Trainers prepare new staff to help students achieve

The paraeducators at the Heartspring School have to be knowledgeable in a variety of areas to help students effectively learn. In order to ensure all new staff members have the tools and resources they need to do their job well, Heartspring relies on expertise of Keith Robinson and Danielle Cramer who have been working in the school as staff trainers since May 2009. Their responsibility is to educate and train all new paraeducators who will work with students in both the classrooms and group homes. Additionally, they provide annual in-service and follow up trainings and support throughout the organization.

“They help anywhere they are needed - in the homes, the classrooms and with large group outings. They like to keep their skills fresh,” said their supervisor, Danille Lewis.

Both Keith and Danielle began their careers at Heartspring as paraeducators in the group homes. Keith has been at Heartspring since 2003 and Danielle started in 2006. Eventually they were promoted to home coordinators which gave them extensive hands-on experience and firsthand knowledge that they now share with new employees

As a trainer Keith has the opportunity to show new employees how to work appropriately with a student and how to be safe. He enjoys having an impact from day one. “(The best part about my job is) getting the chance to teach people who may never have worked in this industry before and showing them what they can do and the fun they can have when everyone works together properly,” he said.

Although he does work with the students for training purposes or to provide staff assistance, he isn’t consistently in the group homes or classrooms anymore. “I do miss working directly with the students as much as I used to. I enjoy meeting newly hired people, watching them progress from initial training, to running schedules, to flying a student home, to a promotion.”

Completing her master’s degree in Organization Development in May 2009, transitioning into the staff trainer position was a natural progression for Danielle. She had a lot of ideas about the training process after working with trainees in her previous position as a home coordinator.

“Being a staff trainer, you provide the first impression of what is expected for people when they start at Heartspring. It goes beyond policy and procedure. It’s about what we need to do here to make sure the students are successful.”

Danielle says that without thorough training, it is unrealistic to expect staff to be the best that they can be, which affects the success of each student. One of Danielle’s favorite things about being a staff trainer is providing the follow-up, watching the employees perform the skills necessary and knowing she had a hand in helping them become quality staff members.

Samantha Jones has worked with children with special needs for many years, and recently completed the training process. She was pleased with the training she received and felt that it was a very thorough and valuable experience. “As teachers, Danielle and Keith, modeled coaching and teamwork, stayed positive, and gave real life examples of potential situations.” Samantha said that having trainers that have previously worked with the students was beneficial.

Victoria Contreras was previously employed as a paraeducator and recently returned to work at the Heartspring School. She was encouraged to see that the training process focused on the team approach. Victoria added that both Keith and Danielle were extremely knowledgeable and able to relate the training material to everyday situations very well. Despite working at Heartspring before, Victoria found some of the processes had changed. Thanks to the training she received from Keith and Danielle, she said she felt fully prepared to enter the classroom.

Stephen Perry, director of educational services, knows just how important the roles of the staff trainers are. “I like the fact that they make themselves readily available to all staff that have questions about policies and procedures, and that they are very genuine when conversing with staff.”

It is clear that Keith and Danielle have the respect of all of the staff at Heartspring. “I couldn’t ask for two better trainers. They are positive, upbeat and easy to talk to,” said Lewis. “They are flexible, reliable and can be counted on to get anything done.”