Para Professional

The Salvation Army USA Central Territory•Chicago, IL

2d•$17 - $21

About The Position

The Para Professional serves pre-diagnosed preschool children with severe to moderate disabilities in Head Start/Child Care collaboration programs. The role supports teaching staff in the classroom and helps maintain a safe, supportive learning environment that promotes children’s physical development, communication, and participation. The employee works at assigned locations serving children with disabilities; locations may change based on program needs. The position is non-exempt and listed as RFT. It reports to the Teacher/Site Director and does not manage people. The Salvation Army offers a competitive benefits package for eligible employees, which may include medical, dental, vision, hearing, disability and life insurance, flexible spending accounts, 403(b) retirement accounts, a company-funded defined contribution pension plan, and generous time-off policies.

Requirements

High school diploma or GED equivalent.
One year of experience in a preschool setting.
Some experience with young children.
Good communication and interpersonal skills.
Ability to use initiative and work as a self-starter.
Positive attitude and flexibility in response to changing job situations and priorities.
Attention to detail.
Supportive of The Salvation Army’s mission.
Ability to perform light to moderate physical work and lift up to 40 pounds daily.
Ability to occasionally stoop, kneel, or crouch and frequently use standard classroom and office equipment and a PC.

Nice To Haves

Some knowledge of social service programs.

Responsibilities

Perform a safety check on each child every morning and demonstrate safe practices in the classroom.
Clean up water spills, empty and bleach the water table daily, minimize hazards, and report facility hazards to the Director.
Arrange classroom coverage before leaving the classroom when needed, and work with the Teacher or Assistant Teacher to supervise children.
Check children for potential hazards, such as untied shoelaces, and provide safety instructions, including walking rather than running and proper behavior on the bus.
Support children placed in Head Start and assist teaching staff in the classroom in their work with children with disabilities.
Assist the teacher in planning and implementing activities that promote the physical development of children with disabilities.
Maintain an environment conducive to the development of physical skills.
Promote children’s listening skills, clear articulation and language production, adult-child communication, and child-child communication.
Maintain a professional attitude and keep abreast of early childhood education practices.
Perform other duties as assigned.
Commit only Army resources that have been allocated or approved, keep the Teacher and Site Director informed about critical issues, and follow applicable policies and procedures.