Salary and remuneration:

The salary of the paraprofessional is purely dependent on the school or educational institution that hires them. The other factors that alter the salary scale of the paraprofessional are years of practical experience in the field, geographical location, industry type and employer type.  As per the American Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average salary of the paraprofessional is $21,250 per annum.

• Years of Experience

• The paraprofessional with experience of less than one year, the salary range is between $ 11,000 and $ 37,120 per annum and the hourly salary is between $ 7.34 and $ 10.63.
• The salary range of the paraprofessional with experience between one to four years, the salary range is between $ 10,203 and $ 13,129 and the hourly salary range is between $ 8.28 and $ 13.20.
• The candidate with experience between five to nine years, the salary range can be varied between $ 13,052 and $ 20,235 and the hourly wage range is between $ 10.52 and $ 15.00.
• The paraprofessional with ten to nineteen years of the experience, the salary range is between $ 12,101 and $ 22,742 and the hourly wage range is between $ 12.90 and $ 16.10.
• The paraprofessional with experience of twenty years or more, the salary range is between $ 14,701 and $ 24,452 and the hourly wage range is between $ 13.51 and $ 18.50.
• Industry

• Paraprofessional working in k-12 schools earns a salary range between $ 14,973 and $ 27,160.
• The paraprofessional working for educational institutions earns an annual salary range between $ 12,656 and $ 21,417.
• The paraprofessional working for child care services earns an annual salary range between $ 16,351 and $ 35,717.
• Paraprofessional working in community health industry earns an annual salary range between $ 14,697 and $ 28,317.
• Paraprofessional working for a technical school e earns an annual salary range between $ 31,394 and $ 74,359.
• Paraprofessional working in a trade school earns an annual salary range between $ 39,045 and $ 75,920.

• Employer Type

• A Paraprofessional when he is recruited by a district school, he earns an average annual salary in the range between $ 15,686 and $ 22,997.
• A Paraprofessional when he is employed by a educational institute can make up salary between   $ 17,382 and $ 24,825.
• A Paraprofessional when he is employed by a school that is operated by local government or federal government can earn an annual salary in the range between $ 12,573 and $ 28,479.
• A Paraprofessional when he is employed by a company can earn an annual salary in the range between $ 15,493 and $ 29,000.
• A Paraprofessional when he works on a contract basis, he can earn an annual salary in the range between $ 18,400 and $ 24,000.
• For a Paraprofessional when employed by a college or university can earn an annual salary in the range between $ 19,272 and $ 25,504.
• A Paraprofessional when he is employed by a school, he earns an annual salary in the range between $ 13,221 and $ 24,296.

Geographical location:

• The paraprofessional working for school or college established in California State can receive salary range between $ 13,115 and $ 26,121 per annum.

• The paraprofessional working for school or college established in Florida State can receive salary range between $ 13,825 and $ 22,081 per annum.

• The paraprofessional working for school or college established in Louisiana State can receive salary range between $ 10,815 and $ 24,081 per annum.

• The paraprofessional working for school or college established in New York State can receive salary range between $ 10,815 and $ 24,081 per annum.

• The paraprofessional working for school or college established in Texas State can receive salary range between $ 14,233 and $ 24,081 per annum.

• The paraprofessional working for school or college established in Georgia State can receive salary range between $ 10,815 and $ 23,236 per annum.

• The paraprofessional working for school or college established in Georgia State can receive salary range between $ 11,225 and $ 22,011 per annum.

Apart from the salary they can receive some additional benefits like complete health coverage and paid sick leaves etc.

Educational requirements for a paraprofessional career

• The educational requirements for the paraprofessional vary with the college or school that hires them.
• The paraprofessional must be well qualified and have strong educational background to get quickly idea about the various subjects and help the students who have problem with different subjects.
• The basic educational required for an individual to get recruited as paraprofessional is high school diploma or GED.
• Some schools or colleges even require the paraprofessionals to complete the child development course.
• Some schools or colleges with federal I grade need to pass some basic skills assessment test along with their bachelor’s degree.
  • Many educational institutions even prefer candidates with 2 years associate degree or one year practical training in child development program.
  • They need to have prior experience in handling children or must have 2- 3 years working experience in the creche or any kindergarten and especially dealing with disabled children or those suffering with trauma injury.
  • They can learn several job skills by completing vocational training programs offered by vocational colleges or institutions.

About paraprofessional:

The paraprofessional aids the certified teachers by offering individual attention to the weak students, translation and class room management. They provide physical help to the students while conducting classes to the students. They supervise the children of various ages as per the orders of the senior teachers or department heads. They assist the teachers by making the students prepare with the study materials. They ensure that the teachers table is set properly before the class and check whether every student has done the work assigned to them on the previous day. They attend the child development program as it helps them in understanding and analyzing the child behavior.  They deliver educational services to the children of physically disabled and those with disabilities like autism. A paraprofessional can take up courses like classroom management and technology to help the students with learning defects to improve in studies and help them in personality development.

The paraprofessionals act as bridge between students, parents and teachers. They assist the teachers in explaining the student behavior and his academic performance to the parents at the end of the academic year. The main part of the paraprofessional job description is to attend the parent conferences conducted by the school. They make the task of the teachers simpler by paying individual attention to the students in the class room. They perform some additional clerical tasks like taking attendance and maintaining all the supplies required in the class room.

Duties and responsibilities of paraprofessional:

• The duties of the paraprofessional vary with school, age and the disabilities of the children. The following are the set of duties that are to be executed by the paraprofessional when recruited by a school.
• They need to translate the lesson in bilingual class rooms and help the students to overcome the language problem.
• They need to check whether all the required material is kept ready before the class.
• They must check whether students have done their home work given by the teacher on the previous working day.
• They use some teaching techniques to help the students in dong their assignments and homework by working closely with individuals or group of students.
• They even conduct tests to evaluate the performance of the students in the teacher’s advice.
• They give personal attention to students with learning disabilities and those who are physically disabled.
• They need to prepare progress report of the students.
• They need to encourage students and motivate them to learn new things.
• Update the bulletin board and notice board with latest information related to the school or update the daily news.
• They distribute the work books, papers and other study material to the students.
• They need to assist the students in performing drill, storytelling and other class related activities.
• They must help students in the library or media center to find out the appropriate book.
• Record the attendance daily and submit report of the absentees to the school principal.
• Help students in clothing and clean up routines.
• They are responsible to maintain confidentiality regarding the exam results.
• They need to identify the students with learning disabilities and get them to the teachers notice.
• They need to give proper response to the enquiries made by the parents and students.
• Attend meetings and presentations to acquire information related to the job.
• They are responsible to provide oral or written feedback about the child performance during the parents meeting.
• They are responsible to understand the student needs and bring them to the teachers or school principal.
• They must follow and develop good habits to improve the quality of students and help the students in maintaining discipline.
• Provide the play materials like skating disc, ball etc and help the disabled people in recreation.

Skills required for the paraprofessional:

• They need to have good people skills to communicate with the parents, students and teachers during the class hours, in teacher-parent conferences and assist teachers while evaluating the performance of the children.
• They should have interest towards helping disabled and children with learning defects.
• They need to have good skills to coordinate with students and teachers in the school.
• They should be computer literate to work on various applications in the computer.
• They should have basic math skills and must have a good aptitude to assist the teachers.
• A paraprofessional must have strong managing skills to manage students in the absence of teacher.
• A paraprofessional should possess high level of patience to make students complete their home work and help them in reading.
• A paraprofessional needs to have good instructing skills to teach various things to the students in class room.
• Ability to analyze the child behavior in and out of the class room and explain it to the parents while parent-teacher meeting.

Certifications and licensure

• The paraprofessionals need to complete certificate course that help them in learning certain clerical tasks.
• They need to acquire license issued by the state association of teachers and get registered with them.
• The license is essential only while applying for reputed schools and normal schools doesn’t require any license.
• The paraprofessional can take some certification course to learn various aspects in elementary education that include child development, class managements and class room technology.
• They can even take some special course that briefs them about the reading methods, legal   and safety issues.
• They can work along with the teachers in every aspect except teaching.
• The certification course in legal services briefs about the educational rights and legal issues related to child education and standards that are to be met by the school.
• As per the No Child Left behind Act of 2001(NCLB), it is essential for the paraprofessional assistant to undergo 1-2 years of on-the-job training from any college or university.