Reply to MCPS Special Education Vacancies

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]MCPS pays para educators $17 per hour and special education teachers over $60 per hour. Huge difference in cost and abilities in the position.[/quote]

Paras start at $18.97 per hour, actually; a little more than what was posted above, but definitely much less than teachers make. However, teachers are responsible for IEPs, paperwork, and meetings that the paras don't have to do.

[b]Do special ed paras deserve higher pay than general ed paras? [b]Absolutely[/b], no question. I worked in the Autism program for a short time and every single para had scars to show and stories of the physical injuries they'd endured. There are other programs where students are also physically combative, and those paras deserve to be compensated for what they go through! [/b]

Apparently, in the past, there was a difference in pay between special ed and general ed paras; I'm not sure when that was changed or why. MCPS needs to raise the pay for all support staff if they want to fill the vacancies, though. The children are affected from the lack of support, and the staff is burnt out from having to cover for unfilled positions.

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I agree completely. I’m a para in a gen ed classroom, a parent of a special education student, and I worked in an autism classroom for six months. The paras working in self-contained special ed programs deserve higher pay because it is hard physical work. The best paras in those programs have a connection with kids with intense needs - you may not need a graduate degree but you certainly need a skilled, patient caregiver and that describes all of my colleagues in the autism program. I have a masters degree and I couldn’t cut it - it was too physically intense and mentally draining for me. I’m much happier and more useful providing math and reading supports to kids where I am now. I love working with kids but definitely don’t want to work with parents, so I’m happy to be a para and not a teacher.

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