ESP on Teamwork
A Positive Catalyst

Washington paraeducator Connie Nordeen provides extra help for teachers, students, and parents

Like a much-coveted family recipe with a secret ingredient, Mountain View Junior High School just wouldn't be the same without paraeducator Connie Nordeen, an 11-year veteran of Sumner, Washington schools.

Nordeen-recently honored as Washington Education Association's Support Person of the Year-runs two successful programs at Mountain View that define the phrase "partnership in education."

The school's in-school suspension program gives students the opportunity to have a "time out," she says. And Nordeen, who was hand-picked to run the program because of her "ability to work with kids," strives hard to make sure suspended students aren't just doing worksheets.

"I get face-to-face with a student's teachers to get any and all assignments that may be missing," she says. "I want them to be productive while in my room."

She's not shy about tracking down teachers on their lunch periods, using the computer to research a student's grades so she knows his or her background, and even breaking into a class in progress to get what she needs.

"I try to keep the students who are with me focused on school so that they won't fall behind even more," she says. "I encourage them to set goals for themselves, then prod, push, and pull to get them to complete their assignments and pass their classes."

Colleague Carol Greer calls Nordeen a true treasure.
"I have seen firsthand the ways Connie can take students who are on the edge of failure and show them how to be successful," says Greer.

In fact, Nordeen's efforts are so successful that both teachers and parents of suspended students have consistently asked her for extra help.

Even students themselves have asked for her time.
"I can oftentimes give them individual attention because there are so few students in my room,'' explains Nordeen, who has served as president of the Sumner Para-Educator Association since 1995.

Four years, ago, Nordeen started another program with colleague Carol Greer called the Homework Enhancement Program, an after-school curriculum that has helped thousands of students--and their parents.

"My own son struggled in school, so I make it my duty to call parents of students like him and say, 'I wanted to give you a heads-up that Johnny is missing these five assignments, but we have an after-school program where he can make them up,'" she says. "I then track down the student and say, 'Your mom wants you to stay after school.' Some of the kids get mad,
but after they've made up their assignments, you can just see the relief on their faces."

The program, though voluntary, has "caught like wildfire," Nordeen says. "The teachers are encouraging students to attend, and even the students are encouraging each other.
"The staff has this 'we're in this together' attitude, and I think that's what makes the difference," she adds. "We're staying connected and focused on the kids."

--Dina S. Gõmez

Team player
Going Way Beyond
Just Band-Aids

Name: Debbie Greenawald, RN, MSN

Job Title: Education Specialist, Certified School Nurse at Conrad Weiser High School in Robesonia, Pennsylvania

What I do: I'm here to promote health. No two days are alike, because I have to be available to treat staff and students with acute and chronic problems at all times of the day.
Nurses need to have a sixth sense. It's the nursing intuition to know that when a kid comes in with a headache, I can respond in a non-threatening way that doesn't embarrass the student but probes deeper to get to more complex issues, by interpreting non-verbal communication and by knowing the student.
It's a combination of knowledge and experience that makes me a better nurse today than when I started seven years ago. I am the only person in the building to speak from a unique nursing perspective that affects acres of education programs. Education is not "one size fits all;" not in health or in lesson plans.

Health and community: I'm advocating for education about coordinated school health programs. It's a team effort from the athletic department, teachers, food service, transportation, administrators, and the community-everyone who wants health and safety. It's a whole picture of family and community, physical and mental health, disease and fitness.
I have a vision of what a school could look like if everyone worked together to help kids be healthier and learn better. Currently, I am working to establish the Conrad Weiser Area School District School-Community Health Advisory Council to bring various resources in schools and the community to students, teachers, and parents. We're trying to teach lifelong healthy behaviors for success as students, as consumers, and as people.

The rewards: As this year's Pennsylvania School Nurse of the Year, I am an advocate for kids with special needs. I can make a difference for them and that's what makes my job rewarding. I love this job. It makes me crazy lots of times, but it wouldn't make me crazy if I weren't passionate about it.

Going the Extra Mile

Decking out a school bus with Christmas lights, owning a bakery, and supporting Goodwill and the heart and diabetes foundations don't show up in Helen Cottongim's school job description. But in addition to these activities and her duties as driver trainer in Boone County, Kentucky, Cottongim has driven food and supplies to flood victims, and been a stalwart of the local 4-H Club, helping children learn to ride and show horses. Cottongim was one of the first 40 driver trainers in the nation to achieve national certification back in 1992. She also helped found the first ESP local in Kentucky.

Shirl Anne Ingram, president of the Kyrene Classified Association in Tempe, Arizona, knows how to deliver an eloquent and persuasive speech on behalf of her 130 members.

As the only support professional on the district's 50-member Budget Advisory Committee, she had 15 minutes to make her point that ESP deserved a raise. She took the committee on a "virtual tour." Asking members to close their eyes, she verbally walked them through a school without support professionals.
"Imagine," Ingram said, "driving up to school and the yards are a mess. Inside, no secretaries answer phones or welcome you. Down the hall we hear water running in the girls restroom and there's water everywhere from a broken pipe, but nobody to fix it. A teacher at a computer can't sign on, but there's no technology staff to help. The school is quiet because there are no children. There are no bus drivers to bring them."

When Ingram told committee members to open their eyes, they'd heard the message. Support staff got the 5 percent across-the-board raise Ingram requested. "This truly is how important support staff are," she says. "We're behind the scenes keeping everything running." Support professionals had received only negligible raises since 1995.

A 15-year secretary, Ingram also serves as chair of the meet and confer negotiations group, which covers a broad range of issues from salaries to working conditions.

John Lynch, heating and air conditioning technician for Clark County (Nevada) schools, is part of a team of 49 HVACR specialists that is responsible for the climate control of 250 schools in the Las Vegas area.

"We're busy all the time with airflow problems, replacing units and working on temperature control problems. We also have a lot of windshield time, with some of our schools 95 miles apart," says Lynch.

He's also active in his 5,430-member ESP unit, the largest in NEA. And he's chief job steward, chairman of the bylaws committee, and involved in the election committee.

Outside school, Lynch has entertained kids as a Shriner clown for seven years. The Shriners perform at charitable events and bring joy to kids at burn centers. They also drive burn victims to a hospital in Los Angeles, about 325 miles away.
"You really bond with the families," says Lynch. "There's no greater pleasure than seeing a child who is happy."

Resources

Health News To Use

If it's health information you're looking for, then a great place to start is the NEA Health Information Network
Web site at www.neahin.org.

You'll find topics such as school employee health, breast and cervical health, substance use, mental health and HIV/AIDS. Learn more about NEA's Cancer Survivors Network and Caucus and read or leave messages on the electronic bulletin board.

Privatizers Target Unions

Drive out unions, and drive down wages and benefits for employees. That seems to be the main goal of many of the privatization efforts taking place around the country. Politicians and privatizers alike trumpet the virtues of turning every service into some type of profit center.

If you're concerned about these types of developments, and what they might mean for your and your job, you can find out more by visiting the Web site of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
Go to www.afscme.org/private/.

Clean Air, Better Learning

Half of our nation's 115,000 schools have problems linked to indoor air quality, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. You'll find this out, and much more, if you take a look at the EPA's school Web site.

There's information on curricula to use, student performance, managing asthma, and trainings you can take advantage of. An IAQ Tools for Schools Kit covers virtually every aspect of indoor air quality. Checklists help you identify potential problems and what to do about them if you've already identified them. Learn how to overcome, as a school team, the financial, legal, managerial, and other issues that arise when striving for the best learning environment for children. Check out www.epa.gov/iaq/ schools.

Office Pros Pave the Way

The International Association of Administrative Professionals offers a Web site to keep office personnel up-to-date on the latest trends and news in the field.

Preview OfficePro magazine online and read about topics such as How to Deal with Supervisors Who Drive You Nuts on the Web at www.IAAP-hq.org. And don't forget: Administrative Professionals Week is April 21-27.

Have a great meeting

Are you not looking forward to that meeting next week? Maybe it's because meetings you've been to in the past have not been fruitful. Take a look at the 3M corporation's Meeting Network site. This corporate giant definitely knows the waste involved in having a bad meeting as well as the benefits to all in a well-timed and planned out gathering.

Chances are you'll get a kick out of the cartoons, and find the presentation kits useful.

There's some hawking of 3M products, but also plenty of useful information to help you (or your supervisor, if he or she needs it) make sure that the next meeting you have to go to is a helpful one, and not a bore. Look at http://www.3m.com/meetingnetwork.

Paraeducator Connie Nordeen coordinates her school's in-school suspension program and a second program to help students stay on top of their homework.