How to hire a reading aide

How to hire a reading aide, step by step

Here's a step-by-step reading aide hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a reading aide job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new reading aide
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The reading aide hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

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   Hiring the perfect reading aide also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list shows salaries for various types of reading aides.

   Type of Reading Aide	Description	Hourly rate
   Reading Aide	Teacher assistants work under a teacher’s supervision to give students additional attention and instruction.	$10-21
   Education Paraprofessional	An education paraprofessional's role is to carry out support tasks for a teacher in a school setting. They are responsible for creating learning materials such as visual aids and presentations, participating in devising lesson plans and assessment methods, grading and evaluating student performances, and even maintaining order in the classroom... Show more	$11-18
   Student Internship	Student interns are student trainees in a company. They undergo on-the-job training as it may be required by their degree program in order to graduate... Show more	$10-21

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Mathematics
   • RTI
   • Social Development
   • Bulletin Boards
   • Literacy Development
   • Reading Comprehension
   • Language Arts
   • Administrative Tasks
   • K-5
   • Computer Lab

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage a phonetic/whole language curriculum for middle/high school students with various learning differences.
   • Follow office procedures separated/organized/attach incoming radiology studies.
   • Follow office procedures separated/organized/attach incoming radiology studies.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your reading aide job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A reading aide salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, reading aides' average salary in missouri is 39% less than in hawaii.
   • Seniority. Entry-level reading aides earn 51% less than senior-level reading aides.
   • Certifications. A reading aide with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a reading aide's salary.

   Average reading aide salary

   $15.55hourly

   $32,346 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level reading aide salary

   $22,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 20, 2025

4. Writing a reading aide job description

   A reading aide job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a reading aide job description:

   Reading aide job description example

   This posting is for the 2022-2023 School Year.

   The Interventionist, under the direct supervision of the campus principal, will lead the intervention program at the
   campus and will provide targeted support to small groups of students in literacy skills. At least 70% of the
   interventionists time will be spent student-facing. The ideal candidate is highly knowledgeable in core literacy, research-based instructional strategies, and standards-based instruction.

   Duties

   • Provide research-based instructional interventions in reading through direct instruction of students
   • Manage the Response to Intervention (RTI) program to ensure that resources are utilized and ensure that progress monitoring occurs throughout the school year at the designated intervals
     • Attend team/parent meetings as required; provide input to teams regarding student academic strengths and weaknesses
     • Maintain data-based documentation of continuous monitoring of student performance and progress during interventions; identify which students require additional support.
     • Provide data to the school leadership team and participate in decisions about student progress
     • Support teachers in using data to identify and group children who need additional supports at the Tier 1 Level; assist teachers in creating a differentiated instruction plan for students who require Tier 1 interventions
   • Conduct classroom observations for the purpose of data gathering to support intervention planning
   • May also lead STAT process for students with academic deficits
   • Participate in the district-wide Interventionist PLC and in all district professional development as it relates to the interventionists area of support

   Qualifications

   • Master’s Degree in Education (preferred), or a related field
   • Experience in research-based practices for literacy development (if supporting in literacy)
   • Strong skillset (demonstrated experience and successful data) with students in an elementary setting
   • Minimum of 3 years of urban teaching experience (five years preferred)
   • Extensive knowledge of best practices in classroom management and instructional strategies with an emphasis in literacy
   • Proficiency in analyzing student achievement data and using it to inform instructional choices
   • Ability to utilize various data to drive instruction
   • Efficiency in meeting deadlines
   • Working knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint strongly preferred
   • Excellent organizational, strategic planning, and oral and written communication skills
   • Must be able to show proof of full vaccination for COVID-19

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5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right reading aide for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your reading aide job on Zippia to find and recruit reading aide candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting reading aides requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new reading aide

   Once you've selected the best reading aide candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new reading aide first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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