Special Education Aide Specialized Support/Structured Communication (SSC)

Ysleta Independent School District•El Paso, TX

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Special Education Aide provides physical and instructional support to individual students with disabilities in and outside the classroom. The aide assists with implementing Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), including self-help, behavior-management, and instructional programs, and works under the general supervision of the principal and the immediate direction of a certified teacher. The role requires adherence to federal and state laws and district policies, procedures, and regulations. The aide supports students with severe developmental and communication delays, limited social interaction, and behavioral concerns. Responsibilities include helping students work toward individual instructional goals, reinforcing teacher-led instruction, supporting social and emotional learning, and assisting with augmentative communication and adaptive or assistive devices. The position also includes student supervision, personal care, mobility assistance, documentation of services, equipment and classroom support, and providing orientation and assistance to substitutes. Additional virtual and online duties may be assigned, including participating in a virtual classroom and communicating with district stakeholders during regular school business hours. Attendance at the work site is required to meet the essential functions of the position. This is a Paraprofessional Level 205 assignment lasting 187 days.

Requirements

High school diploma or GED or higher.
Forty-eight hours of credit from an accredited college or university.
Experience working with students and parents.
Must possess or be eligible to obtain a paraprofessional certificate issued by the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC).
Obtain CPR, Heimlich maneuver, and Non-Violent Crisis Intervention (NCI) certifications through the available district training calendar.
Familiarity with or ability to use Occupational Therapy/Physical Therapy (OT/PT) apparatus.
Ability to communicate, listen, read, write, and comprehend English sufficiently for everyday communication.
Ability, skill, patience, and understanding to work with students who have disabilities.
Ability to assist in lifting and carrying students with disabilities weighing approximately 50 to 175 pounds, depending on age level, and to push or pull wheelchairs or walkers and assist with personal hygiene.
Ability to perform frequent bending, reaching, standing, kneeling, and squatting.
Subject to the district’s drug and alcohol screening policy and regulation.
Submit transcripts from an accredited college or university as a required application document.

Responsibilities

Supervise students throughout the school day, inside and outside the classroom, including lunchroom, bus, and playground duty.
Assist the teacher with instructional-material preparation, behavioral interventions, and students’ physical needs.
Participate in staff-development training and apply learned strategies to the curriculum.
Work with individual students, small groups, and the whole class as assigned by the teacher.
Support students with severe developmental and communication delays, limited social interaction, and behavioral concerns in implementing modifications and mastering individual instructional goals.
Reinforce skills and instructional units taught by the teacher.
Follow each student’s IEP under the assigned teacher’s supervision, including documenting services provided.
Help manage student behavior, intervene in crisis situations, and restrain disruptive or dangerous students as needed.
Assist with testing measurement instruments and technology integration into the curriculum.
Incorporate social and emotional learning, behavioral strategies, and social-skills development into daily activities.
Assist with filing, copying, inventory, equipment maintenance, and SHARS billing as required.
Assist students and teachers in using augmentative communication and adaptive or assistive devices as appropriate.
Support students’ individual needs, including transfers to and from wheelchairs, lifting and positioning, interpreting instructions, and providing personal care such as feeding, toileting, diaper changing, and hygiene assistance.
Provide orientation and assistance to substitutes.
Meet with teachers, administrators, and special-education support staff to evaluate and assist with student progress.
Attend the work site as required to perform essential job functions.
As assigned, help create and participate in a virtual classroom conducive to learning and students’ physical, social, and emotional development.
As assigned, be available by phone, email, or video conference during regular school business hours to confer with district stakeholders.
Participate in required district professional-development activities, follow established safety procedures, support district and department goals, maintain professional ethics, and perform other duties as assigned.