ED PARA,INTENSIVE DISAB,CTR SITES,C(ESE)

Orange County Public Schools • Pine Hills, FL

3d • Onsite

About The Position

Under direct supervision, provides assistance in the education, care, and development of students with severe disabilities. Performs instructional, clerical, and behavioral-management duties according to the exceptional needs of assigned students, under the direction of a certified teacher, guidance counselor, or administrator. Provides support with instruction, positive behavioral supports, crisis intervention, mobility, personal care, developmental activities, and monitoring students’ medical and social-emotional needs. May also perform monitoring duties, assist in labs, and help students understand lesson plans or other information. Performs related work as directed.

The role requires physical assistance with student transfers and daily living activities, including dressing, eating, toileting, diapering, grooming, and personal hygiene. Work may involve responding to aggressive behavior and exposure to violence when working with severely disabled or emotionally disturbed children. New hires must successfully complete ESE Training within 45 days of hire.

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 meet highly qualified status before beginning employment with Orange County Public Schools.
• At least two years of experience working with exceptional-needs school-age children (Pre-K through grade 12) in an educational environment; additional education may substitute for experience year for year.
• Strong stress-management skills and ability to fulfill the dexterity and physical requirements of the work and effectively attend to children’s needs.
• Ability to assist persons in carrying out specialized therapeutic or physical care plans and procedures.
• Ability to operate, maneuver, or control special-needs equipment and devices.
• Ability to evaluate and assess data using established criteria and exercise judgment in selecting approaches to problem resolution.
• Ability to communicate and use a wide variety of reference, descriptive, and advisory information.
• Depending on classroom assignment, ability to perform arithmetic, calculate decimals and percentages, use fractions, or interpret graphs.
• Ability to exert very heavy physical effort, including climbing, balancing, stooping, kneeling, crouching, crawling, and lifting, carrying, pushing, or pulling heavy objects up to 100 pounds and occasionally heavier items.
• Ability to meet the sensory demands of the work, including visual perception and discrimination; some tasks also require oral communication and the ability to perceive and discriminate sounds.
• New hires must successfully complete ESE Training within 45 days of hire.

Nice To Haves

• Previous vocational training or work experience in a licensed child-care environment.

Responsibilities

• Respond to internal and external customers in a timely, accurate, courteous, and empathetic manner, representing OCPS positively.
• Provide instructional, behavioral, and developmental assistance to students with severe disabilities as directed by a supervising teacher or other certified professional.
• Apply positive behavioral-support practices and assist students in learning problem-solving skills.
• Assist with behavior interventions, including monitoring and charting student behaviors.
• Use crisis-intervention principles with students who display aggressive behavior and may require physical restraint.
• Assist students arriving on buses, escort them to and from learning areas, physically transfer them from wheelchairs, and monitor their medical and social-emotional needs.
• Provide support and follow-up for students assigned to in-school suspension.
• Reinforce school and classroom rules, encourage appropriate behavior, and identify inappropriate behavior using a positive behavioral-support approach.
• Escort and provide one-on-one assistance during meals, restroom visits, and other activities throughout the school day.
• Assist with gross motor activities, including grasping, holding objects, posture, crawling, walking, and running, as appropriate to individual development.
• Assist with fine motor activities, including use of assistive devices and participation in job-skills and leisure-skills activities.
• Assist students with daily living skills, including dressing, eating, toileting and diapering, grooming, and personal hygiene.
• Assist the teacher in developing lesson plans, behavior intervention plans, and accommodations; contribute to and implement learning activities; and prepare instructional materials.
• Assist the teacher with collecting and reporting data for progress monitoring, progress reports, and IEP development and review.
• Perform assigned monitoring duties in locations such as hallways, lunchrooms, restrooms, and buses; support appropriate conduct and escort students to designated activities.
• When assigned to labs, assist teachers and provide instruction or information to students; translate lesson plans and other information when needed to support student understanding.
• Keep current with job-appropriate technology used by OCPS and attend district-supported training to maintain the required skill level.
• 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