Special Ed paraprofessional at inner city school

[RespectTheChemistry]

Hi -

I am trying to figure out a job for next year.

For those unfamiliar, a PK-12 school is designated Title I if above a certain percentage of their students qualify for the free lunch program.

Medical school is so competitive now that I feel like I have to do something that will help my application during my gap year. (This is for the '23-'24 academic year in which I plan to apply). This seems like the perfect job for the non-premed parts of my life. Because of my physical limits plus the fact that I'm getting carpal tunnel, I really can't be a CNA/EMT/scribe. I'm not sure the carpal tunnel is bad enough for a hand surgeon. You need quite a few classes to be a medical assistant in my state, so I wouldn't be able to start that around the time of my application.

Does it have to be a Title I school? Would working as a Special Ed aide period be helpful? I live in a cornfield 2 hours away from the city. My poor car. I also spend a boatload of money on gas.

Thank you!

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[Goro]

Hi -

I am trying to figure out a job for next year.

For those unfamiliar, a PK-12 school is designated Title I if above a certain percentage of their students qualify for the free lunch program.

Medical school is so competitive now that I feel like I have to do something that will help my application during my gap year. (This is for the '23-'24 academic year in which I plan to apply). This seems like the perfect job for the non-premed parts of my life. Because of my physical limits plus the fact that I'm getting carpal tunnel, I really can't be a CNA/EMT/scribe. I'm not sure the carpal tunnel is bad enough for a hand surgeon. You need quite a few classes to be a medical assistant in my state, so I wouldn't be able to start that around the time of my application.

Does it have to be a Title I school?

NO. How many people do you think know what a Title I school is?????

Would working as a Special Ed aide period be helpful?

Yes, but do this because you want to do this, not because you think it will look good

I live in a cornfield 2 hours away from the city. My poor car. I also spend a boatload of money on gas.

Offhand, it doesn't sound like the investment is worth it. Try inquiring with your local houses of worship, for starters

 

[RespectTheChemistry]

NO. How many people do you think know what a Title I school is?????

Yes, but do this because you want to do this, not because you think it will look good

Offhand, it doesn't sound like the investment is worth it. Try inquiring with your local houses of worship, for starters

I think there may have been some minor miscommunications here.

I could have explained what a Title I school is. It's just that that's the federal designation if more than ~70% of your kids are at that position relative to the poverty line. It was my way of saying, "Does it have to be a poor school to be considered a productive gap year activity?"

Regarding houses of worship, I already have a decent amount of long-term community service (~3 years tutoring teenage boys incarcerated at a maximum security juvenille detention center) and a lot of miscellaneous 25-100 hour stuff.

My local schools are hiring. It's just that they aren't poor schools. I wanted to know if it had to be a poor school to look good on my medical school application.

I want to do this because I need a full-time job with benefits that I would enjoy. I didn't understand your post regarding whether this would look good on my medical school application. That is a secondary rather than primary motivation, but it's still part of my motivation.

 

[cj_cregg]

I think working with kids with special needs would qualify for service to the underserved regardless of where the school is located. Also worth noting, rural areas are also considered underserved in many cases, I would certainly imagine the services to support these kiddos are just as limited in the middle of a cornfield as they are in the inner city, if not more so.

 

[RespectTheChemistry]

I think working with kids with special needs would qualify for service to the underserved regardless of where the school is located. Also worth noting, rural areas are also considered underserved in many cases, I would certainly imagine the services to support these kiddos are just as limited in the middle of a cornfield as they are in the inner city, if not more so.

My fellow country girl. 🙂 Always nice to see you.

They have a hard time hiring and I live close, so that's a good idea. 🙂 (I will admit that I'm a little nervous about road safety in the winter. They are terrible about plowing.)

 

[LizzyM]

You would certainly be working with people different from yourself including children with special needs, their parents, and an older generation of employees at the school. You'd get a ground level view of the bureaucracy of school systems which I do think makes everyone a better citizen and advocate for children's education.

PS: I think that working in a rural school in your community is fine. It could also show, indirectly, your interest (whether real or not) in serving a rural area. Med schools that are committed to training physicians for rural areas like to see that applicants have had real experience in rural communities.

 

[RespectTheChemistry]

You would certainly be working with people different from yourself including children with special needs, their parents, and an older generation of employees at the school. You'd get a ground level view of the bureaucracy of school systems which I do think makes everyone a better citizen and advocate for children's education.

PS: I think that working in a rural school in your community is fine. It could also show, indirectly, your interest (whether real or not) in serving a rural area. Med schools that are committed to training physicians for rural areas like to see that applicants have had real experience in rural communities.

It's real! My dream is to move back to my hometown after medical training and serve my community there. 🙂

Thank you all so much for your help!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

... Medical school is so competitive now that I feel like I have to do something that will help my application during my gap year. (This is for the '23-'24 academic year in which I plan to apply). This seems like the perfect job for the non-premed parts of my life. Because of my physical limits plus the fact that I'm getting carpal tunnel, I really can't be a CNA/EMT/scribe. I'm not sure the carpal tunnel is bad enough for a hand surgeon. You need quite a few classes to be a medical assistant in my state, so I wouldn't be able to start that around the time of my application.

Walk me back a bit. How does this help your application? Be mindful that if you develop a physical disability, you may want to consider how that may affect your training. Have you asked for accommodations before? How recently has this diagnosis come up?

To the original question, doing Teach for America/Americorps has always been viewed rather positively, so if your position is similar. Still, without the TFA/City Year oversight/overhead, I don't think you'll find pushback from most of us. I don't know how hiring is going, especially if you are lacking specific training and certifications to work with special needs children.

My dream is to move back to my hometown after medical training and serve my community there.

Being able to communicate this will certainly help your application. Having activities that demonstrate this will help.

 

[RespectTheChemistry]

Walk me back a bit. How does this help your application? Be mindful that if you develop a physical disability, you may want to consider how that may affect your training. Have you asked for accommodations before? How recently has this diagnosis come up?

To the original question, doing Teach for America/Americorps has always been viewed rather positively, so if your position is similar. Still, without the TFA/City Year oversight/overhead, I don't think you'll find pushback from most of us. I don't know how hiring is going, especially if you are lacking specific training and certifications to work with special needs children.


Being able to communicate this will certainly help your application. Having activities that demonstrate this will help.

I thought about TFA too but I have heard TFA is crazy competitive and essentially solely on in the inner city, which poses a commute issue. I have a couple teacher cousins who told me never to work at a charter school because they are poorly run. A lot of TFA positions in my city are at charters. I wanted to do Americorps but it doesn't pay well enough to support myself. According to my mom who works at a school, the Psychology bachelor's with my 12 hours of Child Development coursework should be plenty for a paraprofessional position. I am really hoping she is right! The low pay ($15/hr) makes them have to lower their standards a bit...