Hardin Public Schools

Location
Hardin Public Schools(PreK–12)
Route 1, Box 1001
Hardin, MT 59034-9707

Contact
Janice Eckman, Title I Parent Involvement Coordinator
Phone: 406-665-6438
E-mail: eckmangh@wtp.net

Paraeducators Play Multiple Roles in Instruction, Family Advocacy,
and Indian Education at Hardin Public Schools

Hardin Public Schools consists of two districts that encompass a very large geographical area in southeastern Montana. District 1 consists of Hardin High School, and draws students from throughout the entire area, many of them busing in from more than an hour away. District 17-H consists of Hardin’s primary (PreK–2), intermediate (3–5), and middle schools (6–8), but also includes the Fort Smith School (K–5), which is more than an hour away from Hardin, and the Crow Agency School (K–6), which is on the Crow Indian Reservation. Hardin itself is a small town just across the northern border of the reservation. The two districts together have an average enrollment of 1,700 students, of which about 56 percent are Native American, predominantly Crow, but also including some students from the neighboring Northern Cheyenne Reservation. Many of the students come from homes where the Crow language is either predominant or of equal importance to English. Many also live in extremely rural areas, often without telephones. The challenges that face the districts can seem as immense as the beautiful, windswept prairie that surrounds it, but their successes mirror the strength and soul of the people.

One important factor in Hardin Public Schools’ many successes is the role that paraeducators play, both in the classroom and in bridging the gap between the schools and the families they serve. The Parent Center for Hardin Public Schools consists of Parent Involvement Coordinator Janice Eckman, and two Family Advocates, Davene Big Lake and Ruth Harris. Federal Programs Director Beth Howe Hugs is in charge of all supervision, evaluations, and hiring for the center.

The approach that Hardin Public Schools takes to the use of paraeducators exhibits the key ingredients we have seen in all effective programs. As Beth Hugs says, "You won’t see our paraeducators standing around the copier machine. They’re in the classroom and out in the community." Besides the Parent Center, there are paraeducators in every classroom, in special education, in the library, in the high school’s learning lab, and in the computer labs that are in every school. There are paraeducators staffing the after-school tutoring programs, and there are four paraeducators at the Crow Agency School who received full training from MSU-Billings in the teaching of Native American children and teaching to individual learning styles.

In addition, almost all paraeducators are full-time staff during the nine-month school year, and after two years are offered health care benefits, sick leave, paid holidays, and retirement plans. The districts will even go to great lengths to offer summer employment to those paraeducators who request it, whether on the grounds crew or building maintenance or doing office work. Paraeducators are also included in many professional development opportunities, such as Montana Education Association training sessions and family literacy conferences. The districts are involved in a teacher training program with Little Bighorn College and MSU-Billings, which pays tuition, materials, and a small monthly stipend to Native Americans who wish to become certified teachers. Paraeducators are given first priority in the program. Graduates of the program are strongly encouraged, though not required, to seek employment with schools serving reservations. Hugs estimates that more than 100 Native American students in the program will be certified within the next five years.

The hiring of paraeducators is done building by building and often includes a current paraeducator in addition to a certified teacher and school administrator. At least one member of all screening and interview committees in the two districts must be of Native American heritage—one example of a cultural awareness that might seem obvious, but is by no means a given in similar schools around the country. Throughout the districts there is an intense focus on offering a culturally appropriate education, which includes the teaching of the Crow language at the middle and high schools. Tutors who speak Crow are also available at all grade levels, and the student advocates in each building are well versed in the culture.

All paraeducators work under the direct supervision of a certified teacher or an administrator. As Hugs says, "In the past, Title I used to be a dumping ground for burned-out teachers, but that has changed. We have made every effort to provide the best teachers for those students with the greatest needs." All the teachers treat their paraeducators as co-teachers, she notes, but the roles are clearly delineated. "It’s team-teaching in the best sense. Students often don’t know the difference between a teacher and a paraeducator in the classroom, but the roles are clear." This teamwork is based on significant planning time between teachers and paraeducators, including grade-level meetings every Friday afternoon. "There are detailed job descriptions for paraeducators," says Hugs, "as well as policies and grievance procedures specifically for them."

In the Parent Center, all these policies and procedures are seen to great effect. The roles of each member are clearly defined and the teamwork is seamless. Every summer, Davene Big Lake (a Crow tribal member who speaks the language fluently) and Ruth Harris attempt to make home visits to every family with a child entering kindergarten. With an average of 130 kindergarten students each year, spread over three different schools, and with families many miles apart, it is a daunting goal, but one that the two family advocates take very seriously. "We want parents to feel welcome right from the beginning," says Big Lake. "It’s really important to make that initial contact." These visits are also informative, giving parents an idea of the many resources available to them, including free books, materials dealing with phonemic awareness, and information from the Indian Health Center regarding dental care, nutrition, immunization, and parenting skills.

These home visits are only the beginning. Throughout the school year the parent involvement program offers a variety of events and resources. There are Family Fun Nights once a month, as well as Family Game Nights, Bingo for Books, a Christmas crafts program, Cooking with Kids, and many other activities. "It’s been a great way to educate the community," says Eckman. "We’ve had some trial and error, like the time we had to make 350 ice cream sundaes, but these programs have been a great success."

The Parent Center itself offers a wide variety of resources. There are books and videos available for checkout, board games, computers with Internet access, and information on ADD/ADHD, parenting skills, approaches to discipline, dealing with homework, and reading with children, among other things. But the most important and effective resource is the staff. "We all feel so strongly that what we’re doing is important," says Eckman. "Everything we do is focused on the goal of bridging the gap between the schools and the parents."

In the Hardin Public Schools, paraeducators play many different roles, but whether they are in the classroom or out in the community, they have the same professionalism and passion for their work as the best teachers. "I think in many ways we are less intimidating to parents than certified teachers or administrators," says Harris. "We’re their advocates and we can give the school a human face."

"At the same time, we’re advocates for our teachers," adds Eckman. "Every time we make contact with parents it’s an opportunity to bridge that gap."