Liz Flynn: ‘They Keep Me Young’

Editor's Note: Gov. Mark Dayton declared Jan. 16-20 as Paraprofessional Recognition Week. To recognize some of the professionals working within the Richfield school community, this week Richfield Patch is featuring a series of articles on these people—who were all suggested by school administrators, teachers, staff members and parents.

After working as a preschool teacher in St. Paul for 20 years—and running an in-home daycare for 10 years before that—Liz Flynn decided to try something different.

“I was a preschool teacher on Friday and then I started as para the following Tuesday,” Flynn said with a laugh. “It happened fast.”

Flynn is a special education para, or paraprofessional, at . She works with special needs children in regular and special education classrooms and also assists the teacher. Before starting at Centennial for the 2010-11 school year, Flynn spent 10 years at .

Working with kids has been in Flynn’s life plan since she was a little girl.

“I was involved in a lot of park programs when I was young,” Flynn said. “I remember the older people working with kids, and I always thought it would be neat to be one of them.”

Now more than 40 years after beginning her career, Flynn said she learns lessons from the kids, as well.

“They keep me young,” she said. “They’ve taught me so much—to be patient … not to judge people, to be a good friend and to laugh a lot!”

“Our program supports students with a variety of needs,” Alissa Movern, of Centennial, told Richfield Patch. “Liz is very thoughtful, caring and willing to take on challenges with students.”

Flynn said she uses a finger puppets, songs and variety of other techniques to work with the kids. She recalls one obsessed with My Little Pony, and Flynn incorporated that character into math, reading and other lessons. 

“I try to find out what each individual’s interests are and use that to stay a step ahead of them," she said.

This school year will also be Flynn’s last, as she is retiring in June.

“One of the students in the school—when he found out how old I was—told me that I was in my final stages of adulthood and I should take it easy,” Flynn recalled with a smile. “And I thought, 'you’re right!'”