Ed Para,Intensive Disab,C (Ese)

Orange County Public Schools • Apopka, FL

20h • 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 under the direction of a certified teacher, guidance counselor, or administrator. Duties are carried out according to the exceptional needs of assigned students. Employees also perform related work as directed. The listed essential functions represent tasks performed within the classification and may not describe every assignment; management may assign other logical duties. The Orange County School District provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities who request them to perform the essential functions of the job.

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 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 providing broad familiarity with the physical and emotional behaviors and challenges of children with severe disabilities; additional education may substitute for experience year for year.
• Strong stress-management skills.
• Ability to meet the dexterity and physical requirements of the work and effectively attend to the needs of school-age children with special needs.
• New hires must successfully complete ESE Training within 45 days of hire.
• Ability to assist people with specialized therapeutic or physical care plans and procedures.
• Ability to operate, maneuver, or control special-needs equipment and devices.
• Ability to exercise judgment, decisiveness, and creativity when evaluating information and resolving problems.
• Ability to exert very heavy physical effort, including lifting, carrying, pushing, or pulling objects up to 100 pounds and occasionally heavier items; work may involve climbing, balancing, stooping, kneeling, crouching, and crawling.
• Visual perception and discrimination are required; some tasks require oral communication and the ability to perceive and discriminate sounds.

Nice To Haves

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

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 basic positive behavioral support practices and assist students in developing problem-solving skills.
• Assist with behavior interventions, including monitoring and charting student behaviors.
• Apply crisis-intervention principles when students display aggressive behavior and may require physical restraint.
• Assist students arriving by bus, escort them to and from learning areas, transfer them from wheelchairs, and monitor their medical and social-emotional needs.
• Provide support and follow-up for assigned students with severe disabilities in in-school suspension.
• Reinforce school and learning-environment 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 school-day activities.
• Assist with gross motor activities, including grasping, holding objects, posture, crawling, walking, and running, as appropriate to students’ development.
• Assist with fine motor activities, including use of assistive devices, job skills, and leisure skills, as appropriate to students’ development.
• Assist with daily living skills, including dressing, eating, toileting and diapering, grooming, and personal hygiene.
• Assist teachers with lesson plans, behavior intervention plans, accommodations, learning activities, and instructional materials.
• Assist teachers in collecting and reporting data for progress monitoring, progress reports, and IEP development and review.
• Perform assigned monitoring duties in areas such as hallways, lunchrooms, restrooms, and buses; ensure appropriate conduct and escort students to designated activity areas.
• Assist teachers and provide instruction or information to students in assigned labs; translate lesson plans and other information when assigned to support student understanding.
• Keep current with job-relevant OCPS 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.

What This Job Offers

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