OUTLOOK | IN THE CLASSROOM
Left to right: Juan Ortega, Marlene Hodges and Natalie Trinoco.
Left to right: Enrique Lopez, Ryan Owens, and Catherine da Roza Michels.
A GUIDING HAND Mentors in Special Education Programs help new teachers and instructional assistants find their way
Making the transition to a new job in a new field isn’t easy. Starting that job in education during the COVID-19 pandemic can make it a lot harder to feel grounded in a new environment. When Natalie Trinoco joined the San Joaquin County Office of Education (SJCOE) Special Education Programs team as an instructional assistant (IA) in August 2020, instruction was still all online. It would be another month before health and safety guidance changed and Special Education Programs began welcoming students back in the classroom in small groups. Right at the start, Trinoco thought she would feel disconnected, only seeing her new world through a computer screen. But she wasn’t alone. She had Marlene
Hodges -- a fellow instructional assistant who volunteered to guide Trinoco through her transition as part of the instructional assistant mentorship program. “She was such a lifeline to me,” Trinoco said, describing how Hodges was always there for her to provide basic information, career advice, or just to listen. It helped Trinoco when in-person instruction resumed, too, and in the months that followed. Trinoco felt more than comfortable with the new job. She fell in love with working with students. “I really love working with the kids, spending time with them, being with them every day, and seeing all the positive changes,” she said.
Whenever there is a new IA hired, they have a choice to join the mentorship program for the first year on the job. Then they are connected with a seasoned IA who has volunteered to take on this responsibility. “Being an instructional assistant is all about passion for the work with students,” said Hodges, who has been an SJCOE IA for more than 10 years. “You’re going to learn really quickly whether or not it’s for you if you have the right support system. And it really is a work of love,” said Hodges, who kickstarted the creation of the program about three years ago to mirror the mentorship program for teachers in the Special Education Programs. In practice, part of being a mentor is to help someone new understand the job
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