How to hire a teaching aide

How to hire a teaching aide, step by step

Here's a step-by-step teaching 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 teaching aide job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new teaching aide
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a teaching aide, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect teaching 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 presents teaching aide salaries for various positions.

   Type of Teaching Aide	Description	Hourly rate
   Teaching Aide	Teacher assistants work under a teacher’s supervision to give students additional attention and instruction.	$11-18
   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
   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

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Child Care
   • Mathematics
   • Classroom Management
   • Applied Behavior Analysis
   • ABA
   • IEP
   • Developmental Disabilities
   • ESL
   • Behavioral Issues
   • Grade Student
   • CPR
   • Academic Support
   • Art Projects
   • ADHD

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Help student become more independent and achieve organizational goals by using self-monitore checklists and adaptive technology.
   • Work with a student with an IEP individually and in a small group on a daily basis.
   • Participate in IEP team process and subsequent responsibilities for implementation of identify goals, assessment of outcomes and relate documentation.
   • Manipulate ATS database system ensuring data integrity for reporting and record keeping purposes.

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, teaching aides' average salary in missouri is 33% less than in new york.
   • Seniority. Entry-level teaching aides earn 37% less than senior-level teaching aides.
   • Certifications. A teaching 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 teaching aide's salary.

   Average teaching aide salary

   $14.77hourly

   $30,728 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level teaching aide salary

   $24,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 29, 2026

4. Writing a teaching aide job description

   A job description for a teaching 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 teaching aide job description:

   Teaching aide job description example

   · Salary range: $15.00-18.50/hour

   · Work hours: 7am-5:30pm (school hours)

   · No weekends and limited evening hours, except occasional faculty meetings or school events that may be in the evening

   · You will get support from our lead teachers and directors every step of the way to help develop and grow your teaching skills

   · Discounted childcare

   · Plus, we’ll support you in your career path to become a lead teacher and beyond

   Our assistant teachers and aides will work with a lead teacher as part of the teaching team to encourage a positive learning environment for all children within the School. Responsibilities include the following:

   · Establishing and maintaining a safe, healthy and nurturing learning environment

   · Supporting each child’s social and emotional development

   · Establishing positive and effective family relations

   · Working with the lead teacher and in conjunction with the entire faculty

   Qualifications:

   · High school diploma required · Associate or Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Education or related field preferred

   · Child Development Associate (CDA) preferred

   · Develops relationships and communicates effectively with children, parents, and faculty

   · Works productively without supervision

   · Shows empathy and compassion for young children

   · Is dependable and adaptable and enjoys working together toward a common goal

   · Excellent verbal and written communication skills with outstanding ability to listen and follow-up on issues constructively

   · Ability to calmly address stressful situations professionally while multi-tasking to ensure smooth school operations

   · Must be able to lift up to 50 lbs. in connection with the handling of children for the facilitation of programs, child safety, and potential emergency situations. For Infant and Young Toddler Teachers, must be able to properly lift infants into and out of a crib

   About Goddard Schools

   The Goddard School located in Brooklyn Park, MN has been open for 16 years and has over 100 children under our care. As part of a larger franchise system, in operation for over 30 years, we are the premier preschool for children from six weeks to six years old. We have over 560 franchised Schools with more than 70,000 students in 38 states. The Goddard School uses the most current academically endorsed methods to ensure children have fun while learning the skills they need for long-term success in school and in life. Our talented teachers also collaborate with parents to nurture children into respectful, confident, and joyful learners.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right teaching aide for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with teaching aides they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit teaching aides who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit teaching aides, your first interview needs to engage 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.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   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 teaching aide

   Once you have selected a candidate for the teaching aide position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

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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