NW Valley Times

Lyretha Abu-Shanab is a paraprofessional in Chicago seeking her master's degree at GCU. EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the second of three stories on paraprofessional students. Click here for the first in the series.

Lyretha Abu-Shanab never gave it a second thought. The Chicago mother of five and paraprofessional teacher’s aide wanted to work toward a master’s degree in special education.

Grand Canyon University, a Christian university, seemed like the perfect fit as a leader in online education. That she is Muslim didn’t matter to either Abu-Shanab or GCU.

She said she had been to other universities and found the professors didn’t have the values she sought.

“It’s a big difference with GCU. Every single professor I had, even if it was online, was willing to help and give feedback,” she said.

And when religion was discussed in her classes, she eagerly joined in – even enjoyed it.

While others quoted Scripture, she added her own beliefs. “It was always good feedback,” she said. “It wasn’t ‘stop your religion and come to theirs.’ We all believe in that one God, no matter what you call Him.”

What else was happening in that online classroom was vital, too. Abu-Shanab was pursuing a goal to fill a vital need across the U.S. for special education teachers. Of U.S. public schools surveyed this past school year, 63% said they were understaffed in special education services.

GCU has stepped in to help. Its College of Education’s National Center for Teacher Preparation is offering financial assistance and professional development for many of the thousands of paraprofessionals at GCU seeking online education to become classroom teachers. Those paraprofessionals are already ingrained in the schools and communities that need their help.

“They understand the needs of the classroom, they care deeply about the success of kids, and they care about their families and communities they are serving,” said College of Education Dean Dr. Meredith Critchfield. “They just need that leg up, that extra bit of support that is going to take them to the next step, which is becoming a licensed educator in their state.”

Abu-Shanab is like many paraprofessionals who found that becoming a teacher’s aide was a way to match her schedule with that of her children when they entered school. After several years in her children’s school and then earning a bachelor’s degree in behavioral science at National Louis University, she moved on to be an aide for a special education classroom at James N. Thorpe Elementary School in south Chicago.

Many of the students couldn’t talk, had Down syndrome or other severe intellectual disabilities.

“A lot of teachers don’t like it, but I love it. (The children) have humor. They are such kind kids. Teaching them is like performing. You can paint a beautiful picture as an image, and they can see it."

“I would get up every morning excited to work, and at the end of the day we would play UNO."

One day she became sure.

She was working with a little boy who wouldn’t talk to her but would follow her everywhere. She was moving out of his way when another student stepped in and said, “Nobody better laugh."

“He stood up for me,” Abu-Shanab said.“That whole day I was thinking,’This is me.I can live in this world all my life.’ All I needed was vision and passion.”

She found it at GCU.

“To be honest with you,I felt like I was meant to do this,"she said."Iwas meantto come tot his college.It’s not justthe professors,it’sthe people behind thescenes,the university counselorsand peoplein financial aid.”

When Abu-Shanabwas takinga state examinationfor specialeducation certificationand barely missedthe cutoff scoreto pass,the next time sh etookit,she wasso nervous thatshe couldn’teven open th eenvelopeto see herscores.She calledher university counselorwho calmedher down,and afterAbu-Shanab openeditto findsh epassed,she receiveda note fromthat same counselor:“Congratulations,you didit!”

“It’sthelittle things that confirmedI wenttothe right place,"she said.Abu -Shan ab'schildren arenearlyall grown now–ages25 ,23 ,21 ,18and15–and sherecently beganastudent teaching assignmentinjunior high classesatMurray LanguageAcademyinChicago .

She feelsreadyafter combiningthe passionfromworkingasa class room aidewiththe knowledgefromGCU courseswhen shenavigated scenariosof teachingvariousstudentswithdisabilitiesand appliedthemtoherwork .

Abu -Shana blovesthatwork,loves callingout“goodmorning”and askingwhatstudentsareexcitedabouttoday .Whentheyact out ,even hit or pinch,“they hugyou thenextmoment,"shesaid.“Theyarepeople too.Don'texcludethemfromthisworld.Don'twritethe moff.It' sachallengetome.Whenyouseethatchildwhoisdifferentwhat' sprovokingthistypeofbehavior?Itrytogettotherootofitandmakeitbetter.Ican 'tsayIalwaysfixit,butIguessIhelp."

Somedays,t hatisjustlettingthemmakeabat chofhomemadeslime .Whilesometeacherschallengethegooeyglobs'merits ,Abu -Shana bisallaboutcelebratingourdifferences,whetherinreligionorslime,toget tot hesameplace.“ThatiswhatIamdoing.Helpingtounderstand,'Whatmakesyouhappy?'”

GrandCanyonUniversityseniorwriterMikeKilen canbereachedat[email protected]