What Do Paraprofessional Educators Do For Income During School Off-Periods? Teacher Explains
Last Tuesday, I ducked into the coffee shop down the street from my elementary school 20 minutes before parent-teacher conferences, wiping October rain off my sleeves. Mia, the paraprofessional who works 1:1 with two of my students on the autism spectrum, was already there grabbing a box of donuts for the sign-in table. We leaned against the glass by the door to chat, and I mentioned I was already looking forward to napping through half of Thanksgiving break next week. She laughed and said she’d be spending three days of break dog sitting for a family that lives two towns over.
I asked if she was just doing it for fun, and that’s when I remembered what I often forget to point out to parents: most paras don’t get paid during school off-periods. Mia shook her head and confirmed it—like 90% of the paras at our school, she’s hourly, contracted only for days students are in the building. No pay for holidays, no pay for winter, spring, or summer breaks. The income gap is real, and it’s something most families never think to ask about.
I’ve been teaching 4th grade for 10 years, and I’ve worked with more than a dozen paras in that time. Only one has ever had a year-round contract that paid evenly across 12 months, and that was because she was full-time in the district’s central special education department. Every other para I know has built a patchwork of side work to cover the gaps between school terms. It’s not fancy, and it’s rarely enough to let them take a full week off to relax, but it’s what works for their irregular schedule.
Mia’s system is pretty typical for the paras I know. She picked up a steady weekend shift at the local outdoor gear shop three years ago, and she saves most of that check specifically to cover rent and bills during short breaks like Thanksgiving and spring break. When summer rolls around, that’s 10 weeks without pay, so she adds more work on top: she proctors reading intervention sessions for a local tutoring company that runs camps over summer break, since she already knows how to work with kids who need extra support. She also takes pet sitting gigs through Rover whenever they fit, since she likes dogs and the hours are flexible enough that she can still fit in a few day trips to see her family an hour away.
Other paras I’ve worked with have different niches. Lila, who helps with small group math in our building, does holiday lighting and decorating for neighborhood families over winter break. She’s got a good eye for it, and people pay her $150 to $300 a house to put everything up and take it down after the new year. That lines up perfectly with our two-week winter break, and it brings in enough to cover her car payment and insurance for the month. Over spring break, she switches to yard clean up for people who don’t have time to haul away dead branches and plant spring bulbs. Last summer, our newest para picked up a full-time temporary job at the town pool concession stand, which fit perfectly with the 10-week summer break schedule and ended right when she had to be back in the building for pre-service week.
It’s always a juggle. Mia told me last year, when her water heater broke right before spring break, she had to pick up five extra pet sitting jobs that week just to cover the repair bill, and she didn’t get a single day off. She still showed up 10 minutes early on the first day we were back, no complaints, and asked how my break was. Most paras don’t talk about this side of their work, because they love what they do with the kids, and they don’t want to come off as ungrateful for the position. But it’s a constant stress that most families never see.
Over the past couple years, I’ve learned there are small, concrete things parents and teachers can do to help, that don’t require a big time or money commitment. First, if you need childcare over a school break, ask your kid’s para if they’re available to pick up extra hours. Almost all paras are already fully background checked by the district, they know your kid and their needs, and it’s steady, flexible income for them during a gap. I’ve had three parents do this in the past two years, and everyone’s walked away happy. Second, if you need small, flexible jobs done around your house—pet sitting, help organizing the garage, basic yard work, babysitting for a date night—ask if your para is interested. Most are looking for extra work, they just don’t advertise it because they don’t want to make families uncomfortable. Third, if your PTA or school has an emergency fund for paras to cover income gaps during long breaks, even a $20 donation once a year adds up. Our PTA started one two years ago, and last summer they gave out $150 grants to 12 paras who needed help covering rent when bad weather washed out their seasonal side work. Fourth, don’t ask paras to do free school work during their break. I’ve had parents ask Mia to meet with their kid over summer to practice reading, and that’s time she could be getting paid for side work. If you do ask, offer to pay her for her time, same as you would any tutor.
Last week, Mia told me she’s hoping to save enough this year to take two full days off over winter break to go visit her sister in Chicago, something she hasn’t done in three years. It’s a small goal, but it’s a big deal when you’re juggling three different streams of income to make ends meet. The system isn’t going to change overnight, and most paras will keep juggling side work during off periods for the foreseeable future. But just knowing what’s going on behind the scenes makes it easier to show up in small, helpful ways that make a real difference.
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