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During her first full-time job as a paraprofessional, Priscilla Castro would wake up at 6:00 a.m. to work at a high school in Brooklyn, where she helped educate teenage mothers. She would then head to her own night classes at York College, where she was pursuing her bachelor鈥檚 degree, sometimes not returning home until past 11 p.m.

At the time, Castro鈥檚 salary was less than $20,000. Two decades later, after earning both her bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 degrees in sociology and urban studies and working as a special education and a language paraprofessional, she is earning $55,000 鈥� still far below what most people would need to earn to afford to live in New York. To help her make ends meet, Castro lived with her parents early on in her career. 

But the main reason she has stuck with it? The impact she has had on the kids.  

鈥淲e are there with the students every period, so we see the challenges the students go through and their success,鈥� Castro said. 鈥淭o me, it’s amazing to see, especially when I’m [working with] an autistic child who, for the first time, is learning how to read and learning how to write their name.鈥�

Castro now advocates for other classroom support staff as the president of the paraprofessional chapter of the United Federation of Teachers in New York City. The city is currently struggling with a shortage of more than 1,550 paraprofessionals. Hoping to attract and retain more people to the profession, the union is stepping outside of its traditional collective bargaining practices to that would of at least $10,000 for the city鈥檚 paraprofessionals.

Paraprofessionals are usually hourly workers who assist students and teachers with classroom work, supervision and instructing small groups. Roughly 75% of paras don鈥檛 have a bachelor鈥檚 degree, according to a . Average pay for paraprofessionals in 2024 was $35,240, according to the .  

Across the U.S., unions are seeking to boost paraprofessional pay, which remains so low that workers are struggling to get by in many states, according to an from the National Education Association.

A found that more than half of paraprofessionals worked other jobs on weekdays after classes ended and 75% said they had a problem making a living wage.

The NEA said that while paraprofessional pay has improved, 鈥渢here is still a lot of work to be done.鈥�

In April, paraprofessionals in Boston landed raises ranging from 23% to 31% over three years Most will see a pay increase of nearly $8,000 by the end of the , according to the Boston Teachers Union. 

Allentown School District in Pennsylvania accepted a contract last fall that will give its paraprofessionals . Pittsburgh Public Schools awarded its paras in December.

In addition, California lawmakers are that would increase pay for both teachers and staffers, including paraprofessionals, by 50% over the next 10 years. 

鈥淚鈥檝e received strong support from teachers and [other school] employees who are struggling to live in the communities that they work in,鈥� said Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, who authored the bill.

Dannel Montesano is one of them. She left her paraprofessional job earlier this year to become an office clerk at Liberty Ranch High School in Galt, California. The new job paid just $1 more per hour. It was the only way she could get a raise.

鈥淥ur starting paraprofessional pay is $18.63 an hour. This school year, we’ve had a hard time filling all of the positions because when you can go work at McDonald’s for over $20 an hour 鈥� and not have as much responsibility working one-on-one with students 鈥�- the draw isn’t there,鈥� she said.

In New York City, paraprofessionals earn between $31,787 to $52,847 a year, according to the UFT. The city鈥檚 current system of collective bargaining ensures all job titles receive the same percentage wage increase. But those increases have a varying impact depending on an employee鈥檚 base pay. The union said in a that a 3% pay raise could mean roughly a $900 increase for a paraprofessional but a $6,000 bump for a principal. 

More than 1,600 union members rallied in front of City Hall in April to advocate for the paraprofessional pay bill, which would create a separate “” that would exist outside of collective bargaining. Each year, the city鈥檚 general fund would provide full-time paraprofessionals with a check of at least $10,000.

鈥淲e have paraprofessionals who are struggling,鈥� Castro said. 鈥淚 received an email from a paraprofessional who’s living in a shelter with a child. It broke my heart to receive this email. We have to make a difference. We have to ensure that the bill is passed in City Hall, because it would change so many lives.鈥�

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