SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. — Central Valley School District began the school year with nearly 50 fewer paraeducators than normal, creating challenges for supporting students with special needs in classrooms across the district.
At Adams Elementary, paraeducators are known as the heart of the school. Their focus is on kids with special needs, but they often end up playing a vital role in the lives of all students. Being short on them has been a struggle.
“Because they’re directly working with kids, they have just as much impact at times as the teachers do,” said Nicole Epperson, principal at Adams Elementary.
Adams Elementary is currently short four paraeducators. This has brought on challenges, leaving kids without a resource they depend on.
“We don’t have as many hands to be able to help those students,” Epperson said.
A shortage of paras has been an issue across the Central Valley School District for the last few years. In 2024, it even led them to partner with a temporary employment agency to help fill the gaps.
For those left to carry the extra weight, the strain has made things challenging.
“When there’s not enough paras, it’s just a little bit of a Groundhog Day,” said Beverly Boudreau, a paraeducator at Sunrise Elementary School.
Boudreau is entering her third year as a paraeducator. While she is passionate about her job, the lack of enough employees is taking a toll on her and her colleagues.
“We’re constantly having to deal with too many kids at once when it’s better for the kids to have maybe more one on one support,” Boudreau said.
Despite the challenges, Boudreau remains passionate about her work with students.
“It’s really fun seeing them navigate the world,” she said.
One of Boudreau’s biggest concerns is the impact the shortage could have on inclusion.
“The more paras we have, the more we can connect them with the neurotypical kids and just kind of make the world a better place,” she said.
Boudreau says the lack of paras is affecting everyone in the schools. Administrators, specialists and even principals have had to jump in and help out.
Epperson says that dedication has kept things running smoothly, but will get harder to keep up.
“Our burnout rates kind of happen a lot quicker because we have less hands,” she said.
The district is still trying to hire at least 30 paraeducators to fill the need. It will be holding a hiring event on the position next week. You can find more information about that here.
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