SpEd Paraprofessional - Significant Support Needs - Behavior / Medical Support

Academy School District 20•Colorado Springs, CO

12d•Onsite

About The Position

The SpEd Paraprofessional supports special education students in day-to-day learning activities under the supervision of a teacher and does not make diagnostic or long-term educational decisions. The role supports the principal and classroom teachers in implementing Significant Support Needs (SSN) programs and maintaining a positive, safe learning environment. The paraprofessional assists licensed special education teachers, therapists, nurses, and other evaluative staff in implementing goals for students with severe or profound disabilities. Assignments may take place in non-traditional learning environments, including off-campus work sites. The position addresses the current needs of students at the specified school; if those needs change, the employee may be reassigned to another school during the school year. Duties include supporting instruction and IEP goals; assisting with feeding, personal care, mobility, medical tasks, and emergency care; monitoring behavior and implementing appropriate crisis-intervention techniques; supporting students in classrooms and community-based settings; collecting assessment data; maintaining student files and records; and assisting with classroom materials, equipment, and clerical work. The employee must maintain required certifications and participate in training and meetings as required. The position is based primarily in a classroom, with occasional work in homes, schools, offices, job sites, or other settings. The work environment may vary from quiet to loud and may involve exposure to bodily fluids, illness, high noise, conflict, or student medical emergencies. The role includes physical tasks such as assisting with student self-care and transfers, lifting, and physical restraint when necessary and permitted by training. The schedule is 7.5 hours per day, 37.5 hours per week, Monday through Friday, for 176 days per year.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent.
Ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing and interact professionally with students, adults, families, coworkers, administrators, and the public.
Ability to follow oral and written instructions, maintain confidentiality, and work independently without direct supervision.
Ability to manage simultaneous demands, set priorities, and adapt to changing technologies and equipment.
Ability to create, access, enter, retrieve, and manipulate information in software systems; computer proficiency, including office productivity applications.
Ability to maintain accurate records, document management, and filing systems.
Knowledge of office methods and procedures, district policies and functions, and special education programming and related legal requirements as applicable to assigned students.
Ability to work effectively with diverse individuals and as part of a team; strong cooperative, collaborative, problem-solving, organizational, interpersonal, written, listening, and verbal communication skills.
Commitment to students’ education; student-centered and relationship-focused approach; detail orientation, flexibility, creativity, initiative, and effective time management.
Understanding of data privacy laws and their implications for the educational community.
Willingness to attend professional learning and ongoing training, including CO-TOP opportunities, OT-PT training, student-specific training, and training to carry out delegated nursing practices.
Ability to work the days, hours, locations, and assignments directed by the supervisor within the position responsibilities.
Ability to meet students’ physical and self-help needs, including toileting, feeding, dressing, transfers, and physical escort or restraint following applicable training and guidelines.
Ability to safely lift 50 pounds; assist with student lifting, including a two-person lift, and perform other physical tasks such as walking, stooping, kneeling, crouching, climbing stairs or ladders, and reaching and grasping.

Responsibilities

Report consistently for scheduled work, perform other assigned duties, and attain proficient or higher evaluations on established performance standards.
Obtain and maintain certifications needed to support students with special needs.
Assist with meal preparation, feeding, and clean-up while supporting students’ communication, oral motor, sensory integration, and physical IEP goals.
Carry out instructional programs and lessons in designated learning environments and reinforce teacher-introduced material with small groups under teacher supervision.
Assist with student medical tasks, including medication, tube feeding, catheterization, toileting, diapering, and suctioning; clean and disinfect bodily fluids and sanitize equipment and materials.
Work with confidential special education student information and maintain student files and records.
Maneuver and secure wheelchairs; assist students with dressing, moving between rooms, lavatory use, and other physical tasks; use physical therapy support equipment.
Provide initial first aid or emergency care.
Monitor behavior contracts and reward systems and use trained Nonviolent Crisis Intervention techniques when appropriate.
Assist with non-standardized testing; develop games and teaching aids; tutor students; and support recitation, reading, and other curriculum tasks.
Assist students with materials and equipment, coordinate assignments or job tasks with teachers and employers, and work with students individually or in groups.
Support students in the library, classroom, community-based settings, and other assigned environments; conduct story time and monitor students during recess, hall duty, passing periods, and bus loading.
Supervise students using computer programs, swimming pools, weight rooms, or therapy pools as assigned.
Attend required pre-job and ongoing training and meetings, including training related to occupational and physical therapy and specific student needs.
Serve as a resource to the student personnel evaluation team regarding assigned students as needed.
Work with teachers to integrate assistive technology into classrooms.
Maintain, order, and organize program materials and equipment; collect data for assessment and monitoring; complete daily paperwork and clerical duties; laminate materials and prepare bulletin boards as needed.