When the staff development committee at P 352 in the Bronx met for the first time, they knew they were facing a challenge.

A District 75 school, P 352 wasn’t required under the terms of the new contract to incorporate professional development into its schedule. There was no existing PD routine in place at the school. And with more than 300 staff members spread out across five separate sites, there would be plenty of logistical hurdles.

But members at P 352, where most students are part of the New York State Alternate Assessment program for students with disabilities, voted overwhelmingly to participate in the reconfigured time.

“We weren’t sure how this was going to work,” said Maureen McCaffrey, a technology teacher and the school’s chapter leader. “But people were really interested in working with their teams. We have teachers and we have paraprofessionals, and we never really get the chance to sit down with our paras and work with them. This was an opportunity to get the same training at the same time and continue that training back in the classroom.”

The school’s 14-member staff development committee, which includes two to three members from each site, meets monthly — and communicates more frequently over email — to brainstorm ideas for themes that can be carried across all P 352’s sites. Then each site’s subcommittee gets to work identifying members who can lead presentations.

“We know what our strengths and weaknesses are,” said McCaffrey, “and we want to be able to show others our strengths and take strengths from other people.”

On a recent Monday afternoon at the school’s PS 75 site, staff members dispersed to one of four different sessions, each led by P 352 teachers and paraprofessionals. Teachers and paras in classes for higher-functioning students worked to analyze running records; meanwhile, teachers and paras working with early learners observed a model lesson on teaching sounds.

“Everything is not going to be meaningful for every teacher, and we can’t address every teacher’s needs in a big forum,” said Tameka Solomon, a committee member.

Down the hall, teacher Meg O’Dwyer and paraprofessional Jonalyn Reyes teamed up for a presentation on organizing the physical layout of a classroom. As O’Dwyer explained how teachers could use visual schedules to keep students on task, Reyes held up an example from her own classroom.

“It was a challenge, but over time it developed the kids’ independence,” Reyes explained to an attentive audience.

Analia Gerard, the UFT’s District 75 representative, said it was exciting how the school tapped the expertise of both paras and teachers.

“In the old days of PD, they used to separate teachers and paras. But having teacher/para teams creates more buy-in, and everyone seems to be really engaged,” she said.

Committee members at P 352 are enthusiastic about encouraging more paraprofessionals to take on leadership roles during the new PD time.

“As a para, I’m with the kids all day long and I need to be able to understand them,” said Reyes, who works in a K–2 classroom with 12 students and one teacher. “I would like to know what the teacher knows about how to teach them.”