The Crookston High School currently has multiple job openings in its Special Services Department, with it needing to fill about six paraprofessional positions and is reaching out to the community to help fill in these important roles in the Crookston School District.
Paraprofessionals are teachers that work with Special Education students from preschool up to high school levels, helping them with whatever they need to be successful in their classrooms and the school. The paraprofessionals will work with the students in small groups, or one-on-one with the student, with it more likely to work one-on-one with the higher needs students. The paraprofessionals will work closely with the Special Ed. Case Manager and with the student’s regular teacher in the class. The paraprofessionals will work with the students in all three schools in the district, sometimes with the professionals having to go between the schools multiple times throughout the year. “We always say that our “F word” is flexibility because often, paraprofessionals get moved around where we have the highest needs. That’s really what it’s about, serving our students the best we can and helping them in whatever way we can,” Crookston Student Services Director Kathy Stronstad explained. “So, you might get hired and originally start at Washington, then we might have a student move in at Highland that’s a high need, and I might have to talk to you and move you there. We all need to be really flexible since that’s what our students need.”
Some requirements for the job include having a high school diploma or GED, passing a background check, and having the desire to work with kids and help them grow. Like other jobs in the school district, the professionals get the same vacation days that the students get for holidays like Spring/Easter Break, Martin Luthor King Jr. Day, Christmas break, and even summer vacation. Applicants would start on the first day of the school year, September 6, and will have a negotiated contract for a competitive pay grade that can range from $15.17 an hour for a paraprofessional with no experience to $17.69 an hour for a professional with experience working with kids or people with disabilities. The district will also give some additional compensation to paraprofessionals that work with the higher needs students.
While the job may sound challenging to some at first glance, Director Kathy Stronstad says that the job is very rewarding to people who love working with kids or making a difference in people’s lives. “It’s a super rewarding job. If you like working with kids, this is a great way to have a job where you would do that. You make a huge difference; I often feel like the paras learn more about their kids and become closer to them than any other adult in the school because they work so closely with them,” said Stronstad. “It’s a good job if you have kids of your own, you have the same schedule as your students, so you get those days off that your kids get off for the most part, which is always a nice thing, especially for working moms.” Stronstad reported that she has heard many paraprofessionals admit that it’s not an easy job, as it can be very challenging physically and mentally and very rewarding. Saying they have made many great connections with their students and seen them grow in many spectacular ways.
Applications for the job can be found and completed on the Crookston Public School’s website, “You go to the Crookston Public School’s website, then you go to the spot that says District, then you go to go to Human Resources, and then it has a spot that says Career Opportunities and Vacancies, then you’ll look under Support Staff for Paraprofessionals,” Stronstad explained. “It’s a pretty easy application to fill out, and that comes right to me, and I promise I’ll get a hold of you right away and visit with you about the opportunities that we have for those positions.” If you’re interested in applying for the position, you can go to Crookston School District’s Human Resources page at www.crookston.k12.mn.us/district-humanresources.
