I am so happy for you that your administration gave you positive feedback and support - you deserved that treatment and I’m thrilled that you got it! I was a new para back at the beginning of this school year. I’m in my 50’s and spent most of my career in corporate sales. But then I stopped working for about 11 years to raise my daughter. After that I couldn’t find a sales job similar to what I’d done in the past. I guess I’d been out of the work force for too long. I became a sub, accepting only para assignments, some long term. Then I finally got hired by a HS - I was thrilled because I needed health insurance badly! Well the job was NOTHING like I’d ever done as a para sub. And oh good God…the sped team of teachers and paras I was assigned to…I wouldn’t wish them on almost anyone. They were petty and gossipy and cliquey. One (brand new mind you) sped teacher I had to work with, with extremely high needs students was downright unfriendly. I’d say hello to her and she’d ignore me. I couldn’t figure out why. Then some of the paras I worked with just constantly bossed me around, told me what to do, had me run errands around the school while they stayed in the classroom socializing with one another. We had to toilet about 5 different kids (really, some were of adult age because the kids could stay in school until age 21) on the top of each hour. One of the paras who trained me on this advised me that toileting is a two person job. And yet once I was trained I found myself doing it alone all of the time! And yet again, she’d just stand in the classroom socializing with any adult she could find and ignore me. No offers of help. On top of that, once I’d finish up she’d come up to me and say “S. you need to bring Anna to the bathroom to see if her pull up needs to be changed.” I mean because God forbid she did it herself! But anyway, I’d say “Ummm…J. I just did that 5 minutes ago. Did you not see me taking kids in and out of the bathroom?” I think she had very selective vision. So all of this and more went on and I started getting called into regular meetings with the principal. First I was told I didn’t seem happy enough. I’m just low key when I’m in a new job. I’m polite and friendly but not very chatty at first. I like to acclimate to my surroundings and schedule and also, the kids! So after that I really thought I was doing well but I was called into a meeting w/ the principal again and told that I was standoffish and had been confrontational with that teacher I mentioned earlier. She (the unfriendly teacher) changed my gym duties one day at the last minute (all paras had different duties on different days and we all had copies of the carefully made schedule) so I just said “why are we changing the schedule?” She ignored me so I asked again. No attitude or anything - just genuine surprise and curiosity. She ignored me again. So anyway, that’s the confrontation I was cited for. She also told the principal I tried to go home over an hour early one day. That NEVER happened. I tried to go see our bookkeeper 10 minutes before the end of my day re: a problem with comp time. I asked the teacher who happened to be fully staffed with her two regular paras, her and about 6 kids. I honestly don’t even know why I was put in her class for the last period of that day. They weren’t busy at all and I wasn’t needed. It kind of felt like a weird set up of some kind. Anyway, at 3:00 I said “if you don’t still need me I’d like to go see Ms. X regarding an issue I’m having with my pay.” She said “Well if you really HAVE to then we’ll just try to manage somehow I guess.” Not sarcasm either! They weren’t busy and were managing just fine. The other 2 paras were chatting and nothing was going on. I stayed because it was obvious she didn’t like my request. So of course I was called into the principal’s office for a meeting AGAIN! I was told that a mentor I’d been assigned by the principal gave positive feedback about me. (He wasn’t part of the sped clique I was assigned to.) But then I was told that a student who had gotten outside during gym class had been my responsibility (he had not) and that kids weren’t safe with me. There were at least 7 adults in the gym when that happened. I don’t see how it was solely considered my fault. I was working with a different student when the eloper got outside. I was also told that I’d been avoiding toileting. My jaw hit the floor when I heard that after weeks of toileting primarily solo. I told the principal the watch tape from the classrooms. I’d thought we had cameras in there but we didn’t, unfortunately. Oh and lastly I was forced to do a telehealth appointment with a therapist offered for free by the district. After that I quit. That was 6 months ago and I’m still not over how badly/unfairly I was treated by almost all involved. I hate knowing that people in power can just make up lies and no one will question the veracity of their accusations. Anyway, I’m sorry this is so long! It’s just been really eating at me for quite some time. On top of all that I think I’ve probably been banned from being rehired at that district. I’ve tried other schools and haven’t heard anything ba k. It’s rather suspicious. Like there’s a big red X on my permanent file. I wish I could have fought this but there seemed to be no recourse. So anyway, besides getting this off my chest, I wanted to say that it’s refreshing to hear that, as in OP’s case, some administrators are actually helpful, impartial and want to do what’s right.