A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Roles for Education Paraprofessionals in Effective Schools - 1997

Site-Based Management

Wyoming Public School
Wyoming, Michigan

Everyone Has Their Say

  • Paraprofessionals boost school effectiveness in serving bilingual, Title I, and special education students
  • Shared training enables all school staff to contribute to "Total Quality Education"

Overview

Before he became a member of the site-based decisionmaking council at his school, Leonard often felt alienated from the rest of the faculty. Now that he has received in-depth training on how to be a part of the decisionmaking team, Leonard thinks his job is more fulfilling and knows that the skills he is learning help him to be a more effective Title I paraprofessional. Last year he used the stipend he received for working on the council to pay for a course on learning styles at the local community college.

The Wyoming public schools adopted both districtwide and individual school site-based decisionmaking (SBDM) in 1987 to promote collegial relations between staff members. Not only does each school have a SBDM council, but each school is governed by shared decisionmaking. The district ensured that paraprofessionals and other support staff were included in the SBDM from the beginning, and currently several support personnel (including a paraprofessional) have assumed leadership roles in the SBDM committees.

After being beset by strikes and unproductive labor relations, the district began considering SBDM in 1984. According to the assistant superintendent, school officials investigated school-based decisionmaking as a restructuring possibility and saw it as a "very productive model." Although the district first applied SBDM to labor issues, such as teacher contracts and support staff contracts, district officials quickly recognized the value of the approach and applied it to all functions, including decisions about instruction, budget, and personnel.

District Context

Just outside of Grand Rapids, this suburban district serves 6,000 students in eight elementary schools, two middle schools, and three high schools, and it serves about 1,500 adult education students at its community education center. Wyoming's population has changed dramatically in the past few years because many Korean, Vietnamese, and Hispanic families moved to the suburb. District officials note that as recently as three years ago, minority students represented 5 percent of the city's students; today, 14 percent of the schools' students are African American, Asian, or Hispanic. Almost 25 percent of the district's students receive free or reduced-price lunches; however, the city's demographic influx had a disproportionate impact on one elementary school, with the percentage of students receiving subsidized lunches increasing from 22 percent to 72 percent in one year. The district employs 400 teachers and 66 paraprofessionals. Almost half of the latter are employed in special education, and most others work in bilingual education, Title I, and other programs for at-risk students.

Major Program Features

District Management

A Professional Council, made up of a teacher representative, a support staff representative, the district's two assistant superintendents, and the superintendent, now oversees the district's personnel management. The council meets monthly to review procedures and make budget decisions for the district's 13 schools and the community education center.

Rose Pratt, a paraprofessional at the district's community center, has been the support personnel representative since the council was first established. "At first," she said, "my peers told me it would be a waste of time, that the council wouldn't really care about my views and concerns." However, both she and the other members ensured the council sought input from everyone.

School Governance

Each school is governed by a School Improvement Committee, consisting of four teachers, one support person, a representative from the community, and the administrator of the school. District officials are quick to point out that everyone's vote is equal on these committees so that a paraprofessional's vote counts as much as the principal's. In addition, other committees or teams develop as needed by each site, such as a student-oriented team or a business partnership team.

Devoting time to serve on committees is a concern because paraprofessionals and other support staff are paid an hourly wage, not a salary, and participating in SBDM takes up personal time. Partially as a result of this concern, the district developed a stipend for all staff (except administrators) who participate on the teams; this has averaged about $200 a year.

Training

As part of the district's commitment to SBDM and overall policy, all district staff receive ongoing training that ensures that staff have a voice in determining their instruction. For example, to help district staff respond to the demographic changes, all employees now receive training on sustaining and valuing cultural diversity. Along with regular training for employees, the district offers staff involved in SBDM issue-specific training so that School Improvement Committee members can make informed decisions. Some examples of the training that these committees receive include: Committee members share the knowledge they gain in these training sessions with their colleagues.

Evidence of Success

Although the district has not conducted evaluations of its site-based decisionmaking, the general morale has improved greatly, according to administrators and support staff. Before site-based management, there was a perceived rift between teachers and paraprofessionals, and the two groups did not even interact in the staff lounge. That tension has subsided, and at Wyoming schools "we have very few bosses around here anymore; now we have teamworkers."

Indirect measures of the district's success include publications citing Wyoming as a model and a videotape on shared decisionmaking using Wyoming as a case study.
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