Duvalle Dache, a paraprofessional, drove home from work one day last spring mulling a decision. His UFT chapter leader wanted him to run for her position leading the 200 members of P 370, a District 75 school in Brooklyn.

Dache felt confident he would have the support of both his fellow paras and the teachers in their tightly knit chapter. His concern was whether he could balance his personal responsibilities with a new role as union leader. By the time he got home, he decided he wanted to do it.

Elected in June, Dache is now among 18 paras serving as chapter leaders. That is triple the number in 2012, the year of the last chapter leader elections.

Shelvy Young-Abrams, who chairs the UFT Paraprofessional Chapter, said the higher number of paras serving as chapter leaders is one sign of an overall increase in union engagement among her chapter’s members.

“Paraprofessionals are getting more active in general, in part because they are noticing and appreciating all of the union’s work on their behalf,” Young-Abrams said.

“Sometimes paras may feel they are less respected than teachers and other members,” she noted. “But when they are elected as chapter leader, it affirms their value to their fellow UFT members.”

Young-Abrams added that paras can bring a different perspective to a chapter’s work, which can benefit other members. Moreover, she said, the increased number of paraprofessionals leading chapters will help the union as it continues working on issues that affect paras, including work-related injuries, training and special education matters.

UFT chapter leaders serve as the front line of union representation for members. They seek to resolve issues with a school’s administration on behalf of the chapter and help to link members to the union.

“You become a social worker, a mediator and a lot of things that members are looking for,” Dache said.

Another para newly elected as a chapter leader, Kashan Robinson of the Morris Academy for Collaborative Studies in the Bronx, said she initially felt uncertain how to ensure that the UFT contract was being fully implemented at her school. But her chapter’s encouragement and support helped her surmount her doubts.

Robinson made it her first order of business to establish a consultation committee at her school.

“We now have a functioning consultation committee that meets with the principal once a month and deals with school concerns and policy issues,” she said.

One veteran chapter leader, Paula Thomas, a paraprofessional at P 4 in Queens, agreed with Young-Abrams that more paras are running to lead chapters because they feel empowered by the union.

Pierre Labissiere, another para who is a seasoned chapter leader for P 53, a District 75 school in Brooklyn, said he hopes more paras will consider running for the position.

“Chapter leader is a noble job,” Labissiere said. “You’re doing something that cannot be measured. The gratification you get is the results you obtain for the members that you represent.”