This position is responsible for supporting and training students with moderate to severe disabilities by providing various career-based training assignments in the school and the community in order to identify the individual student’s interests.  In addition to the normal classroom aide supports and activities, duties include establishing travels routes to and from work assignment, providing task demonstrations, and assisting as needed with hand-over-hand job training and prompts. This position requires close supervision of students which includes the ability to keep up with running children and or to lift or assist with lifting students is essential to perform this task. An important aspect of the job is gaining knowledge of and implementing the assigned student’s Individual Education Plan goals and objectives as well as data collection and documentation of progress. Direct supervision is received from the Vocational Coordinator or  the assigned House Manager.

This position is classified as non-exempt and in accordance with the Federal regulations is eligible for overtime pay for hours worked in excess of forty (40) hours per week.  Note:  Overtime must be pre-approved and time off from work either paid or unpaid is not considered in determining hours worked in a week.

Other Performance Measures:

Successful performance on the job requires following safety guidelines and policies to reduce accident or injury to self or students, school dress standards, proper attendance and leave policies and compliance with other policies set forth in the Employee Handbook.  Creativity, initiative and effective problem solving is also important to the success of the incumbent.

Examples of Essential Functions

• Assists students on job sites with instruction, modeling and prompting as needed.
• Dispenses medication as indicated following training while in the community or on job site.
• Uses appropriate accommodations such as visual supports to allow students to access their environment.
• Assists students in traveling to and from job sites.
• Dresses appropriately for job sites as a role model to the students.
• Models appropriate behavior at the work site and within the community.
• Provides daily assistance to students in areas such as physical care, toileting, feeding, medication administration, mobility and other daily activities.
• Supports the teacher in all classroom and school activities, including functioning as a 1:1 aide or as general support to students in the classroom.
• Leads the classroom in the Teacher or Teaching Assistant’s absence as appropriate.
• Assists in supporting the positive supervision and instructional atmosphere of the class and all students.
• Helps prepare instructional materials for the teacher as needed.
• Assists with the supervision of students during emergency drills, assemblies, play periods and community-based instruction.  The ability to keep up with running children and or to lift or assist with lifting students is essential to perform this task.
• Maintains a professional relationship with parents, only communicating with the parent as per teacher request and never regarding behavior or learning issues.
• Maintains a professional, responsive and supportive relationship with the classroom teacher, staff and students.
• Reinforces skills introduced by the teacher and provides instruction to student as prescribed by the teacher; utilize games, stories or other construction activities to enhance learning skills as appropriate.
• Reports incidents to teachers and administration immediately; if the event involved the student’s safety, a written incident report is completed.
• Actively participates in the school swimming program, which includes wearing appropriate swimwear and assisting the assigned student while in the water.
• Attends weekly team meetings; participates in theme planning and shares ideas for activities.
• Attends weekly and special staff meetings and assumes responsibility for the verbal and written information provided at such meetings.
• Attends required evening meetings outside the school day including Back-to-School Night and Mid-Year Parent Conferences.
• Completes assigned paperwork and collects data as directed by the teacher.
• The essential functions of this position as described herein require the ability to exert moderate physical effort in light work, typically involving some combination of bending, stooping, squatting, reaching, kneeling, crouching, crawling and brisk walking, and which may involve lifting, carrying, pushing and/or pulling of objects and materials of moderate weight (45 lbs.).
• Most tasks require oral communication, visual and hearing perception, and the ability to get around the classrooms, cafeteria, gym, campus, etc. 
• Participates as a Committee Member on at least one School Committee.
• Other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications:

• Demonstrated ability to fulfill the dexterity and physical requirements of the work, and effectively attend to the needs of a student with intellectual disabilities
• Ability to apply principles to solve problems and deal with a variety of unpredictable situations where only limited standardization exists.
• Ability to work with individuals and small groups of students with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
• Ability to write routine reports and correspondence using English grammar and spelling.
• Ability to maintain effective working relationships with all employees.
• Ability to prepare and maintain required program records.
• Ability to assist supervising instructional staff in the preparation and/or organization of materials.
• Successful completion of the required training courses within a specified period of time
• Tuberculosis screening to assure no significant risk to the health and safety of others.
• Successfully passing a criminal background investigation and pre-employment and random drug screenings.

Sensory Requirements

Most tasks require visual perception and discrimination. Some tasks require oral communications ability. Some tasks require the ability to perceive and discriminate sounds.

Desired Educational Requirements covered under NCLB act.

Either successfully completing:

• an Associates Degree program; or

• completing 60 college credit hours; or

• the ParaPro assessment test administered by the Educational Training Service (ETS).

Minimum Acceptable Education and Experience:

High school diploma or GED certificate; previous relevant vocational training or paid work experience is preferred. A valid Driver’s License in MD, VA, or Washington, DC is required for this position.

Hours of Work 

7:50 AM to 3:10 PM – Monday

 7:50 AM to 4:00 PM – Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

Physical Demands: 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. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.