Ed Para,Ex Ed,C

Orange County Public Schools • Orlando, FL

1d • Onsite

About The Position

Under direct supervision, provides paraprofessional support in an educational or child care environment by assisting teachers and students. Works with certified teachers, occupational therapists, and other certified specialists to support the education, care, and development of students with mental, physical, emotional, and other special needs. Provides instructional, vocational, and developmental assistance to trainable and educable exceptional students according to their individual needs. Work is performed under the direction of a certified teacher or other school official. Duties may vary according to the exceptional needs of assigned students.

Requirements

• Associate’s degree or higher, or at least 60 semester hours from an accredited institution of higher education; an official transcript is required to validate education.
• Passing the paraprofessional certification exam may substitute for the education requirement for highly qualified status.
• Must be highly qualified before starting employment with Orange County Public Schools.
• At least two years of experience working with school-age children in an educational environment, providing broad familiarity with the physical and emotional behaviors and challenges of exceptional-needs children.
• Demonstrated stress-management skills.
• Ability to fulfill the dexterity and physical requirements of the work and effectively attend to the needs of school-age children.
• Ability to operate and control special-needs equipment and devices and standard office equipment.
• Ability to carry out detailed but routine written or oral instructions and use judgment in situations requiring evaluation of information.

Nice To Haves

• Previous vocational training or work experience in a licensed childcare environment.

Responsibilities

• Respond to internal and external customers in a timely, accurate, courteous, and empathetic manner, representing OCPS positively.
• Provide instructional, vocational, and developmental assistance to students with special needs as prescribed by the supervising teacher.
• Assist students arriving by bus and escort them to and from learning areas, including physically transferring students from wheelchairs to desks or floor mats.
• Assist students with gross motor activities, including grasping, holding objects, posture, crawling, walking, and running, as appropriate to individual development.
• Assist students with fine motor activities, including playing with toys, cutting materials, and coloring, as appropriate to individual development.
• Assist students with daily living skills, including dressing, eating, lavatory needs, grooming, and personal hygiene.
• Monitor, observe, and chart student behavior and document behavioral changes, outbursts, and other student-specific actions.
• Apply crisis intervention principles and procedures with students exhibiting aggressive behavior or social difficulties, including physical restraint when necessary in violent circumstances.
• Reinforce school and learning-environment rules; recognize appropriate behavior and help students understand inappropriate behavior.
• Assist with lesson plans, behavior modification plans, teacher pre-planning, development of learning activities, and preparation of instructional and vocational materials.
• Maintain accurate and complete records of student activities and behavior; enter student information and data using a computer terminal when required; complete forms, schedules, and instructional reports as directed.
• Assist teachers in supervising classroom learning activities and provide students with learning support.
• Perform assigned monitoring duties, such as hallway, lunchroom, restroom, or bus duty; support appropriate student conduct and escort students to activity areas.
• Assist teachers and students in assigned labs and, when applicable, translate lesson plans and other information to support student understanding.
• Keep current with job-related OCPS technology and attend district-supported training to maintain the technology skills required for the position.
• Maintain timely and accurate information as part of job responsibilities.
• Perform related duties as directed.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Associate degree