Paraprofessional, SpEd Grad K-2

The Academy•Westminster, CO

17h•Onsite

About The Position

The Academy is hiring a full-time Special Education Paraprofessional for grades K-2 for the 2026-2027 school year. The Academy of Charter Schools is a public PK-12 school of choice located in Westminster, Colorado. We pair a rigorous, content-rich curriculum with opportunities to explore strengths and passions to achieve the highest standards for all. Our mission is to help all students grow into college ready, exemplary citizens by combining academic mastery with personal empowerment to drive lifelong success. We serve our full community by intentionally developing a school culture that embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our approach to vertically aligning the full educational experience for our students from youngest to oldest centers around three notions – Prepare, Explore, and Empower – that keep us grounded in The Academy’s mission and vision as we set priorities and make decisions that impact instruction and school culture. At The Academy, employees embody our mission, vision, and values every day. They guide and support staff to prepare students for academic mastery by delivering evidence-based curricula; they collaborate with students, staff, and families to design student-centered learning experiences that create opportunities to explore strengths and passions; and they support the implementation of social-emotional skills lessons that empower students to become leaders of their own learning. Academy employees work hard to provide an engaging, inclusive, and joyful learning environment. They embrace relationships and positive communication with a diverse community of students, staff, and families while helping maintain a culture of high expectations for all. Experience in school environments, strong people skills, and ability to work within a team is required. The Academy is looking for committed leaders who are prepared to perform at a high level in a demanding environment. Some of the characteristics that make for a successful employee at The Academy include: A people-first, relationship-focused orientation, A growth mindset, A belief that ALL children can achieve at high levels, A passion for contributing to overall school success by working alongside and supporting others, A creative, innovative, and caring attitude, A spirit of openness, trust, and kindness, A dedication to data-driven practices, A highly motivated work ethic and willingness to tackle challenges, Comfort with being flexible, A sense of humor. At The Academy, we know that diversity makes us stronger and challenges us to think differently every day. The Academy provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, religion, sex, national origin, age, veteran status or disability. The online application should include a cover letter and resume. Candidate must meet the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requirements the first year of employment. The requirements are an Associates college degree, OR, completion of 48 college semester hours, OR passing of a State CDE approved paraprofessional examination. Hourly rate starting at $20.00 per hour, based on experience. 8 hour work days, Monday - Friday. School year starts August 12, 2026; school year ends May 27, 2027. Health Benefits - 100% paid for employees on select plans. PERA Retirement Benefits. Visit our website at www.theacademyk12.org. The Academy’s comprehensive benefits package includes a number of different plans for full-time employees. Refer to Employee Benefits Enrollment Guide for details at https://www.theacademyk12.org/about-us/working-for-us. Information on employee paid leave is also available at this same location. A Special Education Paraprofessional will support the students and service providers within the Special Education Department. Assist students by helping individuals or small groups of students with achieving reading, writing, and basic math skills, implementing instruction, reinforcing learning skills, and reinforcing school-wide discipline procedures. Assist instructor with preparation of classroom materials, monitoring students, and evaluating and recording student achievement.

Requirements

High School Diploma or equivalent.
Must meet the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Requirements, which are: AA or 2-year college degree, OR Completion of 48 college semester hours, OR Passing of state CDE approved paraprofessional examination
Criminal background check required for hire.
First Aid certification required within 30 days of entering position.
Must successfully complete Safety Training Class within 30 days of entering position.
Demonstrated skill in handling children
Ability to diffuse and manage stressful situations
Ability to maintain confidentiality in all aspects of the job
Knowledgeable in Colorado School Law, Authorizer policies, The Academy mission, philosophies, policies, and administrative procedures
Ability to communicate, interact, and work effectively and cooperatively with people from diverse ethnic and educational backgrounds
Ability to recognize the importance of safety in the workplace, follow safety rules, practice safe work habits, utilize appropriate safety equipment, and report unsafe conditions to the appropriate administrator
Operating knowledge of and experience with personal computers and peripherals
Operating knowledge of and experience with Microsoft Office applications

Nice To Haves

Experience working with school age children preferred
Operating knowledge of and experience with typical office equipment, such as telephones, copier, fax machine, e-mail, etc. preferred

Responsibilities

Co-teach small groups the in-resource room under the direction of Learning Specialists.
Pull small groups for testing.
Manage online programs.
Extrapolate lesson plans in reading and math; this includes organizing testing materials, organizing lesson materials, and supplements weekly.
Collect classroom IEP summaries from teachers at end of year and create new files for the upcoming year’s teachers.
Filing progress monitoring data and other data/info into IEP working files.
Email Notice of Meetings.
Mail Notice of Meetings, Consent for Evaluations/Parent Rights.
Finalize all IEPs (This includes print/copy and distribute Classroom Summaries to teachers, mail home copy, put original in master file, copy in sped classroom file, take out old IEP and shred)
Front load initial IEPs with demographic info, grades.
Manage work completion time for students on work completion goals including helping as needed, monitoring and recording the time spent in work completion.
Push-in to general education classes depending on caseload needs and scheduling. May provide general education student support in general education classrooms.
Monitors and supervises students during breaks, recess, time-outs, etc.
Assists with special projects.
May administer first aid and/or assist students to clinic or nurse.
May monitor and supervise students during teacher breaks, lunch, recess, time-outs, etc.
Perform other duties as assigned.