A. Plan: Students at the College of St.

Scholastica will work as volunteer para-professionals

during the academic school year, and this will save the Duluth School District money, as
well as giving the Special Education students the attention that they need in the General
Education Classrooms and the Special Education Classrooms.
1. Students at the College of St. Scholastica will be given the opportunity to
volunteer for different time slots where they can either help Special Education
teachers with teaching in the Special Education classrooms, or help the Special
Education kids in the General Education Classrooms.
2. The Special Education Teachers at the school would be able to put their needs for
more help in an online system, which the principal, Kathi Kuch-Marshall, could
administer (Kuch-Marshall).
a. The students at the college would be able to access this online
system through their school, so they can see what time slots are
available for their schedule, and then are able to sign up for
slots.
3. The only cost would be time, as the people volunteering are taking time out of
their day to help Congdon Park Elementary out.
a. Para-Professional training is completely free, and the volunteers
would be able to complete it within a few hours (Kmiech).
b. The students at the College of St. Scholastica are required to
complete a certain number of volunteer hours, so this would not
be adding any extra obligations on the students (Undergraduate
Requirements).
B. Workability:
1. The only requirements for someone to qualify to be a para-professional is for the
person to either have two years of college experience, or to pass the Para-Pro test
(Wallace).
2. St. Scholastica requires its students to complete volunteer hours, so there would be
enough interest for people to fill these positions (Undergraduate Requirements).
a. These volunteer positions would be especially helpful for
students at the college studying education, (Special Education
especially) because the students are being given a first-hand
classroom experience from which they can learn from

(Kmiech).
3. Peer-Tutoring is something that has worked in many schools in Minnesota with
Special Education students, so these college students would also be able to help the
Special Education Students at Congdon Park School.
a. Peer tutoring helps students with disabilities feel accepted and
well-supported, and this will overall help them learn better at
the school, closing the achievement gap (MiddleWEB).
4. The Elk River Area School District in Elk River, MN has Special Education
Assistant positions open within the district, and these positions require minimal
education and training (Special Education Assistant).
a. The job criteria (educating and supervising students) is similar
to what the students of St. Scholastica would be doing, but the
students of St. Scholastica would be doing it on a smaller scale
(Special Education Assistant).
5. A similar program is in place at Seven Springs Middle School in Florida (Barnit).
a. This program has led to higher student achievement, higher selfesteem, and improved behavior within the classroom (Barnit).
6.

In total, all of the Special Education classrooms would only need 4-5 volunteers at
a time, so this would not put a time strain on the students of St. Scholastica.
a. Students would be able to volunteer at either a set time each
week, or volunteer a few times per semester depending on what
their schedule looks like; all they would have to do is sign up
for slots within an internet system when available.

C. Additional benefits of plan

1. According to Tara Hoban, any help is good help, as this allows the Special
Education students to get some of the individualized education that they need to
succeed.
a. Evidence: Even if the volunteers are just helping out by
explaining a worksheet to one of her students in one of the
Special Education classrooms, or sitting with one of her
students in his or her General Education Classroom, they still
are a big help (Hoban).

b. Evidence: According to Hoban, just having one helpful

volunteer can make a difference, citing a time when Tanya
Kmiechs own children came to help her, which helped her be
able to focus more time on each kid individually (Hoban).
2. Students at St. Scholastica will be fulfilling their volunteer requirements, and they
will also be learning life-skills that they can use later on in life.
a. Evidence: In order for students to qualify for certain programs
at the school, they need either a certain amount of volunteer
hours in a certain work environment, or a sign off from a
supervisor stating that they completed certain hours
(Undergraduate Requirements).
b. Evidence: Since Special Education students often have
behavioral problems, the college students will be able to learn to
be more patient and forgiving with people (5 Benefits).
D. Disadvantages are minimal and/or outweighed by advantages.
1. There could be lack of interest among the students of St. Scholastica for signing up
for positions in the Special Education classrooms at Congdon Park School.
a. Evidence: The college students could potentially have to do
some less desirable things in this volunteer job, such as
accompanying a child to the bathroom, so students may be
hindered from signing up for positions (Kmiech).
2. The College students may have a hard time committing to volunteering at the
school due to time constraints.
3. Advantages outweigh the possible lack of interest:
a. Students who are studying education at the college would have
a general interest in working with students, as this would help
them with their career path, and get them the volunteer hours
they need (Hoban).
4. Advantages outweigh the possible time constraints.
a. The online system is very flexible, allowing students to sign up

for their time slots on their own time when they are available.