Tell Them What We Really Do. The Conversation Starts With Us!

For too long, paraprofessionals have been talked about instead of listened to.

People speak about us in meetings. They speak about us during elections. They speak about us during contract negotiations. They speak about us when there’s a staffing shortage. They speak about us when schools are in crisis, but very rarely do people stop and ask us; What is your life really like?

The truth is that paraprofessionals know reality better than anyone else because we live it every single day. We know what it feels like to wake up before sunrise, commute across the city, support students all day, then leave school and head to college, a second or even third job just to survive. We know what it feels like to spend all day helping regulate behaviors, comforting crying children, changing diapers, assisting students with disabilities, translating for families, de-escalating situations, helping teachers, covering classrooms illegally, handling paperwork, helping with lunches, helping with buses, helping with dismissal, and then still feeling, unheard, unseen. We know what it feels like to be emotionally drained before lunchtime and still show up with patience and love because our students need us. We know what it feels like to care deeply about children while feeling like the system and our union barely cares about us.

We also know something many people outside schools do not; Paraprofessionals carry entire school communities on their backs. Some paras are raising children of their own while caring for students all day. Some are caregivers to parents or family members after work. Some are in school themselves trying to finish degrees. Some are struggling with housing costs, debt, childcare, burnout, or mental exhaustion. Some are trying to survive while still giving everything they have to students every day.

Yet despite all of that, paraprofessionals continue showing up. That matters and people need to hear it. That is why these conversations matter. This is bigger than one person.

This is bigger than one election. This is about building a real voice and real power for paraprofessionals across New York City because before anything can truly change, people need to understand what our lives look like.

What does a day in the life of a paraprofessional look like? What are the highs? What are the lows? What breaks your heart? What keeps you going? What do people misunderstand about our work? What are schools asking or telling paras to do every day? What support are we missing? What respect are we missing, and yes what should we be demanding moving forward? Real respect is not just slogans, not temporary headlines. Real respect means listening to paraprofessionals and organizing around what we actually need.

So let’s start talking honestly. What are the biggest issues paraprofessionals are facing right now? What needs to change in our union? What should we be fighting for in the next contract? What would real respect actually look like to you?

Maybe it’s better pay.

Maybe it’s smaller workloads.

Maybe it’s safer classrooms.

Maybe it’s healthcare protections.

Maybe it’s pension improvements.

Maybe it’s childcare support.

Maybe it’s mental health resources.

Maybe it’s finally being treated like professionals instead of invisible workers.

Or maybe it’s all of the above.

Whatever your story is, we want to hear it. Not polished. Not filtered. Not sanitized. The real stories because paraprofessionals are done being spoken for. It’s time people started listening to us directly and maybe for the first time in a long time, more and more paras are realizing something important: We are not powerless!

There are thousands of us across this city and if we begin speaking together, organizing together, and demanding better together, people will have no choice but to hear us.

So this is your invitation. Tell us your story. Tell us what your days really look like. Tell us what needs to change because this conversation belongs to paraprofessionals now.

Please take a few minutes to fill out a survey using this link: https://forms.gle/BX5dUn8w3te8hdUKA

The results will be shared so people can actually know what we do, what our experiences are and what we really need! Share it with every para you know.