Important life career decision. Inadequate teacher's assistant reassigned after repeated requests for change.

Question

My "assistant" has been reassigned to me even though I was promised a new one. She does whatever she wants, is late every day, is never where she is supposed to be, and does not complete her delegated responsiblilties.(She hasn't even taken attendance since November.) I teach Spec. Ed to children ages 6-9, and I teach two grades simultaneously. The "higher-ups" are well aware of the problems. (I started in Feb.06 and I am told the problem is well known and has been for some time.) I will not make progress with my students in the coming year, and could lose my cert. if I am held responsible in any way for her actions( or inadequacy). ( Everyone knows administration steps aside and the teacher goes down if the school is sued because she is not doing her job.) She makes fantastic money and has 18yrs experience . ( I have 10). It is not personal. I only made progress this year because I have 2 one to ones in my room helping me. She is definitely a liability.What to do?I have no tenure!

Answer 1

First, let me say that I think it's ridiculous that a teacher's assistant has more say in this than you do! Does she have a connection with the Director of Special Ed or something? I have worked with autistic children and know the importance of having good paras working with you, they make all of the difference in the world. Have your tried a conversation with the director of Special Services? In our district, it is he that makes the decisions about paras and so forth, not the principals. Maybe she's fudging her timesheet and can get fired for that since she is late so often?
Definitely start documenting your conversations with the principal and all involved about how you do not feel she is a good fit for your classroom, I would also talk to the union rep for your building and see if there is anything they can do or advice they can give you.

Answer 2

I am also an untenured first year teacher who had almost the exact same problem. My "aide" was no help at all and was much more of a liability-encouraging the kids to come and talk to her while they were supposed to be on-task. She would march over and loudly talk on the phone during my teaching time distracting everybody. As a result, partly I think due to her, my kids scored low on our state test-which I was hired to prep them for.

Keep at your principal and document everything. Send her out to make LOTS of copies or try to find a teacher to "loan" her to. Can you give her tasks, like paper grading, that will get her out of the way? Maybe if you played up the lawsuit angle~sometimes that scares administrators. If that doesn't work, I know ESE teachers are pretty much in demand all over~look elsewhere.

Fortunately, my school had spent ALOT for my program and were so anxious to see it work they listened to me and moved her out. I was better off with no aide even though management was more difficult.

Good Luck!

Answer 3

I think the only thing you can really do is create a paper trail. Document everything she does wrong, submit each week her errors to the principle, and accept their decisions. They're clever people, they recognize when you are preparing a case against them. I had a key teacher back out of a field trip on me a day before the trip and the principle approved it. I gave him a list of who would chaperon who with a side note that I felt uncomfortable with the placement (just so I'd have written proof should things not go well) and an hour later the teacher had changed her mind and came with us.
-Make sure you have plenty of paper work to back up your claims should you ever need it.

Answer 4

If this T.A. is related to a school board member you're probably out-of-luck. If to an Administrator, it's almost the same except that you can choose to fight the demon by reporting your situation to the Board in the appropriate manner.

Before you do anything however, you must memorize and adopt the following three word Mantra:

Document, document, document!

Good luck!

Answer 5

Only delegate responsibilities to her that do not reflect on yourself. Keep a folder of all assigned duties, at the end of the day write a small notation as to her daily activities.

Usually administration has not put in the time to document the problem. you could do this for them and at the same time have written notes as to how she has affected your classroom.

Answer 6

i will think of of no longer something that i could kill for yet many stuff could be properly worth death for. You point out poverty... this is obvious there is to little love interior the international whilst a million/3 of the inhabitants has an weight problems problem and a million/3 are ravenous to death. i could be prepared to die this very 2nd if it may deliver greater love into the human equation... i'm no longer significant adequate for this type of sacrifice to point something. that's why Jesus got here and died, yet for all his sensible teachings it may look that love attracts ever chillier even between people who declare to persist with him. would God bless you, as you look a student of peace.... Blessed Be!

Answer 7

Well, I guess YOU'LL just have to do the required work she isn't doing.