Q&A
Timeline for hiring paraprofessionals
2:14:25
ยท
3 min
Council Member Rita Joseph asked about the timeline for hiring paraprofessionals, expressing concern about the length of the process. The DOE representative explained:
- The process can take between 2 weeks to 2 months, depending on the applicant
- Required steps include 5 workshops totaling 15-20 hours
- The process includes nomination, application, assessments, and orientation
- Weekly emails are sent to applicants to update them on their progress
- There are currently 1,616 paraprofessional vacancies
- 1,540 new full-time paras have been hired this year
Rita Joseph
2:14:25
The most complaints we get on this end is once a para is nominated, the process takes forever.
2:14:30
So what's the time line once someone is nominated for them to get hired?
UNKNOWN
2:14:35
So that a lot of that depends on the PARA them so the applicant themselves.
2:14:40
There are 5 workshops that are required prior to employment.
2:14:44
Those would be the required state workshops for anyone working in a classroom, which is violence prevention, DASA, child abuse identification, and, we do require autism as well.
2:14:57
There is a a a 4 hour workshop that's designed by DOE, on basically how to be a paraprofessional, and then we also have an orientation.
2:15:08
They have to complete those workshops.
2:15:09
It's probably about 15 hours to 20 hours altogether depending on their self pace.
2:15:16
It could take them a week.
2:15:18
It could take them a month.
2:15:19
It could take them 2 months.
2:15:20
It's really up to them.
2:15:22
The process starts with the nomination.
2:15:25
If it starts at a school level, then the nomination, the nomination generates an application.
2:15:32
The para the applicant has to put a application in in order to move forward, and then they start and they they would get an assessment.
2:15:40
And we do an English writing assessment and an oral assessment in our offices and in larger spaces, probably 4 days a week.
2:15:50
If they are part of this job fair recruitment piece, they are actually being assessed while they are at the job fair prior to that.
2:15:58
So we're so we're skipping a step, basically, with with those folks.
2:16:03
Every Friday, or Monday, depending on the systems, but every Friday or Monday, we actually send an email to every applicant to let them know where they are in the process.
2:16:14
Those emails go out religiously, and, they are able to look at that email, figure out what it is that they need, and then they can complete that.
2:16:25
I I say, you know, between 2 weeks and 2 months, and it's really their own self pace.
Rita Joseph
2:16:30
2 weeks to 2 months.
2:16:33
Currently, there's a vacancy of 1600 paras.
UNKNOWN
2:16:38
Yes.
2:16:39
There are 6 it's 1616, actually.
2:16:42
We have already hired 1540 new full time powers.
2:16:47
Of course, they come from our subpopulation.
2:16:50
There's no hiring freeze on that, but the vacancies are, are there.
2:16:54
We see that some of them that are nominated, they do go through that process very quickly because they already have what they need.
2:17:01
All they do is an orientation with us.
2:17:03
But they, some of them are waiting for their state certification, which takes a little while.
2:17:11
We are able to do some sort of expedition on those those certifications if we know who those folks are, but we encourage them as substitutes to immediately apply for the certification and take their exam to do that.
2:17:23
There are a lot of also a lot of situations where a school may have a vacancy, but it's being covered by a substitute who just doesn't want full time employment.