r/paraprofessional

I am a brand new para and I’ll be in a special education classroom.
I read that it can be helpful to bring a belt bag with my phone, antibacterial wipes, tissues, a pen and paper, etc and so I picked one up.
Is there anything else that would be great to have on hand at all times that you recommend?
TIA!

Hi! This is my second year as a para, and this year I was placed with a different grade level. I’ve actually really enjoyed the change. I like the students, I get along well with the teaching team, and I feel like I’m starting to establish my own role within the team.

The issue is that the para who worked with this grade level last year was placed with a different grade this year, but she keeps coming back to our team whenever her new duty is finished.

At first, I didn’t think much of it. We’re coworkers and obviously she knows these teachers better than I do in some ways. But it has become pretty consistent. She’ll come into the classrooms, follow the team around, interact with students, and sometimes reprimand students who are now part of my assigned group. It almost feels like she’s still trying to occupy her old role even though she has a completely different assignment.

There was also some history between her and one of the students last year that made her previous placement difficult, so I can understand why she might still feel attached to this group. I don’t necessarily blame her for missing the team or wanting to check in.
But honestly, I feel uncomfortable.

Part of me feels like I’m constantly competing with her for space and recognition within my own assignment. I’m trying to build relationships with these students and establish myself with the teachers, and then she comes in and takes over interactions because she already knows everyone.

I also feel weird because her old team doesn’t seem particularly interested in having her around anymore. I don’t want to interpret that too much, but I’ve noticed she seems to get brushed off sometimes, which makes me wonder if that’s part of why she keeps coming back to her old team.

For comparison, I was placed with a different grade level this year too, and I intentionally try not to insert myself into my old team’s classrooms once I’m done with my duties. I still say hi and care about those students, but I recognize that I’m no longer part of that team.

I don’t want to be territorial or tell another para where she can and can’t go. I just wish she would let the new team establish their own dynamic and let me have the space to develop my own role.

Am I being unreasonable, or is this something I should bring up with someone?

Is there anyone else who has students that have written plans that say they should be 1:1, but your school isn’t providing 1:1 and you work with multiple students at once? How is this then possible to meet their plans and goals when it feels like you are unable to provide the help your students NEED?

I am not assigned to anyone (as of today, my pd day is next week) and they are in need of bus aides but at the same time, my social life outside of work would be gone since my regular schedule is 9:15 to 4:15, I will be getting paid the extra 1.25 hours. I had plans on starting a new hobby at the end of next month and i already told them that i have a tough car situation and they just keep begging

First-time para here! Tomorrow is my first day of school and I feel a stupid asking this 😅 but what do you guys actually use your laptop/tablet for during the school day?

I was given both, but I’m not really sure what I’m expected to use them for yet. Do you use them for student data, communication, lesson materials, documenting behaviors/progress, helping students with assignments, etc.?

I’ll be working in a 1st grade special education classroom. Any other “things I wish I knew on my first day” advice is VERY welcome too! 🤍

I just finished my second day as a para in a K-2nd Multi VE classroom. There are only 4 kids in my class, but it is just me and the teacher, although today we had a substitute with us too. The first day was very overwhelming for me, I do love working with kids and have a degree in psychology with the hopes of becoming a child therapist, but one girl in my classroom is very aggressive (i know it’s not her fault) and scratches, punches, and hits me a lot. She also elopes and has escaped from the classroom and other spaces multiple times a day. I get very anxious, stressed, and overwhelmed when it is just me with the 4 kids when we are at lunch or at one of their electives (the teacher’s planning period) and I know it’s only been 2 days but I am already considering quitting. I love the kids, and I love helping them, but it’s already so draining for me. Any advice from paras who may have gone through something similar or who have more experience? 🥲 I also do not have any training besides early childhood education classes I took in college, and feel like maybe there should be better training for these situations

I am a new para and I have never worked in any kind of education field before. I think I am doing... okay, at least, since I haven't managed to let anyone get hurt or anything, but I need some advice on how to do my job because nobody is giving me advice until AFTER I stumble and realize I needed that information/tip.

Obviously every school district is different, but some thing are pretty universal like not taking behavior personally, so I want a collection of tips like that so I can reference it and hopefully keep myself sane.

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I'm interviewing for a role as a classroom/teaching assistant later this week. And while I do have a bachelors degree, it is in a compeletely unrelated field to teaching. I also have no intention/desire to eventually become a teacher. I want to use the job as a stepping stone to get familiar with a school/educational environment and then eventually move into a school office/administrative/secretarial postition, which I have more experience in in fields outside of education

My question is: should I discuss this intended career path with the principal interviewing me? I fully intend to give the teaching assistant role my all and not just show up to collect a paycheck, and stay in in that role for as long as I need/school needs. But I also want to let them know in case they need help in the offices and could ask me. And that way they won't expect me to try to get teaching credentials later down the line.

Is this a weird move in the field of education? Is the next step/expectation that people usually become teachers after this role?

If I shouldn't tell the principal, what can I do while actually on the job to move towards school admin jobs?

i’ve wanted to be a teacher all my life but i don’t want to go through all the schooling for it. i honestly just want to be in the education scene, so i thought this would be the next best thing. anyone that’s a paraprofessional, can you give me some pros and cons of this career? thank you!

I have joined a school as an assistant teacher and on my 1st day of my school my school director made me do the office and administration work, on 2nd day he made me make exam question paper for half yearly examination from class nursery to class 6. On 3rd day he called me at his office around 9 or 10 pm and asked me inappropriate questions. As I am residential teacher I live inside the school campus only. On the 4th day he made me cook for his family. Also on other day he made me cook for his family. I told his child to wash her feet before going to bed for that he told me I was bullying his child. Now he is telling me I should take his permission before talking with any other teachers be it male or female. It's been only 17 days here. I am just an prt teacher here but he makes me do all the work. On independence day he went to vacation before that he didn't contributed anything but later he told everyone should be thankful for his contribution and hardwork, because of his hardwork the celebration was successful and good.

Hi, I am not really sure if this is the right subreddit, but I couldn't find a subreddit for IAs.

I work as an IA in a junior high on the west coast of the US. They put in a rule this year that our contracted hours are now 7:50am to 2:20pm. School starts at 8, and gets out at 2:15. They told us we are not allowed to leave early because they add up and the district ends up giving us "40 free hours" over the course of the school year. However, when we have subs, we have to put in 7:30 to 2:20 (for a full day sub) so the sub gets their information. I typically get to work around 7:30 am because traffic is an absolute nightmare, and it's better to get in earlier. I also usually start helping set up one of the classrooms (which is a full inclusion class) and help with the kids who start arriving around 7:45 (thanks for keeping us understaffed, district!). We also leave early (like, 2:10 instead of 2:15) because traffic is, again, a nightmare. Obviously I don't leave if I'm working with a student, and I don't leave teachers in the lurch.

I guess my question is, should I start putting in my own hours as 7:30 to 2:20? And because it is genuinely impossible to leave the parking lot before 2:40 when you leave at 2:20, should I put my hours as 7:30 to 2:40?

I love working with the kids, I work in all the classrooms (including the full inclusion classes), but I am really irritated by this change. I don't want to lose my job, but I also don't think it's right to keep us trapped in the parking lot for 20 minutes(especially during the upcoming heatwaves). It also means that IAs who work as one on ones in the co-taught classes are sitting around for over 15 minutes after their students leave, which is especially annoying for aides who have kids to pick up.

I am also wondering if it is okay for them to have subs work essentially an extra 20 minutes before the contracted hours for free.

If this is not the right sub, I'm sorry! I'm not really sure where to put it 😅

Thanks for any advice! I am just super irritated (and hot, lol). I know it is dumb to be so upset about leaving slightly later, but it really feels like this is a weird power trip over people who are at the bottom of the food chain, and I am really annoyed.

EDIT: Thanks everyone for all the suggestions and everything! I think I am just really frustrated at my schedule changing after 5 years and I am applying to different schools for my degree and college is expensive, lol. I am working another job, too, so I am just a smidge stressed out and ended up spiraling, I think. I will probably just end up keeping on what I'm doing and talk to someone in admin about the hours to cover my own butt at the very least. I hope y'all have a great school year!​

It feels so good to be treated with respect and dignity instead of like a second-class person or an outsider who can’t be trusted. At the same school, under different lead teachers, if I arrived first or they were out, I had to get the head custodian, the principal, or the vice principal to let me into my own classroom.

New lead is awesome. We are a team. There are no power struggles or making each other uncomfortable; we are adults who act like it. Neither of us has the time or energy to be petty or deal with unnecessary drama. It is refreshing to work with an adult who acts like an adult, not an ego/power-tripping gossipmonger.

Maybe her common sense and down-to-earth nature come from being a retired teacher turned para who returned to being a lead teacher when the old Pre-K sped teacher she worked with quit; either way, I will take it. Before working in the education sector, I loved working with older women because they were grown and didn't engage in petty drama, but that hasn't been my experience in education. At least, that was true before I started working with my new lead as she is awesome.

I have only been doing this for about 2 months. I’m agency and honestly have LOTS of perks with that. I picked up a shift on Friday and the school liked me so much that they requested me full time. Unfortunately I am not able to do it because of my doctor’s appointments (I am disabled) but omg it feels so nice and boosts my confidence so much knowing that I’m doing everything right! ❣️ Coming from healthcare where there is almost nothing but criticism, it’s a breath of fresh air.

One of my students is autistic and mostly nonverbal. Today for some reason he got all upset and took off his shoe and tried to hit me and a coworker with it. We’re both still learning about him and have to keep an eye on him in case he elopes

I am currently employed as a paraprofessional. I love my job but as we all know it isn’t the most lucrative profession. I am looking for additional work that I can do preferably online a couple hours a day after school to earn additional income. Just wondering if anyone has any ideas that are actual jobs. Not really wanting to do surveys or anything. Hoping to find something more consistent that can be done online. Thank you!

being a para is one of the most rewarding jobs I’ve ever had, when I moved to a new town I was so excited to get a job offer for a para position in the new city, when I get the job interview, they explained that it is not a paraprofessional position even though the online listing for the position said paraprofessional, I ended up taking the job, and now this upcoming school year I will be a co-teacher in a first grade classroom, I just want to know if any of you had had a similar experience with job listings?

I am a special education paraprofessional at a local school and I am regretting taking this job. I love the student I'm working with and you have the kids in the room, but I'm not getting along with the teacher and the teacher assistant sometimes. The teacher constantly belittles me and it's like you're not active enough in the classroom and you have to kids from going here and there and everywhere. I've worked for special education students before, but this is like a whole new territory. I am very active in the classroom and we have a couple of runners in the classroom so we have to be on guard for the doors and everything.
For context, I did sub in this classroom last school year for a few months. I am hating this job and I just finished the second week of school! I've been bit, kicked, punched, hit, spit on, and I have a bruise on my chins. I understand that working with special needs can be challenging, but I'm just so overstimulated and not loving this job at all. I feel like they tie me for how long I go to the bathroom and I'm not gone that long. I go to the front office bathroom or the nearest adult bathroom because we aren't allowed to obviously use the kid bathroom in the classroom. I had a migraine this morning and they were like well just push through it so you can show the kids the consistency. Mind you I get vestibular migraines. When I get those, I have to go home and rest and take some medicine. I just feel like I'm being belittled by the teacher and the teacher assistant. I don't want to feel like I'm getting timed how long I go to use the restroom. Meanwhile, the other teacher assistant can be gone for a little while longer, and the teacher never says anything. I love my principal and everything. I just don't like the people I'm working with and I'm trying my absolute best to do the very best that I can every day for this class. I feel like I'm constantly being told you have to do more. You have to do more when I'm trying to do my very best. A few of the substitutes that have come in our room and the different therapist that have come in our room to work with kids have all told me specifically that I'm doing a very good job. I'm sick of this classroom and I want out.

(ASD self contained) So we got a new para last year and they’re very nice and always happy, but they CANNOT read the room and need almost as much prompting as the kids. They also do stupid little things like putting things away in the wrong spot, not cleaning up their messes, etc. They weren’t in ASD last year which I think was the right choice, but this year they are. I’m really trying to be optimistic but I know it’s going to be a shitshow when behaviors arise.

Has anyone else had an experience like this?

I plan to take the ParaPro exam for the first time soon. I don't think I'll struggle too much with the language arts and writing sections, but I'm scared to face the math section. For those who passed the ParaPro exam, what did you do to prepare for the math section and what will be covered on the math section? I read that it's basic elementary and middle school math, but I wonder if algebra and related high-school math problems will also appear on it. Also include test prep tips. Any help is appreciated.