Learning on the Job

ESP mentors help students acquire job skills, class credit, and school spirit.

Lori Baker and Betty Capra

When custodians at Roxbury High School joined the New Jersey Education Association six years ago, they wanted a stronger voice on the job. They got it, and also became guiding forces in their students' lives--much like support professionals in Maryland and other parts of the country.

"Custodians and all education support professionals build strong relationships with students, and we wanted to be more directly involved in the education process," says Joe Stracco, a member of the Roxbury Custodians Association (RCA). "I think there's a lot of room for this at any school, and it wasn't long before we saw an opportunity at Roxbury."

That opportunity came from special education teacher Lori Baker, who wanted her students to earn school credit by learning service-oriented duties.

"Not every student fits a standard template for education," says Baker. "My kids have learning difficulties, but it's more significant that they have a lot of abilities. I wanted them to use those abilities at school."

Members of RCA quickly answered the challenge, teaming with Baker and paraprofessional Betty Capra to form the Service Learning Program. Through the program, custodians and other Roxbury ESPs mentor special education students, teaching and supervising them as they help clean the school and grounds, work in the cafeteria, and provide administrative support in the office. In return, the students earn five credits per school year and pick up valuable vocational skills.

"We have more than 20 kids a year in the program, and all the custodians work with them as mentors," says RCA member Ronald Parzero. "Once the kids come into the program, they learn real job skills."

Mentors educate parents about the program as well, says Parzero, assuring them that students will not work with any chemicals or in any potentially hazardous situations. The experience also qualifies students to participate in the state's career and technical education program, a post-high school certificate program, says Stracco.

Photos by Leo Sorel

"One graduate has already gone through it and come back to work for the school district. That really says something to me," says Stracco. "Where some kids excel at sports or foreign languages, these kids have used their own skills to become mainstream. There's no question that they feel a part of school life. I see it every day."

Capra, Baker's aide, agrees. "I see clearly how the kids' self-esteem has grown," she says. "They relate more to the other kids and to the adults, and they walk away from the experience better able to go into the workforce. It's very exciting."

Like his counterparts in New Jersey, Wayne Bedwell, a custodian at Chestertown Middle School on Maryland's Eastern Shore, has long advocated for ESPs to have a more direct role in education. So, he decided to help students earn the 75 hours of service learning credits the state says they must complete before high school graduation.

"It was well known that kids everywhere were having a hard time earning these hours," says Bedwell, president of the Kent County Educational Support Personnel Association. "By the time they get to high school, their schedules are so full that it's almost impossible to rack up 75 hours of service. I knew I had a service I could teach, so I put together a program."

Eighth graders who participate in "Panther Pride," named after the school mascot, can earn up to 40 service learning hours working alongside Bedwell, who voluntarily returns to school after his normal shift to supervise the students. When the program began last year, 67 of the 105 eighth graders signed up to straighten desks, dust shelves, wash windows, and help with the building's upkeep. But, the program is about much more than helping the custodians clean the building, says Bedwell.

"The focus is on pride in our school," he says. "The kids learn respect for the school, and they take that message to other students. When they've completed the program, they always say, ?I never appreciated what the custodians do here until I joined Panther Pride.' That makes me very happy."

--Matt Simon