ED PARA,EX ED,C

Orange County Public Schools•Holden Heights, FL

About The Position

Under direct supervision, this position provides paraprofessional support in an educational or child care environment, assisting teachers and students. The employee 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. The role provides instructional, vocational, and developmental assistance to trainable and educable exceptional students, under the direction of a certified teacher or other school official. Duties are performed according to the needs of assigned students, and related work may be assigned.

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 educational 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, with broad familiarity with the physical and emotional behaviors and challenges of children with exceptional needs.
Demonstrated stress-management skills.
Ability to meet the dexterity and physical requirements of the work and effectively attend to the needs of school-age children.

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 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, as appropriate to individual development.
Monitor, observe, and chart student behavior, documenting behavioral changes, outbursts, and other student-specific actions.
Apply crisis-intervention principles and procedures for students with aggressive behavior or other social difficulties, including physical restraint when necessary in violent circumstances.
Reinforce school and classroom rules, acknowledge and encourage appropriate behavior, and help students understand inappropriate behavior.
Assist with lesson plans, behavior-modification plans, teacher pre-planning, learning activities, and the 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 as needed; and complete applicable forms, schedules, and instructional reports.
Assist teachers in supervising classroom learning activities and provide students with learning support.
Perform assigned monitoring duties in locations such as hallways, lunchrooms, restrooms, and buses; support appropriate student conduct and escort students to designated activities.
Provide assistance in assigned labs and instruction or information to students; translate lesson plans and other information when needed to support student understanding and comprehension.
Keep up to date on job-appropriate technology and attend district-supported training to maintain required technology skills.
Maintain timely and accurate information as part of job responsibilities.
Perform related duties as directed.