Community Service Reflection

Brenna Byer (Rausch)

During the 2021-2022 school year, I have had the privilege of being a paraprofessional at

the McKinley Elementary School in Watertown, SD. I first located to Watertown to be with my

husband Ben, and I was certain of two things: I wanted to start university to get an elementary

education degree, and I wanted an opportunity to work with children. Luckily McKinley had

openings available for me to be a para and to be a full-time student.

During my time at McKinley Elementary, I oversee students with IEP needs in

kindergarten and first grade classrooms and during recess. During recess it is my duty to ensure

the safety of the students I am overseeing. In the classroom I must ensure students maintain

being on task and assist when questions would arise. Throughout the school day I would also

present a lesson in math and reading for small groups of kindergarteners and first graders. It has

been a pleasure to work with these students and I believe it has improved my ability to be an

educator.

Classroom management has been an area that I have received the most valuable exposure

to. Being able to identify when a student is elevated or may be overstimulated was a skill I

needed to refine, and McKinley was a great school to help with that. McKinley is equipped with

many tools I have never been privileged to see in a classroom setting. I have some occupational

therapy (OT) cards for a student I give a break to every morning to help him regulate after high

stimulation. There are other resources that help as well.

A “calm down” room with sensory lockers has been a resource I have used to help soothe

elevated students. OT also has a sensory room equipped with swing, weighted blankets, and a

jungle gym to help students de-escalate.

 My work in the classroom has also allowed me to observe the primary teacher’s methods

in how to address certain situations with students. One aspect of this that I’ve enjoyed was the

changing in classroom management tools. One week students will be collecting pennies for

prizes, and then another week they would earn plush animals as their desk pet. Students would

greatly anticipate what the next incentive program would be.

Many students were put on behavior programs where a chart would have to be filled out

after every portion of their day. This was something I had never seen before, so it was a

fascinating experience to see the methodology behind when a student would receive credit or

demerit. I valued that the teachers were very clear and consistent in their expectations of

students. You can tell the students really valued and thrived on that structure.

Along with clear expectations, the teachers as McKinley are phenomenal at relationship

building and I have made note of what I should do with my own students. Some of the students

at our school have unstable homelife, so it’s wonderful that students have a welcoming

environment to spend their weeks. Teachers would often take a moment multiple times to stop by

each students’ desks. If you want a student to have a passion to succeed in their schoolwork, you

must show them you care about them. I have made a point to ask my students how they are doing

before we begin our lesson every day. I don’t see them more than a half hour every day, so I

need to make a point to express my desire to get to know them.

Another area I improved on was my organization. During the day, I would conduct

several lessons throughout the school. This meant I would need to have all my materials

distributed throughout the school. I had to ensure that all my lesson plans were current and in the

proper location so my group could get right to work. This will be something to utilize when I

have a class of my own, organizing every subject and lesson.

 Overall, this experience has been incredibly rewarding. There are days that are harder

than others, but the students are wonderful and have a love for school. I hope that all perspective

teachers get an experience like mine. It will allow them to see all aspects of student behavior and

witness wonderful teachers in their element who genuinely care about their students. It has truly

been an honor to take note of their hard work and I can’t wait to implement it to my own

classroom.