Research Summary. Here are some key facts to know if you're looking to hire a school aides in the United States:
There are different types of costs for hiring school aides. One-time cost per hire for the recruitment process. Ongoing costs include employee salary, training, onboarding, benefits, insurance, and equipment. It is essential to consider all of these costs when evaluating hiring a new school aide employee.
The median annual salary for school aides is $29,896 in the US. However, the cost of school aide hiring can vary a lot depending on location. Additionally, hiring a school aide for contract work or on a per-project basis typically costs between $10 and $18 an hour.
To hire a school aide, you should clearly understand the skills and experience you are looking for in a candidate, and allocate a budget for the position. You will also need to post and promote the job opening to reach potential candidates. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to hire a school aide:
The first step to find school aides for hire is determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.
Before you hire a school aide, you should also consider the ideal background you'd like them to have. For example, what industry or field they have experience in, what level of seniority or education the job requires, and how much it'll cost to hire a candidate that fits the bill.
This list presents the salaries of various school aide positions.
Type Of School Aide | Description | Hourly Rate |
---|---|---|
School Aide | Teacher assistants work under a teacher’s supervision to give students additional attention and instruction. | $10-18 |
Para Educator | Paraeducators' primary role is to provide students with extra guidance and support outside or inside the classroom. They are also called paraprofessional educators or teaching assistants who are expected to support teachers... Show More | $11-18 |
Child Care Teacher | A child care teacher is responsible for educating young learners, observing their personal and social behaviors. They also prepare engaging and fun activities for the children, ensuring their safety and security... Show More | $6-21 |
Before creating a school aide job description, imagine the ideal employee for this position and begin creating a profile. What skills do they have and what responsibilities do they have to be proficient in?
Here are some of the most common school aide skills:
Here is a list of common responsibilities that school aides may be expected to fulfill:
Beyond the basics, you should also consider how well a candidate fits into your company culture. In other words, you should think about how your ideal school aide will live by the company's mission statement and contribute to the team dynamic you already have in place.
Rank # | State | # Of Jobs | % of Population | Avg. Salary |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Illinois | 2,665 | 21% | $29,173 |
2 | Michigan | 1,616 | 16% | $28,482 |
3 | New Jersey | 1,610 | 18% | $33,383 |
4 | Indiana | 1,274 | 19% | $23,845 |
5 | Arizona | 1,237 | 18% | $27,534 |
Including a salary range in the job description is a good way to get more applicants. A school aide salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, their level of experience, education and certifications, and the prestige of the employer. For example, the average salary for a school aide in Louisiana may be lower than in Massachusetts, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level school aide. Additionally, a school aide with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.
Rank | State | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Count |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | New York | $35,419 | $17 | |
2 | California | $34,655 | $17 | |
3 | New Jersey | $33,675 | $16 | 2 |
4 | District of Columbia | $33,652 | $16 | 1 |
5 | Illinois | $29,405 | $14 |
Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | St. Clare Catholic School | $36,986 | $17.78 | 27 |
2 | Valley View School District | $36,250 | $17.43 | |
3 | Benicia Unified School District | $35,169 | $16.91 | |
4 | Hemet Unified School District | $34,501 | $16.59 | 17 |
5 | Santa Rosa City Schools | $34,476 | $16.57 | |
6 | Westlake Charter School | $34,178 | $16.43 | 4 |
7 | Bear Valley Unified School District | $33,721 | $16.21 | 5 |
8 | EASTCONN | $33,630 | $16.17 | 10 |
9 | Eastern Suffolk BOCES | $33,154 | $15.94 | 6 |
10 | Newton Public Schools | $32,839 | $15.79 | 10 |
11 | Hackensack Meridian Health | $32,833 | $15.79 | 146 |
12 | Irving Isd | $32,753 | $15.75 | 31 |
13 | Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District | $32,673 | $15.71 | |
14 | Visalia Unified School District | $32,218 | $15.49 | |
15 | Buena Vista University | $31,455 | $15.12 | 20 |
16 | Yale New Haven Health | $31,208 | $15.00 | 25 |
17 | American Medical Association | $31,096 | $14.95 | 7 |
18 | Charter Schools USA | $31,024 | $14.92 | 68 |
19 | Maxim Healthcare Group | $30,990 | $14.90 | 389 |
20 | NORTH | $30,869 | $14.84 | 4 |
A job description for a school aide role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a school aide job description:
There are a few common ways to find school aides for your business:
Post your job online:
To successfully recruit school aides, your first interview needs to be all about engaging with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.
It's also a good idea to ask about candidates' special skills and talents. If you think that a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.
The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.
Once you've found the school aide candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary, as well as the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer needs to be competitive if you really like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.
It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.
To prepare for the new school 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 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources needs to make sure that a new employee file is created for internal recordkeeping.