Special Education Aide

About the role

Position provides assistance to teachers or other district personnel in the daily instruction and care of eligible students with disabilities. As a paraprofessional, the employee works under the direction of the teacher to monitor and address the instructional, personal, and behavioral needs of students.

Responsibilities

• Affords support to the implementation of Individualized Education Programs for students with disabilities under the direction of the classroom teacher(s) and/or service provider(s).
• Supports individual or small group instruction developed and supervised by the teacher in the assigned class(es) including but not limited to teaching, re-teaching and reviewing lessons, asking questions and prompting students and/or guiding independent work.
• Attends to the needs of students with disabilities that may include personal hygiene, lifting, feeding, toileting, monitoring supportive medical equipment, i.e., walkers, wheelchairs, etc. and/or facilitating the use of assistive technology.
• Escorts and supervises students not limited to daily arrival and school departure, transitions between classes, the playground, cafeteria, transporting to and/or from school and/or off-site learning activities.
• Collects, charts and reports student performance data to teachers and/or other service providers.
• Performs general clerical tasks for assigned classroom, including maintaining student records (i.e., data books, portfolios, assignment folders).
• Distributes and collects instructional materials and reports.
• Assists with behavioral management programs in the classroom and implements behavior intervention plans and/or plans for independence for individual students.
• Successfully participates in designated staff development needed to fulfill job duties. Paraprofessionals who may be required to physically restrain students to ensure their safety and the safety of others will be provided appropriate staff development.
• Maintains bulletin boards and classroom supply inventories, as appropriate.
• Provides intensive behavioral supports, as appropriate. Paraprofessionals who provide this IEP required service are required to participate in ongoing, supplemental staff development.
• Communicates with parents only under the direction and supervision of a teacher.
• Serves as an educational team member who collaborates and supports the efforts of school staff and the needs of all students with disabilities.

Requirements

• Minimum Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills And Abilities Required): Candidate must meet the requirements for a Paraprofessional: You must have one of the following: 60 college credit hours from an accredited college, Associate degree, Passing score on the Work Keys or ParaPro Knowledge, skills and abilities of this job include the following: read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals; write routine reports and correspondence; communicate effectively; apply common sense in the delivery, understanding and following instructions in written, oral, or diagram form; add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals; compute rate, ratio, and percent and draw and interpret bar graphs.
• Physical Requirements: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand and reach with hands and arms; walk; sit; stoop or kneel; crouch or crawl. Duties may involve risk resulting from attending to students' behavioral, physical or sanitation/hygiene needs.
• Work Environment: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Duties are normally performed in a school/classroom environment. Duties may be conducted in work-related community settings and/or performed while the student is transported to and from school and/or on study trips away from the school.