During the Whitehall-Coplay School Board committee meetings May 8, the Para Educator Induction Program proposal was presented to the board.

This has been a yearlong effort to create a comprehensive approach to the onboarding and training of paraprofessionals to become comfortable with school administrative operations and the learning experience for students. The committee was represented by teachers, administrators and paraprofessionals currently working within the district.

There is a paraprofessional leadership team represented by one paraprofessional for each school building.

New hire paraprofessionals would need to achieve Highly Qualified Status (HQS) before employment. Current staff who are not HQS have one calendar year to achieve this. HQS includes 20 hours of professional development.

The goal is for paraprofessionals to mirror teachers. The induction program allows for each new hire to be paired with an experienced mentor with whom they will meet five times throughout their first year. The mentors will provide the mentees with administrative and educational coaching.

Mentors must have at least three years in the school district and complete an application process. Both mentors and mentees will be compensated for continuing education hours.