Instructional Aide - Special Education Inclusion

"Job Title: Instructional Aide, Special Education Inclusion
Wage/Hour Status: Nonexempt
Department: Curriculum & Instruction
Reports To: Campus Principal and Assigned Teacher(s)
Approved By: Board of Trustees

SUMMARY:
Help special education teacher provide for physical and instructional needs of students with disabilities in special education setting. Assist in implementation of classroom programs, including self-help, behavior management, and instruction programs. Work under general supervision of principal and immediate direction of certified teacher.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Instructional Support
Help teacher prepare instructional materials and classroom displays.
Help maintain neat and orderly classroom.
Help with inventory, care, and maintenance of equipment.
Help teacher keep administrative records and prepare required reports.
Provide orientation and assistance to substitute teachers.

Student Management
Assist students with physical disabilities according to their needs, including transferring to and from wheelchairs, lifting, or positioning.
Assist students with physical needs and personal care, including feeding, bathroom needs and personal hygiene.
Help manage behavior of students. This includes intervening in crisis situations and restraining disruptive or dangerous student behavior as needed.
Assume responsibility for learning and adapting to each student's special medical, physical, communicative, and emotional needs.
Work with individual students or small groups to develop motor skills and conduct instructional exercises assigned by teacher.
Help supervise students throughout the school day, inside and outside the classroom. This includes lunchroom, bus, and playground duty.
Keep teacher informed of special needs or problems of individual students.

Other
Maintain confidentiality.
Participate in staff development training programs to improve job performance.
Participate in faculty meeting and special events as assigned.
Exercise professional judgment in absences; be punctual to work, meetings, and appointments.
Perform other duties as assigned by the immediate supervisor.

EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE:
High school diploma or GED
Completed two (2) years of study at an institution of higher education; or
Obtained an Associate's Degree (Preferred)
Valid Texas educational aide certificate
Some experience working with children

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:
None

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS:
Certification, as required by the Texas Education Agency

LANGUAGE SKILLS:
Ability to read and comprehend simple instructions, short correspondence and memos. Ability to write simple correspondence. Ability to effectively present information in one-to-one and small group situations to administrators, teachers, peers, students, parents and the school community.

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 ABILITY:
Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out detailed but involved written or oral instructions. Ability to deal with problems involving a few concrete variables in standardized situations.

OTHER SKILLS AND ABILITIES:
Ability to work with children with disabilities. Ability to follow verbal and written instructions. Working knowledge of general office equipment. Ability to develop effective working relationships with students, staff and the school community. Ability to communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing. Ability to perform duties with awareness of all district requirements and Board of Education policies.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:
Occasional absences are understood but regular attendance is required.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to use wheelchair lifts and ramps. The employee must reach with hands and arms and is frequently required to stand, walk, sit, and talk or hear. The employee is occasionally required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools or controls and climb or balance.

Frequent stooping, bending, kneeling, crouching, crawling and regular heavy lifting of students is required of this employee. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, and peripheral vision. The employee needs to be able to tell where a sound is coming from and hear in a noisy environment.

The employee must maintain emotional control under stress.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:
The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate to loud at a standard acceptable level for this environment. The employee will encounter biological exposure to bacteria and communicable diseases and is frequently exposed to infection at a greater risk than the average person.