Long-term Substitute Special Education Paraprofessional

Location: Freedom Elementary School. Department: Special Education. Reports to: Building Principal. Term: ASAP – November 1, 2026. Schedule: Monday–Friday, full-time. Salary: $18.20/hour. Last reviewed: September 2026.

About the role

The Substitute Special Education Paraprofessional assists educators at the elementary, middle, or high school level to support the district's special education learners in either general education or special education classroom settings. The paraprofessional assists learners with disabilities in their daily instructional and non-instructional activities under the supervision of classroom and special education educators.

Responsibilities

• Collaboration: Develops positive, effective working relationships with learners and staff.
• Communication: Connects and shares ideas through appropriate/applicable formats to express thoughts and ideas with integrity.
• Compassion: Understands the complexities of cultural and global issues and how they relate to employee and learners' experiences; partners with others to resolve potential controversy and conflict through respectful discussion; proactively seeks to understand the ideas, opinions, and skills of others.
• Creativity: Connects with team members and shares ideas in an effort to improve the overall learner and employee experience.
• Critical Thinking: Reasons, interprets, and analyzes information to generate new knowledge and understanding.
• Reflection: Maintains communication with supervisor and director regarding general feedback, career advancement opportunities, and areas of growth.
• Resilience: Maintains composure while dealing with stressful situations; proactively seeks out resolutions and takes initiative to resolve knowledge gaps.
• Responsibility: Provides skills instruction and behavior management strategies outlined in learner behavior plans or formal training to learners with disabilities, individually or in small groups, under the supervision of the classroom educator and special educator.
• Accurately collects observable behavior data including Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence, count, frequency, duration, latency, inter-response time, event, and interval-based recording.
• Constructs, copies, distributes, and uses educational materials as instructed by special educator.
• Implements learners' positive behavior support plans with fidelity as specified by educators and support staff.
• Provides structure by consistently conducting daily lesson plans set up by educator.
• Provides supervision (examples: playground, cafeteria, recess, drop off/pick up, study hall, bus duty) as directed by the building principal and supervisor.
• Accompanies learners on field trips to support safety, supervision, and to carry out plans and accommodations to enrich their experience.
• Assists in upholding and enforcing school rules and district policies and procedures.

Requirements

• High School Diploma or General Education Degree (GED) equivalent.
• Associate's Degree or higher preferred.
• Experience working in a preschool setting preferred.
• Experience working with complex behaviors preferred.
• Ability to read, write, and comprehend simple instructions and short correspondences in English.
• Ability to communicate effectively verbally, expressively, and reactively.
• Exercise confidentiality, discretion, and good judgement.
• Adhere to the assigned work schedule by maintaining regular and punctual attendance.
• Supervisory responsibilities: None.

Physical Demands

• Regularly required to reach with hands and arms.
• Regularly required to stand, walk, bend, talk, and hear.
• Specific vision abilities include close and peripheral vision.
• May frequently lift up to ~25 pounds without assistance.
• May occasionally lift up to ~50 pounds without assistance.
• May push/pull up to ~120 pounds while performing duties.
• May perform a two-person transport, restraint, or lift (training provided).
• May come in contact with bloodborne pathogens or other bodily fluids on rare occasions.
• Work environment noise level ranges from quiet to loud.

Pay

Salary is a set $18.20 per hour.

Schedule

Monday through Friday, full-time.