“I like to move it, move it!” blasts the popular kids’ song on the morning announcements.

The team of paraprofessionals at Fernan STEM Academy, a public elementary school in the Coeur d’Alene school district, make last-minute checks on their materials packed into individual rolling carts. From stepping out of the paraprofessional home classroom at 9:14 sharp this Tuesday morning, the team wheels from class to class with no time to replenish supplies.

“They’re our dream team,” Title 1 Teacher Shelby Randklev said in a classroom visit with the Press. Title 1 is a federal education program to help disadvantaged kids.

Paraprofessionals fill a variety of roles in the schools they serve. While Title 1 “paras” work on literacy, others may assist with other subjects, act as classroom aids, work in special education classrooms, or be paired with a single student who may need extra assistance all day.

Cheryl Ratcliff has been a Title 1 Paraprofessional at Fernan for 10 years.

“We’re support staff,” said Ratcliff. “We’re supporting the classroom teachers and their instruction.”

Paraprofessionals can also be found manning crosswalks or monitoring playgrounds for student safety.

“Every single para’s role is different,” Randklev said, “It’s basically: What do kids need?”

At Fernan, Title 1 operates on a push-in, or inclusion model, meaning their paras work with students in their home classrooms, rather than pulling them out of their safety zone, said Randklev. The team members each pull rolling carts of materials from class to class all day, kind of like flight attendants, Ratcliff jokes.

In her role, Ratcliff helps students work on reading skills in a variety of creative ways. Through games, sorting activities, reading practice and thinking strategies, Title 1 paras like Ratcliff help students learn to read and comprehend, often targeting kids below grade level.

When she sits down with her first group of kindergartners at 9:15 a.m. she immediately asks each one how they are.

Modeling words on a white board Ratcliff asks students to change ‘sit’ to ‘fit’.

“What sound changes?”

“The beginning!” one of the kids chirped.

“Good. Do we still have the same vowel, too?”

Ratcliff said educators’ approach to teaching reading, as well as their own understanding of reading, has evolved.

“There’s a lot more to reading than we thought…reading is complex.”

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In addition to helping kids with fluency, or being able to read at age-appropriate speed difficulty levels, educators also target comprehension and “thinking while reading.” This ensures kids are not only able to process words, but the information given by them.

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At Fernan, Title 1 paras include a reading workshop model, which includes instruction and reading practice using books kids select themselves. Ratcliff said this models real reading and gives kids more buy-in as they choose how to utilize their skills for something that interests them.

Ratcliff works with 80 to 100 students from kindergarten to third grade, and works with an average of three to eight students at a time.

“I love working with small groups. I feel like I really get to know the kids – that’s the best thing ever.”

Ratcliff repeatedly said she loves her job, and added that it feels like working with her own kids (now both adults), especially when she works with many of her students and their siblings for a period of years.

She works in classes at each grade level, and gets to kindergartners at both the beginning and end of the day. These sessions range from 30 to 45 minutes, with just enough time between to move to the next class.

She also preps for about half an hour before and after the day’s work, getting one 15-minute break between her last two classes. Twice a week she also has playground or lunch duty.

Not all schools have Title 1 funding. The federally-funded program is based on the number of students who qualify for free and reduced lunches.

“It’s really important for parents to fill out paperwork [sent home at the beginning of the year that asks [about income], because it affects the funding schools get,” Ratcliff said.

To qualify to work as a paraprofessional in Idaho, you need at least two years of college education, or to complete a state-approved academic assessment such as the Praxis exam, as well as a high school diploma or GED, according to Idaho code.

Most of the women Ratcliff works with are overqualified with bachelor’s degrees. Some are retired teachers and many, like Ratcliff herself, are or began their paraprofessional work as mothers looking for part-time work.

And yes – “mothers” is precise. Like much of the education field, female paraprofessionals outnumber males.

“I wish there were more men. We need more men in education in general,” Ratcliff said. “All those boys need role models, too.”

Ratcliff has a bachelor’s in elementary education, although her daughter was born before she could get her teaching certificate.

“This was my way of going back into education without getting my certificate.”

Before becoming a paraprofessional, Ratcliff had volunteered with reading programs in schools when her own kids were younger and worked in childcare.

She has also tutored Chinese students in English online for years and used to get up early to meet with them before going to work at Fernan.

Ratcliff says the best part of her job is her coworkers and the relationships she builds with students and getting to see them succeed.

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“I see a student develop their skills and the light goes on. And I see them fall in love with books and reading and [see] their self confidence develop because they have the tools for success.” - Cheryl Ratcliff

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She said the hardest thing about her job is that there’s never enough time to prepare for and work with students, as well as seeing real struggles kids face.

She thinks the biggest misconception about her job is that many think paraprofessionals are just “crossing guards or playground supervisors,” although those are important roles as well. She wants others to know the skills and preparation their work requires.

“We’re highly trained at what we do and we’re highly qualified. It’s a really respectable job and it takes knowledge and hard work.” Ratcliff said. “If you asked the teachers I know they would say they count on us.”

That sentiment was echoed by other Fernan staff.

“Schools can’t work without paraprofessionals,” said Randklev. “It would be impossible.”

Fernan’s Office Manager Amber Butts feels the same.

“We need our paras,” she said.

Ratcliff said she feels respected and appreciated at work by teachers, staff and other paraprofessionals. And the feeling is mutual.

“My fellow Title 1 paras…I just admire and respect them, and enjoy them.”