When we think about helping new paraprofessionals, we should consider how mentoring can be a natural part of school. It is assumed that every year new paraprofessionals will be hired at the beginning of the year, and sometimes they are hired in the middle of the school year. Having mentors for these new hires is important, but not all schools do this. Just as plants need sunlight, new paraprofessionals need mentors to grow. Mentoring should be a normal part of working at a school (Heikkinen, 2020). It should be expected and assumed that if you get a new para position in a school you also get a mentor.
When mentoring becomes “a given” or expected part of the school setting it also becomes a specific part of the broader system of the school or district. Mentoring is life-giving for the paraeducators and becomes a space that enhances their production and purpose as they work alongside and with other people in the school and implement practices that support the work in that setting (Wals, 2020).
Broffenbrenner (1979) goes forward with the idea of the systems within specific settings (like schools) and breaks those systems in smaller layers that interact and affect each other. Para relationships play a part within these systems.
The goal of this system is to help each paraeducator grow as much as they can. When paraeducators are encouraged and given the freedom to learn and do more, they can work together and learn from each other. Christenson (2016) states that it is  important to go beyond just appreciating paraeducators. Instead, we should give them chances to become experts and share their knowledge.Christenson goes on to say that the individual grows by relying on those in the direct system they work with. Paraeducators can grow by working closely with the people around them and by learning from all of the experiences and connections within the system, school and classroom. The system-wide support that districts put into place can help to lift up the paraeducator so they feel rooted in the system and reaching for high levels of professional growth.Â
The work that the Ohio’s Partnership for Excellence in Paraprofessional Preparation does can change the entire system and professional life of a paraeducator. It can cause changes in the smaller microsystems all the way up to the larger systems that support and surround the paraeducator in the school setting.
Broffenbrenner’s approach to systems is not a perfect system but one that can help us to see and then put to use the interconnectedness where paraeducators and the students they support exist.