SPED DSC/LSC Instructional Assistant

Job Description

To qualify for instructional assistant positions, candidates must meet one of the following criteria:

• Passing score on the ParaPro exam (457)
• Minimum of 48 semester hours of college credit from a regionally accredited college or university, with at least 15 of those credits dedicated to language arts (3 hours), mathematics (3 hours), writing (3 hours), and reading, writing, math readiness, or professional education (6 hours).

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

• Assist in classroom management routines.
• Accompanies the teacher on home visits, as necessary.
• Under the supervision of the teacher, direct IEP related activities of students.
• Under the supervision of the teacher, prepare classroom for activities.
• Aids in preparing class displays and bulletin boards.
• Keep equipment/materials used by students clean and in good condition.
• Maintain a professional working relationship with employees and students.
• Assists the teacher with all classroom activities.
• Assists the teacher in duties relating to supervision of playground, cafeteria, in-class, feeding, personal care of students, bus loading and other school related activities.
• Participate in in-service activities.
• Ride special education bus as assigned.
• Aids with the physical training and care of students with disabilities: exercises, putting into/removing from wheelchairs, diaper changes, bathing, etc. as directed by the IEP, teacher or related staff.
• Aids with monitoring/documentation of behavior and implementation of behavioral interventions and care of students with disabilities as directed by the IEP, teacher or related staff.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Capable of lifting children as needed.

Education And Experience

• High school diploma or general education degree (GED); or one to three months related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Completion of 48 semester hours of academic credit that includes 15 semester hours in language arts, reading, writing, mathematics or professional education (earned from a nationally or regionally accredited college/university).
• Passage of Educational Assistant Assessment (ParaPro, ParaEducator, and Basic Skills).

Mathematical Skills

• Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals.
• Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent and to draw and interpret bar graphs.

Reasoning Abilities

• Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form.
• Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations.

Physical/Mental Demands

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl and talk or hear.
• The employee frequently is required to stand; walk; use hands to handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; and climb or balance.
• The employee is occasionally required to sit and taste or smell, stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl.
• The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 100 pounds.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.
• Lift students in and out of wheelchairs, physical therapy equipment, on and off changing table and mats.
• Patience and acceptance of children with Special Educational needs.
• Maintains emotional control under stress.

Work Environment

• The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.
• The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Benefits

• We offer a complete benefits package through ALFAC, Allstate and NMPSIA to full-time employees including health care, dental, vision, long-term and short-term disability, life insurance, retirement, deferred compensation plans, flexible spending accounts, holidays, and general leave.