Paraprofessionals are lifeline for Jordan Valley students, district officials say

CANYONS SCHOOL DISTRICT — Paraprofessionals are central to daily instruction and student safety at Jordan Valley School and across Canyons School District, district leaders said on the district’s Connect Canyons podcast.

On the program, Nate Edvlesen, the district’s director of special education, and Stacy Knopfzinger, principal at Jordan Valley School, described paraprofessionals’ duties, staffing levels and recruitment and training efforts.

The discussion matters because paraprofessionals provide hands-on support that licensed teachers cannot always offer while managing classroom instruction. “They’re really the lifeline at Jordan Valley in how they support each and every student there,” Stacy Knopfzinger said, describing roles that include 1-on-1 supports for medically or behaviorally impacted students, paired classroom support and assistance with students’ individualized education program (IEP) goals.

Edvlesen said the district employs “probably upwards of 300 staff members fulfilling a variety of roles” that he grouped under paraeducator or paraprofessional functions, and he described a range of duties that span curriculum support, behavioral assistance, health- and hygiene-related care, and periodic clerical work to support teachers. Jordan Valley, which serves students with significant needs, has about 40 paraprofessionals on staff, Knopfzinger said.

Paraprofessionals’ daily tasks vary with student needs. Knopfzinger said they help students from arrival on the bus through classroom routines, prompt communication, model use of augmentative and alternative communication devices, and lead short behavioral interventions such as moving a student to a sensory room. Those supports, she said, help students access the curriculum and practice self-regulation.

Edvlesen described flexible staffing patterns across the district, noting that some positions are part time and that the district often must balance student-support needs with fiscal responsibility. “We don’t always need full time, and there’s a variety of types of persons that can fulfill those roles,” he said, adding that paraprofessional work can attract people seeking flexible hours, college students and those exploring a career in education.

On hiring and training, Edvlesen and Knopfzinger said the district posts positions publicly and follows screening steps that include fingerprinting and other background checks. The district also offers training resources: Knopfzinger described self-led online modules her staff has used, and the pair discussed state core training modules that can include compensation for participants. Edvlesen also said the district has an employee-funded tuition support program to help paraprofessionals pursue further education and certification.

Both leaders framed paraprofessional roles as a workforce pipeline: several current classroom paraprofessionals at Jordan Valley, Knopfzinger said, are returning to school for teaching or speech-language pathology degrees and have received district supports. Edvlesen and Knopfzinger emphasized that strong relationships, judgment and compassion are qualities the district values and seeks to develop through mentoring and on-the-job training.

The podcast closed with a district invitation for listeners to contact the communications office for topic suggestions and reiterated that paraprofessionals play a substantial role in students’ school experience.

For more information or to contact the district, the podcast listed communications@canyonsdistrict.org and the district website canyonsdistrict.org.