Paraprofessional Andrea

Today for Teacher Interview Thursday is Andrea from A Whole Latte SpEd. I have been obsessed with Andrea’s account because her creations are literally the things I think of in my head. She has had an amazing time working as a para educator and created her account to share her TPT creations and help advocate for special need students and parents. She is an amazing mom to two boys also!

Here is Andrea’s interview:

1. What did you want to be when you were growing up?

I wanted so badly to work at Staples! Yes, the store. Some kids loved the toy isle, I loved strolling the isles of different pens and notebooks. Still true to this day. However career wise, I wanted to design homes. I worked for a very large homebuilder in my early 20’s and loved it. Helping families choose their home is a truly rewarding experience that many overlook.

However, that life was not for me and someone had bigger plans for my purpose.

2. Is there a moment that sticks out to you that you remember from school with a teacher you had growing up? 

 Oh yes, I have had good and bad teachers. However, I will never forget my chemistry teacher in high school. She was ‘real’ and understood her students. I also had another teacher in high school who taught us using a lot of YouTube videos on real life cases of sociopaths ect and then we discussed it as a class after. It became known that she had gotten in some sort of trouble with admin for it. To this day that still upsets me because I can still recall information, I learned in that class better than any other. 

3. How long have you been a paraprofessional, what state do you work in, what does your role as a para look like, and what did it take for you to get there?

I started my journey in Washington state. There you must take a para pro exam and pass to work as an assistant or have a certain number of college credits. I actually got the job before taking the test. Human resources gave me some time to take it and then I could start. 

Working as an assistant was very different in the school that I worked because all special needs students that lived on that military base went to one school. Therefore, there was many different special education classrooms. When I started, I worked in two different classrooms. I worked as a 1:1 para for a student in the morning and then in the afternoon I was a para in a life skills classroom and sometimes in the behavior self-contained classroom. The next year I was a para all day in the life skills classroom. The duties for paras there definitely varied based on the teacher in the room. Duties ranged, from small group instruction, whole group instruction when the teacher was gone, feeding, changing, and assisting students with activities in related arts. We had many medically fragile students so there were a lot of unique needs in our classroom that varied. I did feel like more trust was given to me and my co-para since I was, at the time, in school to become a special education teacher and my co-para had been a para for years. We were also both special needs moms. We worked for a newer teacher so I was able to help her out making the resources we needed. This is when I was so happy to find Teachers Pay Teachers and really where my journey creating resources began.

 When we moved to South Carolina I was thrilled to be given a position working for the district as part of the behavior team. I was able to go around to different schools helping students who were having a more than usual difficult time with behavior in class and then help teachers implement strategies to help the students. This was for students both in general and special education settings. I have found I adapt to situations easily and I enjoy observing and taking data, so this was the perfect job for me. As most know, behavior widely varies, so what I did daily varied as well. 

4. What is your go-to tool you use in the classroom and why?

First would be visuals of any kind but my favorite would be COLORING. I strongly believe in classroom relationships and trust. Sometimes it’s hard to get to the root of what is bothering a student, especially if they are unsure if they can share it. Try inviting them over to color and just chat. Ask them for their advice on what color you should make things on your page that you are coloring. Show them you value their opinion and them being there. Start asking them about their day, what they had for dinner, mention you had a hard time falling asleep last night and ask if they did too ect and I’ve found by doing this most of the time they’ll start telling you what they’ve been wanting to tell you all day. If you don’t have coloring and conversation moments with your students, you should definitely try it!

5. Do you have an accommodation you would recommend for teachers to help reach the needs of all students?

 I would have to say repeated directions and clarification. As frustrating as it is when a student asks a question you just said the answer to, the student still needs the answer. Saying “I just told you, you should have been listening” does not help the student. You cannot expect a student to do well on something if they are unsure of what to do. I think it’s sometimes forgotten that the students in front of you are not always focused in on what you are saying. They might be sad about recess because Sally Sue just said she doesn’t want to be their friend anymore, wondering to themselves what you said in the sentence before, thinking about their dad who just deployed, wondering if their mom got groceries so they can eat ect. There are so many things but on their plates and in their minds we forget about or don’t think is bothering them. 

6. We had discussed that you not only work in Special Education but have a child that is special needs, do you think this has helped you with your job in education?

Most definitely, I had almost zero knowledge of special education until my son was born. His characteristics are pretty unique and he has gone through many various ‘phases’ as I like to call them. For example, he use to be a runner when he was younger. Would straight up RUN out the front door. It was absolutely terrifying as a parent. However, we made it through that and now I know some techniques and how to help other parents and students who are going through that.  There have been many phases like that and I’m thankful for every one of them that has gotten us to where we are now. 

7. If you could give any sped teacher advice on how to work with parents, what would it be?

Whew. I could write a novel on this. I’ll try and keep it short and sweet. 

Step back and look at the big picture for them as parents and be realistic. I’ll use my son and a discussion we had at his last IEP meeting as an example with regard to math. Yes, he might be able to work someday. Possibly using a cash register of some sort. We are in no way concerned about him learning multi-digit addition or subtraction, multiplication, division etc on his own like other kids in 5th grade. However, knowing how to type it in a calculator (which would be similar to a cash register one day for him) would be very helpful and realistic for him in the long run. So yes, teach him the math, but using a calculator to do it.

There’s more than school on parent’s mind when it comes to their child with special needs. School ends. There is a literal age and date where that child will no longer receive support from you. What then? It wasn’t on my mind until the last year or so as my own son has gotten older. My husband will be retiring from the military soon and we must decide where we would like to live. It’s not as simple as it sounds. When you have a special needs child your mind questions a lot more than just ‘did we like living there’. Here’s a glimpse into my mind lately: what kind long term care is there for him for when we are older, are communities accepting (news flash, not all are), how is their healthcare for special needs adults, will he live with us always? Will the city/state allow us to build a small apartment-style house in the backyard so he can have his ‘own place’ and feel independent if he can’t? What about chickens, maybe we could get chickens and he could sell the eggs as a job and responsibility at home.

My favorite is the chickens. Admitting crossing my fingers that one happens.

My point is there’s A LOT on a parent’s plate. Yes, there’s A LOT on your plate too as an educator but you only have your students for a limited amount of time. Make the most of that time. Keep communication with parents open and ask for their input from time to time.  

8. What is your district's plan for this year?

I am not currently working. My boys school however has been full virtual all year so far. They planned to not go back until February however may go back with a hybrid schedule next month. 

 9. A lot of people have been saying they hope things start to change in education since this Pandemic, do you think anything will change from it?

I sure hope so.

10.   Last but not least, where do you see yourself in ten years? 

Whew. In ten years I’ll have a 20 and 19-year-old. First and most importantly, I hope we’re still advocating for our son and others with special needs and I hope we’re loving and thriving in the state we choose to retire to. I also hope I’m still making resources for my teachers pay teachers shop, A Whole Latte SpEd, to help educators everywhere because I truly enjoy creating them. I haven’t mentioned thus far, but I switched my degree to business administration and marking last minute. A few classes and student teaching left was all I had left, and I had what would better be described as a panic attack/mid-life crisis and admitted to my husband I didn’t want to be a teacher anymore. One of the hardest days of my life. To many, it makes no sense. How can I have all this passion and knowledge and not want to be a special education teacher? It’s still confusing to me at times too and I question the choice more times than not. However, I know in the end I made the right decision. I want to help bridge the gap for parents and teachers. I want to help educate parents of special needs children who are just entering this crazy wonderful life. A long-term goal of mine would be to open a therapy clinic and offer therapy for children and then at the same time classes for parents on how to follow through and do things at home as well. 

Thanks for the interview Andrea!

Happy Teaching :)