AUTHOR COMMENTARIES: CASE STUDY ONE

A Paraprofessional Perspective
The first thing to remember as a paraprofessional is that you always work under the direction of a licensed professional (see chapters 3 and 7 of Paraprofessionals in the Classroom). One of the great challenges faced by many paraprofessionals is the requirement to work with more than teacher at once, or to experience a change in supervising teachers on at least an annual basis. The paraprofessional in this case study has been fortunate enough to work with this one teacher for several years, so the change to a teacher with a different approach to her work is more pronounced.

This brings up another important point: that individual teachers and paraprofessionals may have very different approaches to their work, but no one approach is intrinsically right or wrong (see chapter 12). So although there is a very stark contrast for this paraprofessional between the new teacher and the previous one, that doesn't mean that the new teacher is wrong - or that her methods cannot be effective for the students.

The action that we would recommend the paraprofessional to take is to talk to the teacher about her expectations for the paraprofessional (see chapter 3). We would also recommend that this be done early on, and that she not wait for a whole month to pass. It should have been obvious after the first week or two that things were going to be very different, and the longer the confusion continues, the more difficult it is to resolve any difficulties or tensions that have arisen. In either case - whether the paraprofessional approached the teacher early on or after several weeks have passed - we would recommend that she prepare a list of her duties under the previous teacher, present it to the new teacher, and ask which of these things she is now expected to do. The list can be handed over with a request for a response at the teacher's convenience (or preferably a brief meeting to discuss the list). This can all be accomplished in a friendly and informal way.

Whatever the outcome of the request, the paraprofessional should do the following:

1. Respect the teacher's wishes and adapt to the teacher's work style as necessary.
   
2. Establish clear routines for when the students are working with her as individuals or small groups.

The Teacher's Perspective
We need to acknowledge the difficulties faced by the new supervising teacher, who is evidently not very experienced and certainly has not had to supervise a paraprofessional as part of her previous assignments. However, she does seem to appreciate the value of her new paraprofessional and to recognize that she is coming into a program that has been orderly and well run. Her best course of action would be to make maximum use of the paraprofessional, which she could do in the following ways:

1. Ask the paraprofessional for information about previously used procedures and systems in the classroom or program, so that she has a clear idea of the status quo; this should be done through an informal meeting, rather than as questions arise during the school day.
2. Clarify those procedures and systems that she would like to continue so that there can be a sense of continuity for the paraprofessional and the students who stay with the program for a second year.
3. Delegate clear areas of authority and action to the paraprofessional, so that there will be fewer questions and queries - from the paraprofessional or the students.
4. Clarify how much leeway the paraprofessional and students have in modifying or deviating from class routines and procedures.

Although these actions may not be spontaneous for a teacher with a more relaxed approach to her work, it is possible for them to be carried out - especially when the teacher is working with a paraprofessional who prefers a more structured approach. Given the opportunity, such a paraprofessional will ask enough questions of the teacher to establish expectations to everyone's satisfaction. Although the paraprofessional can approach the teacher and request a meeting, it is most appropriate for the teacher to make the first move and initiate the meeting herself.

1. By expressing confidence that both the teacher and the paraprofessional will be able to adapt to the new situation and work well together as a team; this can be done through a brief informal meeting with each of them individually (and preferably at the beginning of the school year, rather than waiting until difficulties arise).
2. By scheduling time when they can meet together as a team to discuss their respective roles and classroom concerns; if this cannot be scheduled out of school hours (and the paraprofessional paid for the additional time), the administrator may choose to take the class for short sessions (perhaps twenty minutes) while the teacher and paraprofessional meet, or may recommend that the teacher meet with the paraprofessional during class time on a regular basis while the students work independently. Given the nature of these particular students, this second option may not be feasible, so the administrator may need to make the extra effort to support team work by taking the class.