In Praise of Paraprofessionals: A Closer Look at Our Virtual Partnership

On November 4th (Election Day), the Morningside community gathered virtually with the paraprofessionals of District 6 (a NYC school district). In each of three unique two-hour Zoom sessions, all offered both in the morning and afternoon, participants explored and discussed the range of emotions both adults and youth experience; how to deepen their understanding of culturally affirming social and emotional learning; and how to support the unique changes occurring within the adolescent brain.

As a former special education teacher and instructional coach, I’ve had the privilege of collaborating with paraprofessionals in myriad ways, from supporting individual students to creating positive behavior school-wide systems and partnering with families to advocate for better learning accommodations in Individualized Education Plans (IEPs). I still remember Ms. Juelle during my first year of teaching 8th grade. Through our ongoing communication and continual problem-solving, I learned firsthand the unique and invaluable role paras play in our schools. It’s clear that District 6 also recognized their paraprofessionals’ indispensable community contributions when pairing up with us for this day of learning and connection.

Paras are the observing eyes, the helping hands, the open hearts. They are the ultimate witness to the subtle behavior shifts, specific learning styles (academic and social-emotional), and silent struggles of all students. They are tending to the individual but nurturing the classroom culture. They are vital partners and allies in creating spaces of joy, equity and belonging.

All of this and more was affirmed on November 4th. The enthusiasm and engagement expressed by paras was unparalleled. In most sessions, 100+ participants instantly greeted each other in the chat and then engaged in deep reflection and vulnerable sharing around their celebrations and challenges in doing their integral work.

In the afternoon “Exploring the Range of Emotions” session, one participant reflected on the importance of perspective-taking when working with young children: “We are similar (adults and children), we have to get back to a child mindset and realize we expect kids to control their emotions when we as adults, can’t always control our emotions. There is such pressure on all sides. So, we should have grace and patience with our kiddos.”

In the “Deepening Our Understanding of SEL” morning session, a participant noted the importance of relationship-building: “Getting to know the students is important to understand their behaviors. Treating them with respect and making them feel that you are there to help them and support them make a difference.” Another offered advice for navigating time and curricula constraints: “Even brief, consistent moments of SEL practice have a lasting impact on classroom culture and student well-being.”

All sessions ended with immense gratitude. “Thank yous” peppered the chat box with some participants underscoring how important and meaningful the information was to others thanking their fellow paras for sharing their experiences and strategies to support students’ emotional issues. The Morningside team, particularly our workshop facilitators, would like to express our enduring gratitude for all of the District 6 paraprofessionals who attended our workshop series. We thoroughly enjoyed the time spent with them and the data shows the feeling is mutual with 98% of participants describing their workshop experience as highly, or mostly, relevant and meaningful. As one participant shared in the survey, it’s “very informative and comforting to hear other people share similar things we go through when working with kids.” Yet another hoped to see Morningside “in the future with another workshop.”

With this overwhelmingly positive experience, we know Morningside can continue to support para and school aids throughout New York City: 98% of participants described their overall training experience as highly or mostly relevant and meaningful. Indeed, almost 90% said that they would recommend these workshops to others. And Morningside staff was excited to learn of their eagerness to engage in other offering. Their completed surveys suggest that they want more information about neurodiversity, more time to learn from each other’s experiences, and t further their ability to work with students as they experience “big emotions,” among other topics.

At Morningside, we hope to foster spaces of deep listening and sincere validation of the integral ways paras brighten and enrich our school communities—each and every adult responsible for our children’s learning and care must receive continued support for them to be the best champions they can be.