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New Mexico teachers face a day without educational assistants
Photo by Michael J. GallegosTribune
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Jane Sandoval (center), an educational assistant at Los Ranchos Elementary School, helps kindergartners with a dragon for Chinese New Year. "The job is rewarding in so many ways, except pay," said Sandoval, who has been an EA at the school for 24 years. The school might have a day without educational assistants this week as they travel to Santa Fe to rally at the Legislature.
Photo by Michael J. GallegosTribune
Tribune
Educational Assistant Denise Lillard (center) talks with teachers Melanie Schwaner (left) and Jeni Pope in the lounge at Los Ranchos Elementary School. Teachers at the school say it will be tough to get by for a day without their nine educational assistants. "Every teacher needs an EA," Lillard said. "We're the ones they call on when they need something done."
Day in the life of an EA
Los Ranchos Elementary School educational assistant Sandy Watson kept this diary to document her work day on Jan. 31:
7:20 a.m. Arrived at work with cake I baked for staff birthdays in January; set it out in lounge.
7:25 a.m. Went to fourth-grade classroom; set out math homework for students.
7:35 a.m. Class began; took roll and lunch count; entered count on computer; collected homework; logged and graded homework; monitored students to make sure they stayed on task in math; helped two students who didn't understand the math problems.
8 a.m. Read with students one-on-one about 20 minutes each; logged their reading progress.
9:35 a.m. Recess; took 10-minute break.
9:45 a.m. Continued reading with students.
10:30 a.m. Called out of fourth-grade classroom to cover first-grade class because the substitute teacher failed to show; had to drop reading with students.
11 a.m. Returned to fourth-grade class; students read short stories to me; they answered questions about what they read to confirm comprehension; we re-read stories to understand meaning; one student who does not read or write needs extra help and time.
11:30 a.m. Half-hour lunch for me.
Noon Students are still at lunch, so I do laminating for teachers and other assignments.
12:30 p.m. Help with math assignments in small groups; students are performing at second- and third-grade level so they need a lot of repetition.
2 p.m. School's out; I'm on duty to make sure the students leave through the proper exits; return to classroom for cleanup.
2:20 p.m. Work day ends.
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Los Ranchos Elementary Principal Chris Lopez shudders at the thought of a school day without her educational assistants.
"It would be hectic," Lopez said.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, she might have to live it.
Los Ranchos teachers will go it alone in their classrooms if educational assistants there join others planning to rally at the Capitol to call attention to their vital role in education and to support proposed pay raises.
It'll be a difficult day for the staff at Los Ranchos because "EAs are our right arm, our left arm, our body and our soul," said teacher Carolyn Montoya.
Her North Valley school has nine educational assistants who work alongside teachers in regular and special education classrooms.
But often, the assistants find themselves in the teachers' shoes and responsible for delivering the lessons.
On Jan. 31, two educational assistants were called into service to cover the classrooms of ill teachers. Without EAs, Principal Lopez and her office clerk would have had to abandon their duties and fill the teachers' shoes.
"It's close to impossible to get a sub (substitute teacher)," said Lopez.
The EAs at Los Ranchos were the first to suggest that a Day Without EAs would underline their union's drive for a 10 percent wage hike from the Legislature.
That suggestion materialized into union plans for rallies Tuesday and Wednesday at the Capitol.
Union officials surveyed their membership and found support for a Day Without EAs was 5-1.
Kathy Chavez, president of the Albuquerque Educational Assistants Association, told her members to use personal leave, compensatory time or leave without pay to participate in the rallies. Sick leave is not allowed for the rally.
The district employs 1,914 educational assistants. More than half of them are paid less than $11 per hour. The average annual paycheck is $13,000, according to Albuquerque Public Schools.
To date, 3 percent raises for EAs are included in the budget awaiting Gov. Bill Richardson's signature, and an additional 2 percent is under consideration in the House, for a potential total of 5 percent.
Chavez said she briefed APS interim Superintendent Linda Sink on the union's plans to draw EAs to the rallies in Santa Fe. She also said all principals will be alerted beforehand to make plans for the EAs' absences.
Sink said the EAs have a valid case for higher wages and the district is trying to get them raises because "they aren't paid what they are worth."
