NYSUT’s School-Related Professionals are rising to the challenge every day in our public schools. Next Tuesday, Nov. 19 is SRP Recognition Day and we want to take the opportunity to highlight just some of the wonderful work our dedicated SRPs are doing for New York’s students, like Jordan Chase, Frewsburg bus mechanic and NYAPT Tech of the Year who takes time to mentor struggling students and Terry Spiva, Ramona Rodriguez, Taghreed Elkashef and all of our SRPs who make sure their students are treated with dignity and care even during their most vulnerable moments.
Read more about their contributions:
Jordan Chase grew up fixing cars, and he always knew he’d work on machinery. What he didn’t expect was that he’d have a positive impact on students, but that’s exactly what’s happened – and it’s become Chase’s favorite part of the job. “I just get down on their level. I didn’t do bad in school, but I never wanted to be there, so I can relate to them on a real-world level,” he said.
For Taghreed Elkashef, an aide at Berea Elementary School and member of Valley Central Teachers Association School Related Professionals, the issue is about having the right tools for the job. “What equipment do my paras need for helping kindergarteners wearing diapers? Because we have those,” Elkashef asked during a recent toileting workshop at the NYSUT School-Related Professionals Leadership Conference. “We’re not trained for that. We’re not paid for that, so there’s something wrong.”
School-Related Professionals from across the state gathered in October to share how they are rising to the challenge every day in New York’s public schools. “It was really helpful,” said Donna Salerno, a member of the Dryden Educational Support Personnel Association. “It was great to hear about the different things that people face and see just how much we have in common.”