guidance office. In those years, the president of the Elmira Instructional Support Education Association has often found that convincing the district of the employees' needs for training is a tall hurdle. "In the case with those who aren't teachers, they do get training but it doesn't relate to the job that they do -whether it's in the classroom, cafeteria, on the bus, on school grounds," Schlecht said. When New York State United Teachers decided to start a professional development program by School-Related Professionals for SRPs three years ago, Schlecht signed up. Since the program started, she has provided about two workshops a year. "It's wonderful when the participants say our workshops are relevant," Schlecht said. Many SRPS like to take workshops through the Professional Development Program that describe methods of dealing with difficult students. "For people like me, it's an obvious part of the job," said Karen Arthmann, a youth assistant in the Rush-Henrietta schools, near Rochester. When Arthmann participated in a Managing Student Behavior workshop last year, she realized that bus drivers, secretaries, monitors, custodians and teaching assistants are all on the front lines for students who are acting out. Workshops provide staffers with a chance to practice strategies in responding to misbehaving students. For example: what do you do when a student curses about another student? Suggested strategies include:
"You have to have a lot of strategies because you have a whole bunch of different kids and what works with one student one minute might not work the next," said Terri Burke, a retired Sachem elementary teacher who trained SRP-trainers for the course last summer. Trained advocates These challenges demonstrate the need for training to be tailored to support positions, said Arthmann, president of the Rush-Henrietta Employees Association, which has about 500 members including paraprofessionals, clerical, bus drivers, mechanics and facilities personnel. Her local union was chosen by the American Federation of Teachers, the national affiliate, to be trained in advocating for better professional development. One of its members, teacher aide Kate Travis, is an SRP trainer in NYSUT's program. "We need to do a better job explaining to our employers why training must be relevant to our jobs," Arthmann said. "What works in a classroom might not work in the cafeteria." Don't assume employers, or even parents, know that. Arthmann said the AFT training urges locals to "set up a professional development committee. Ask your members what kind of training they want and need. Then get out the message to the community that the people who work most closely with their children need to be well-trained." Members are receptive. "Everyone realizes how their job changes every day just because of the different types of jobs they have or the different people they deal with every day," Schlecht said. "Even the best secretary in the world is going to have a computer update dumped in her lap every couple of years and have to learn how to deal with a whole new set of problems." - Betsy Sandberg New York State United Teachers has trained dozens of SRP members statewide who are presenting workshops through the union's Education and Learning Trust. Twelve workshops are offered and are available for conference days, union events, teacher center programs and other staff development opportunities. For information call the Education and Learning Trust at (800) 528-6208 and press 4 for the SRP Professional Development Program.
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