Opinion

Don’t cut Dist. 15 program assistants

Posted March 12, 2012 5:46 am

The balance of treating District 15 both as a business AND as a school district has been skewed. If there was a true balance, understanding the importance of quality educators would be the thing that you’d need to keep intact.

A few of the things made possible because of the highly-qualified program assistants at WCE:

Ÿ Whole group instruction only exists for a very small percentage of the school day.

Ÿ Differentiated instruction is done throughout the day, at every grade level.

Ÿ Small group instruction is incorporated during math, reading and writing at a minimum.

Ÿ Reading intervention programs help the neediest of readers.

Ÿ Lunch and recess are supervised by program assistants.

Ÿ Many PBIS celebrations are monitored by program assistants, allowing teachers time to collaborate.

Ÿ Map testing is set up and IEP accommodations are proctored by program assistants. CBM testing is done completely by program assistants. ISATs are done with their help.

The expectations on our teachers continue to increase; not just curriculum-based, but standardized testing, progress monitoring, RTI, PBIs, No Excuses University, new programs to incorporate, parent communications, open houses, report cards, parent-teacher conferences, etc.

Now imagine doing all of this successfully, exceptionally and passionately with no support, and yet another increase in class sizes.

The program assistants love children and want to impact their lives for the better. We do it to see a child’s eyes light up because she was able to read that book you worked so hard together on. We do it because we work with a staff that support us and treat us as the qualified educators we are.

I am proud to be a program assistant at WCE. I know the name of just about every student and they know me. I am proud to have helped children grow academically, proud that I support teachers so they can teach children on an individual level and proud I have teachers who support me and trust my abilities as an educator.

Please rethink your options and don’t take away the people who help build the foundation of a strong educational experience.

Julie Calamia

Palatine

Article Comments

Article Comments

Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.