QUALIFICATIONS 

Must hold an Associate's Degree or have passed the Paraprofessional Exam.  Must have the ability to assist in the implementation of behavioral intervention programs for children with emotional/behavioral disorders and maintain student disability records in a highly confidential manner.  Have a good knowledge of and understanding of child growth, development and paraprofessional instructional procedures and practices. Considerable patience and the ability to work effectively with children with disabilities, young adults and faculty members are essential.

GENERAL STATEMENT OF DUTIES

The Special Education Teacher's Assistant performs a variety of instructional support tasks which assists teachers and/or other professional staff working with pre-K children in the Early Childhood Special Education classroom in the preschool setting.  The teaching assistant provides instructional support to teachers in the daily management and instruction of students, and personal care needs of students (i.e. mobility needs; toileting; hygiene; etc.).  An employee assigned to positions in this class is responsible for performing instructional and clerical tasks to relieve teachers of routine activities and to help carry out daily classroom activities.  As a paraprofessional, non-licensed classification Teaching Assistants may, with supervision from a teacher or a principal, assist with the preparation of lesson plans, implement lesson plans, and initiation of new lessons as instructed. However, they may not have final responsibility for assessment, evaluation, and grading of students.

If hired, you must complete online autism training.  For information regarding the training and to complete the training modules please visit, www.vcuautismcenter.org.

GENERAL DUTIES (May not include all duties performed)

• Assists assigned classroom teacher(s) in conducting instructional programs, directing games and fine-motor activities, physical exercise programs, or otherwise works with the teacher to provide instructional or developmental activities for a general, alternative or special education setting.
• Distributes and collects materials, sets up classroom, learning centers, etc. for instructional projects, and sets up and operates audio-visual equipment.
• Works with students requiring individual or close attention in math, reading or other subject or activity areas, individually or in small “pull-out” groups.
• Monitors groups of students engaged in instruction and/or activities.
• Participates in the assessment of individual students’ needs and progress and assists the teacher in developing appropriate individualized programs.
• Participates in monitoring, teaching computer-assisted instructional programs and activities; assists in computer maintenance activities.
• Assists in providing a safe environment by monitoring students during arrival and dismissal.
• Continues instruction and activities during the teacher's absence from the classroom.
• Assists with classroom management, including crisis intervention.
• Supervises students in halls and classrooms, during lunch period, and student breaks; may eat lunch with students and provides physical and instructional assistance as needed.
• Monitors students' daily schedules and behavior plans (e.g. class schedule, toileting, medication, appetite, etc.) for the purpose of maintaining a safe and positive learning environment.
• Supervises playground activities, monitors students in cafeteria, during rest period, coming on and off busses, or as they go to and from classes.
• Participates in staff meetings, work-shops, in-service training sessions as assigned.
• Monitors students engaged in independent study, or similar work while teacher is otherwise occupied; oversees small student groups away from classroom or whole class while teacher is temporarily away from classroom as needed.
• Performs other classroom or school wide clerical tasks, such as preparing, compiling, or making copies of instructional materials and reports, typing and filing classroom or student records, or distributing and inventorying textbooks and other instructional materials as assigned.
• Assists students with personal care and other specific student needs (i.e. toileting; hygiene; mobiility needs; etc.).
• Performs other related work as assigned.

SUPERVISION

Employee reports directly to the School Principal

WORK CONDITIONS

Duties performed are typically in the school setting.  Performs professional work providing support and consultative services for assigned department/program. Work requires frequent standing, sitting, walking, and light lifting, up to 50 lbs.  Some assignments are subject to deadlines inherent in tailoring and delivering programs to meet the needs of diverse groups. Some assignments may involve exposure to risks associated with interactions with parents and students in heightened emotional states. Employees may be required to perform emergency and non-emergency health-related services for students as needed.