Getting to Know Your Paras

Anyone feel like they should have taught us how to work with adults in college? (Me currently raising both hands and feet).

When I taught, I was blessed with some AMAZING paraprofessionals...and I mean amazing. However, that wasn't always the case. Our jobs are tought, tough, tough and without spending the time to get to know your staff on not just a professional level but also a personal level, it can really break the success of your classroom. 

You have to work with your paras All. Day. Long. There is no escaping! You absolutely need to create an environment that is condusive to functioning together like a well-oiled machine. The the first step of this is really spending the time to get to know one another. 

Put the boss-role aside for a minute

In order to do this in the best way possible, take off your hat that says "I'm in Charge" and put it on the shelf for a bit so you can have some honest, open, and pressure-free conversations. Yes, you are the leader and they likely are aware of this. That's why putting yourselves on an even playing field for the time being will make it easier. 

Make the time to get to know one another

You won't be able to build a strong, working relationship without making the time to lay the foundation. The days go by quickly and I know most of you feel like there is literally no time to do this. And that is why I am saying you need to make the time if you are realizing how important this is. Here are some ways to do this: 

• One classroom team we know gets to school early and take walks around the building with one another - I love this! 
• Meet up outside of school and grab coffee
• Set aside one day each week to eat lunch together if the schedule allows
• Dedicate 5 minutes before or after school
• Stand with them while you are waiting for the bus to arrive
• Chat over the phone on your drive or in the evenings 
• Find out they like to hike? Ask to join them!

Things to talk about (hint, it's not work)

• Are they married?
• How many kids do they have? How old are they?
• What do they do on the weekends?
• How to they unwind? 
• What are their hobbies?
• How did they get into education?
• What are their goals in life?
• What are your strengths?

Ask them about these things every now and then to show you are actually interested and build that personal connection. Figure out how you can incorporate some of their likes and strengths into the classroom. I have had some TAs that take over cooking class every Friday because they love to do it! It shows you trust and value them as a member of your team. 

Ask for feedback, and ask them how they want to receive theirs

I kid you not, this is probably one of the most important things to bring up when getting to know your staff. First, ask them when they prefer to receive both positive and corrective feedback. Do they want it in the moment? After school? In writing? I have witnessed a classroom completely fall apart over the course of a month because the staff didn't know how and when to give feedback to one another and feelings got hurt. 

On the same token, ask your paras to give YOU feedback! This is one of those even-out-the-playing-field things again. Often times TAs can feel awkward about asking questions or sharing their opinions. You need to make decisions as a team and valuing the thoughts and opinions of your staff will make what you do in your room that much more successful. Tell them you want them to talk to you when they don't understand something or when they disagree (or agree!). Tell them to let you know when they feel things are working or if something should be different. It doesn't mean that the decision is final, but it allows for a healthy, reciprocal relationship, rather than just one person making all of the decisions. 

I can 100% promise you it will be 10xs more difficult to effectively work with this population of children if you are soley working on a "I'm the boss and you're just the para" level. When emotions and stress levels run high, you need to be able to trust one another, have some level of comfort, and know that you as a team can work through this - and this really only comes if you have put in the time to get to know one another and have built that relationship.