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11/27/2024 08:30 AMWhile the role of a teacher is an invaluable and impactful one in a child’s life, these professionals cannot run a classroom on their own and support the needs of all students, all the time. To fulfill that space requires an individual, such as a paraeducator, who enjoys working with kids while supporting their education, especially in those youthful years.
It is for reasons like these why Valerie Giamattei has found a home as a paraeducator at Joseph Melillo Middle School (JMMS), where she can work with students who are growing as individuals in their early adolescence and provide guidance to help them meet both their academic and personal potential.
“There’s something about this age,” Valerie says. “I think it’s because it's such an impressive, impressionable age. I know how hard these years are, and I think coming in and connecting with the kids and having the relationship I have with them, I feel like every day I make a difference.”
Valerie has been a paraeducator at JMMS for eight years. Valerie became a paraeducator largely because of her love of working with kids, with whom she has established strong ties.
“I have a very good relationship with these kids and love them all like my own,” she says.
Valerie says that a place like JMMS is where students “grow up” and realize their early sense of agency and individuality, as well as the responsibilities which come along with that.
“They’re no longer babies. They have to own up to what they do, and they find themselves,” says Valerie. “It’s really awesome to watch. Even that jump from 6th to 8th grade is crazy, but it’s amazing.”
Like other paraeducators, Valerie is sought out by students at JMMS for a specific need, trusting that she will hear their needs and attend to them. This is one of the most important parts of her role, says Valerie.
“Not only am I educating them, I guide them, and I'm there for them, and I listen,” she says.
Valerie carries this responsibility into the multiple classes she supports, from English to math to science. Valerie says that alternating between different subjects is one of the other aspects she enjoys about her role at JMMS. Regardless of what classroom of students she is supporting, Valerie recognizes the connections that she and her fellow paraeducators form with the students, reminding her of why she decided to step into that role herself.
“We’re all here to support kids. We all love to work with the kids” she says.
The type of help Valerie gives to students can vary from person to person and problem to problem. She is typically in groups or individual sessions with students, and her workflow often takes her to several different places on a day-to-day basis.
“It’s nonstop. I get pulled in a lot of directions, but where the need is,” she says. “Usually, I follow a schedule. I have eight classes a day that I go to. But if there’s something that comes up where I’m needed somewhere else, I go. I do whatever they need.”
Valerie says that she’s personally adept at dealing with what can be a fast-paced role, calling herself a “very hyperactive” individual.
Along with her students, Valerie greatly enjoys the company of the other educators with whom she works in the classroom, praising the teachers of JMMS for their “fantastic” work.
“I love everybody I work with. All the teachers are fantastic. Unbelievable,” she says.
Much like with the students, Valerie considers it just as important “to have a good relationship with the teachers you’re working with.”
“We’ve got some amazing educators in this building that it would be hard to ever go anywhere else because they’re that good,” says Valerie.
Valerie has certainly left an impact on the students she’s supported. Valerie’s students continue to keep in contact with her even after graduating from JMMS.
“Even now, the kids that have left the school, I’m still in contact with. They still email me,” she says. “There’s been a few students that I feel like I made a big difference in their lives.”
For Valerie, this means that her bonds with students are not just about being a paraeducator, but also being a person who truly makes a difference in their education and is someone they can trust. Valerie says that she feels “appreciated” by those around her at JMMS, and that may explain why it is difficult for her to think of being a paraeducator anywhere else than the place she’s been for nearly a decade.
“I love this building. If I got moved out of the building, I probably wouldn’t still be doing this,” she says. “I love this building, I love these teachers, I love the [administration] here, and I love the people I work with here—my team, my other paras here.”