When
“Phil” responded to a temporary employment agency’s newspaper ad for
special-education paraprofessionals in the Rochester City School District, he
didn’t know what he was getting himself into.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย But Phil — who requested anonymity
for fear he’d lose his temp job should he criticize the district — says he
had a genuine desire to help kids. And with his own child on the way, he was
hoping to get the “benefits” he says the ad promised.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย That was last August. It’s now
mid-May, and despite the low pay ($8.50 an hour), the high stress, the threat
one student made against his wife’s life, and the sense Phil has that getting
hired (and, thus, getting benefits) is a pipe dream, he’s more determined than
ever to become a full-time employee working with the district’s most troubled
students.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย “The ‘regular ed’ kids are not what
middle school was like for me,” says Phil, who attended a Catholic school in
the city. “But ED [emotionally disturbed] classes — man.” At his Catholic
middle-school alma mater, Phil says, “I don’t think you ever thought that you
would say, ‘Fuck you, you fuckin’ white bitch; you’re a stanky-ass ho,’ rip the
TV off the wall and smash it, and expect to come back to school, ever.”
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย But, Phil says, he’s seen it happen
many times in the past nine months — a child lashes out violently, only to be
sent back to the classroom with a piece of candy and an admonition to
“straighten up and fly right.”
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย The city school district does send
students with serious behavioral problems to outside agencies — such as St.
Joseph’s Villa and Crestwood Children’s Center — for specialized instruction.
(Phil says the middle-school student who told him he would find out where he
lived, break into his house, and slit his pregnant wife’s throat while she
slept was removed from school for doing so.) And many students with physical
disabilities and/or learning disabilities are also sent to outside agencies for
part or all of the school day.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย But the district is examining ways
to keep more kids with special needs inside its schools. And it’s also taking a
hard look at the way it utilizes temporary employees.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย These initiatives have prompted
members of the Rochester Association of Paraprofessionals — a union
representing mostly special-ed aides — to cry foul, and have prompted Phil to
seriously reconsider his career choice.
As things are
shaping up,
Phil most likely won’t have a choice, anyway. Temporary workers are expected to
bear the brunt of the job cuts the district hopes to make in an effort to serve
special-ed students in a “more efficient and effective” manner. (Teachers and
unionized paraprofessionals are not expected to be laid off.)
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย That’s how Ed Yansen, the district’s
managing director of educational support services, describes the effort he’s
undertaken to redesign special-education services.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Margie Brumfield, a special-ed
paraprofessional at School 44 and a union member, describes Yansen’s plan
differently. The idea of bringing troubled kids receiving special instruction
elsewhere back into the schools is “ludicrous,” she says.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย “Dealing with the population that I
deal with, these students should not be in the city school district,” Brumfield
says. “These are kids with so much baggage, and they need more services than
what we can offer.”
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Brumfield says there’s particular
concern among paraprofessionals, or “paras,” that district administrators plan
to bring violent youth back into the system.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Yansen has encountered the same
fear. He says he recently encountered someone who said to him, “‘Oh, you’re
gonna bring back all these hundreds of kids from Crestwood.'”
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย “That’s not what we’re intending on
doing at all,” he says. “We are not prepared to do that. We’re just basically
saying, the students that we believe that we have the ability to manage here,
successfully, we are gonna keep them here. Kids that we cannot meet their needs
in our district will continue to go to Crestwood and St. Joe’s Villa and BOCES
for services.”
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Word of Yansen’s recommendations
made news last month in the context of the district’s budgetary process. But
Yansen says the effort is being undertaken primarily for educational, not economic,
reasons.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Essentially, Yansen says, the
district is looking at two areas. For one, it’s been examining the needs of
special-ed students receiving personalized, or one-on-one, assistance to
determine whether they could be better and more efficiently served
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย “There are very few kids who need
someone with them all the time, every moment of the day,” he says. “Some of the
kids resent having somebody walking alongside with them from the bathroom to
the lunchroom to the bus stop. It makes them feel less independent. So, what
we’re saying is that we’re gonna now begin to look hard at what the youngsters’
needs are.”
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย For example, Yansen says, a
student’s most difficult times may be during lunch or math class. So rather
than pay a para to assist the child all day, a para could be assigned to the
child only during those “critical moments.”
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Secondly, Yansen says administrators
are determining what services currently provided by outside agencies can be
delivered in the schools instead. “We are able, in terms of per-pupil costs, to
provide [programs] in our own district comparable to what [students] are
getting [elsewhere], at a lower cost,” he says.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย “But,” he adds, “that’s not the
driving factor. It seems educationally, programmatically, to make more sense to
us. And for their families, it’s a much more natural thing that their child go
to school with his or her peers. That’s the logical approach. The economic
issues around it are probably secondary, or tertiary, in looking at this.”
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Furthermore, Yansen says, the
district is primarily looking at programs for students with developmental
problems or learning disabilities, rather than behavioral problems, in the
process. And far from hundreds of special-needs students receiving services
in-house, he says the effort will result in “probably no more than a dozen
students coming back into our system” next year.
So why are the
unionized paras up in arms? It’s not because they haven’t been
doing their homework on Yansen’s plans. It’s because they haven’t been part of
the process of developing them.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Brumfield says the union has been
unfairly “left out” of meetings in which the plan was developed, and it
recently wrote a letter to district officials requesting that union reps be
allowed to take part in the process. (The union itself has been in a state of
disarray since a leadership shake-up last fall. Union members are in the
process of electing new leadership, and say they cannot comment on last fall’s
events pending a court decision.)
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Yansen says the union has not been
brought into the redesign process because it will not be directly affected by
it. As he points out, the one-on-one paras are primarily “the temporary
people.” All the same, he says, union employees may be minimally affected by
the redesign, and he says he will be “very willing, open, and ready to meet
with the union folks and talk about this” in the future.
That’s cold
comfort for Phil and other special-ed temps like him. The district is keen
to cut their hours or eliminate their jobs entirely, and the union is demanding
that the temps be put on the chopping block before any of their members get the
ax.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย In any redesign process involving
layoffs, “We are not going to let any of our people go,” says Natalie Vazzana,
a union member and para at Monroe Middle School. “The temps will have to go
first.”
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย The union has about 740 members,
Vazzana says, and there are about 210 non-union paras working as temps.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย The district’s special-ed overhaul
may be a very gradual process that will have minimal impact on union paras.
(It’ll also have minimal impact on the district’s budget this year — Yansen
expects only about $185,000 in savings in ’03-’04.) But the stress it creates
could have a major effect, particularly among the temp workforce, which Phil
says already has a high rate of turnover.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย “There’s a lot of employees that
feel they want to do right by the kids, they want to work hard for the school,
but they’re also burnt,” Phil says. Since full-time para work is only about 32
hours a week, most employees have other jobs.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย “It’s a steady job, and certainly,
if you’re getting benefits, it’s going to be a leg up on a lot of other crap
jobs out there,” Phil says. “But otherwise, you might as well be working retail
for all of the support you’re getting, and I think people show a corresponding
degree of loyalty.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย “For temps,” he adds, “that’s a lot
worse.”
This article appears in May 21-27, 2003.
