Instructor Spotlight: Patrick Lindsey
Patrick is a paraprofessional and Reading Rescue program coordinator at P.S./I.S. 54 in the Bronx.
We visited him at school to hear about his work as a program coordinator, instructor, and all-around education leader in his community. Patrick remembers the day he was chosen to be both an instructor and the school’s first Reading Rescue program coordinator very well. It was the end of 2016, and his principal called Patrick and some colleagues into a meeting. When she announced that Patrick would be the program coordinator of this intervention he’d never heard of, he panicked. “I’m looking at her, blank stare, hoping I’m breathing.” Of his principal Dr. Ferreira he said “she’s always looking for the best program to help the kids.” While he was excited to be a part of this partnership, he hoped he was up to the task. “I did kind of have a panic attack because I had no idea what this program was or what it entailed. But just over two years later, it has been the best thing that has ever happened to me. Just to be able to work with kids one-on-one, it’s been the best.”
Patrick Lindsey helping a Reading Rescue student with his shoelaces.
Patrick obtained a Masters in Literacy back in 2011, and has been pursuing a teaching credential since then. The process of becoming a teacher has been grueling. Prior to becoming a full time paraprofessional at his current school, Patrick was a substitute teacher. He asked his principal for a full time paraprofessional role for the stability, knowing he would be pursuing a teaching role in the near future. The opportunity to think and talk about phonics, phonemic awareness, and comprehension in Reading Rescue has helped him keep his literacy knowledge sharp, and hone his skills in early literacy. He is confident it has brought him closer to passing the difficult teaching exams. To best serve his Reading Rescue students, he is constantly researching early literacy. This makes him feel like he’s honoring his graduate work, and inching ever closer to pursuing his dream career.
Although the path to becoming a teacher has been discouraging, he appreciates the leadership roles he’s been given in his building in the meantime. Recently, Patrick was also named the cookshop coordinator in his building, where he heads up a program teaching students and their families about cooking and healthy food. Four days per week, he leaves P.S. 54 and goes to the Boys and Girls Club, where he is an after-school English Language Arts specialist. For the past six years he’s done homework help there, and now he can use his Reading Rescue skills with students, where appropriate. For example, if a first grader was struggling with decoding unknown words, Patrick might use the prompting language he’s learned from the program to support them.
Patrick Lindsey with two recent Reading Rescue graduates!
New reporting shows that one in eight NYC students will experience a period of homelessness before they reach the 5th grade. For this reason, it’s so valuable to have people in schools who are sensitive to this experience. Patrick’s support for students in his community doesn’t stop at school or the Boys and Girls Club. For about seven years, he’s also been a Waiver Service Provider for kids in foster care, taking them on outings to give foster parents a reprieve. This experience helped him this year, when his Reading Rescue student was taken out of his temporary housing situation with his grandmother and placed in foster care. His student began acting out, running around the school when he was supposed to be in class, and struggling to focus in Reading Rescue lessons. With Patrick’s support and patience, that student has now graduated and is reading at grade level.
Patrick says he’s grown to love being a program coordinator, despite his nerves early on. He recommends that other program coordinators not be afraid to depend on their colleagues and ask each other questions. “I’m not afraid to ask about DIBELS or written records...things can be confusing!,” he says.
“I feel empowered. Just to be able to work with these kids and to learn their strengths...and to be able to focus on whatever they need. To have that one-on-one and the equipment and tools...it’s great.”
All nine of the P.S. 54 students who started Reading Rescue at the beginning of the year have graduated, and are back with their classes for literacy instruction time. Patrick is so proud of his team and their students, and continues to love the program.
Congratulations to Patrick! Don't forget to head over to our Instagram stories to hear directly from Patrick on the program coordinator role.