According to Indeed.com, the average base salary for paraprofessionals in Billerica, Massachusetts is $23.35 per hour. This is a yearly salary of $54,447. To put this into perspective, the source BestPlaces states that “To live comfortably in Billerica, Massachusetts, a minimum annual income of $106,920 for a family, and $75,200 for a single person is recommended.” Therefore, the current paraprofessional salary is not even enough to allow a paraprofessional to live comfortably in Billerica let alone enough for them to support a family as a sole provider. Not only is this a problem financially, but this pay doesn’t reflect the hard work that they do to support students with disabilities. Being a paraprofessional is a very demanding job and it involves dealing with many physical and emotional challenges, such as handling dangerous behaviors. This salary can cause them to feel underappreciated by their school district, leading to paraprofessionals leaving this heavily relied on occupation. With collaboration with the Billerica School Committee, there needs to be a reprioritization of funds in order to guarantee financial stability and proper acknowledgement for paraprofessionals in the school system. 

Schools are in need of paraprofessionals in order to support students and teachers, yet their pay doesn’t support their own lives. A survey reported in Education Week shows that “Seventy-one percent of those paraprofessionals who indicated that they’re likely to leave said pay was a major reason.” Many paraprofessionals don’t want to leave their jobs, but the inability to live on their salaries drives them out of schools. Especially for those with families, this pay makes it difficult for them to support themselves and their children.

After interning in an elementary school classroom for a year, I gained another level of appreciation and respect for paraprofessionals. I would see how much they did in the classroom in order to take care of students with disabilities, so observing their hard work firsthand is a reason why I believe they should get paid more. They shouldn’t have to feel that they are not being respected for the work they do, but unfortunately this is the reality for many. In an article written by a paraprofessional, James Parra explains this struggle by stating “It’s hard to work in a system that devalues my work.” This contributes to the reason why paraprofessionals decide to look for work elsewhere, so it is crucial that they receive better pay to know that their school district is valuing everything they do to support their students.

In order for schools to keep paraprofessionals who are passionate about their jobs in this field, there needs to be a discussion among the Billerica School Committee about reprioritizing funds in order to better paraprofessionals’ salaries. They need to include paraprofessionals in the conversation, as well as work alongside the Billerica Federation of Teachers (BFT), which is affiliated with the national American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organization (AFL-CIO). These discussions need to take place to help paraprofessionals’ voices be heard and to secure better pay for them. This will not only help them, but this will help the students who rely on them as well. As an article about the need for higher paraprofessional salaries emphasizes “It is time that paraprofessionals start getting paid what they are worth before there is no support staff left.”