Paras Often Targeted

Some ESP Who Lose Their Jobs May Need Counseling

By Dave Arnold

The Bush Administration's budget proposal for fiscal year 2006 would eliminate or cut back about 150 programs nationwide. Guess how many of those deal with education? Forty-eight. That is almost one-third.

In dollars and cents, the budget cuts come to $4.3 billion. In services, it means that millions of disadvantaged and middle-class students from pre-kindergarten through college will be negatively affected.

Forcing Paras

Among Education Support Professionals (ESP) it means that paraeducators better watch their backs. At the local level, school boards forced to implement Reduction In Force (RIF) procedures to stay within budgets will scrutinize all personnel before dropping the ax. Inevitably, it is the heads of paras that end up on the chopping block.

I know how difficult it is trying to maintain high education standards amidst a hostile financial environment. Laying off teachers' aides, instructional assistants, library aides, playground monitors, crossing guards and other paras brings no pleasure to anyone.

Paras get more attention, I think, not because they are dispensable. In my mind, they are indispensable. Unfortunately, their fates might have more to do with their relatively high numbers and affiliation to certain school programs.

Paras Easy Prey

According to data from the National Education Association (NEA), paras are the largest ESP group. There are more than 771,000 working in our nation's K-12 public schools. That's 34 percent of the K-12 workforce. Paras are also the largest NEA ESP member group, at 46 percent.

In addition to their high numbers, paras are also easy prey for budget-cutters because of their affiliation with Special ed programs. Most classes and programs offered at schools are required by federal and state laws. Special ed, for example, has less statutory protection than reading, writing and arithmetic courses.

Under the Bush Administration's budget, paras who work with children tied to the following programs should take heed:

• 6.9 million special education children will be shortchanged based on the proposed bill
• 3 million children will not get the help with reading and math they were promised under Title I
• 1.7 million children would be shut out of after-school programs

Need Help

Paras sometimes get their pink slips during summer, only to be called back during the fall after state officials set their budget and comes across with enough funding for special education programs. However, when not recalled, some paras will find themselves standing in long unemployment lines. From my own experience, I can tell you that this is hell on earth.

In 1981, the owners closed the plant where I had toiled for 11 years. My youngest daughter was only a few days old at the time. I have never felt more helpless than I did during the period when I was not able to provide for my family.

Eventually, things worked out for the best. I found work with a local school district. Some of my co-workers, however, couldn't cope with the stress and depression of being unemployed. Some of them experienced alcoholism and divorce. Two of them committed suicide. Unfortunately, there were no support groups where they lived. Also missing at the time was information linking depression and unemployment.

Remain Optimistic

As members of our nation's labor force, ESP are accustomed to earning their keep. They also enjoy having something at the end of the day to show for their efforts. When they become unemployed, they become dependant on others to exist. As I've come to learn in my 20-plus years as an ESP, our work ethic is one that dictates self-sufficiency. We provide for ourselves.

It is frustrating to be inactive and unproductive. I remember the Reverend Jessie Jackson once saying, "The American worker doesn't want charity, he wants parity." So true.

To help workers cope with being laid-off, many advisors agree on the following tips:

• Don't take it personally. Being laid-off is not about you or your contribution to the company. It is about the company's need to reduce expenses.
• Recognize the grief process. Psychologists agree, there is a common process that people experience after being laid off. The process typically involves five steps: denial, anger, sadness, bargaining, and acceptance. Recognize these steps, accept them, and work hard at getting yourself to the last step as quickly as possible.

An on-line forum has been created especially for unemployed workers. News articles and information about unemployment benefits is also available at this Web site. If you have children at home, you must also consider how they are being impacted by your jobless status. Don't ever think that they're not affected.

Be open and talk with them about being laid-off. Tailor your conversation in tone and length to their age and maturity level. And, try to be optimistic about your future.

My lay off was traumatic for a time. But if I had not have been laid-off, I would still be working at a job I hated rather than at a job I love. Namely, I might have spent my life walking the floors of a cold, stark factory rather than interacting with children, teachers, parents and my fellow ESP. Being laid-off turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to me.

(Dave Arnold, a member of the Illinois Education Association, is head custodian at Brownstown Elementary School in Southern Illinois.)

The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NEA or its affiliates.