Bus Assistant - (Pool Posting, Transportation Central)

FLSA CLASSIFICATION: Non-Exempt

COMPENSATION PLAN: Educational Support Personnel

PAY RANGE: Range 5

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SUPERVISOR: Operations Supervisor or designee

LAST UPDATED: 2020/2021

JOB SUMMARY: Collaborate with bus drivers by monitoring and assisting students with special needs to ensure safe, efficient, courteous, and customer-service oriented experience for students, parents/guardians, and staff.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: The following tasks describe the basic functions of the job and represent the type of work performed. They do not constitute an exhaustive list of the duties and responsibilities performed on the job. The following frequencies and percentage of time spent are approximations only and are subject to flexibility dependent on organizational needs.

• Consistently monitor students with varying special needs during the bus ride. Assess any medical or behavioral situation and take safety steps accordingly; identify problems and act quickly, safely, and according to District protocol and guidelines. Provide initial first aid/emergency care when needed. Exemplify understanding of and compassion and tolerance for students’ physical conditions and lack of body function control. [Daily, 35%]
• Provide emotional and behavioral support and physically assist students with a variety of special needs and disabilities with entering/exiting the bus, walking, sitting, securements, backpacks, etc. Use a variety of equipment to ensure students are safely and comfortably secured. May include but not limited to: wheelchair lifts, securements, vests, seatbelts, integrated seats, etc. [Daily, 20%]
• Safely secure wheelchairs on board the bus without compromising wheelchair structure. Identify and execute emergency release mechanism if necessary. Properly adjust a student’s safety vest and its attachments and properly position student adjustments of wheelchair and car seats. Maintain and replace District equipment as needed. [Daily, 20%]
• Perform pre- and post-trip vehicle inspections with the bus driver. [Daily, 5%]
• Clean up and properly dispose of body fluids in a designated disposal site. Safely clean and sanitize windows, seats, floor, seat belts, and tie-downs. [Daily, 5%]
• Communicate student information to the bus driver, parents/guardians, and/or teachers when needed. Prepare and submit all required records and reports in a timely and acceptable manner. Maintain the students’ emergency card book that contains confidential information. [Daily, 5%]
• Collaborate with the bus driver to formulate an emergency evacuation plan. Execute emergency evacuation procedures if necessary, which may include stopping and securing the vehicle in the event the bus driver is incapacitated, and utilizing bus equipment including but not limited to the bus radio, emergency signal lights, first aid kit, and fire extinguisher. Read maps of area and know route directions to assist any substitute bus driver. Work as a team with the bus driver to best service the affected student(s) while confined to small spaces. [Monthly, 4%]
• Maintain all required certifications and participate in regularly scheduled training meetings. [Annually, 2%]
• Perform other related duties as assigned or requested. [Daily, 5%]

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: The minimum amounts of formal education, professional work experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities that must be met for a candidate to be considered for a position

• High School Equivalency (HSE) diploma 
• Intermediate verbal and written communication skills
• Intermediate interpersonal relations skills
• Intermediate organizational skills
• Ability to consistently report for scheduled work
• Ability to learn and master skills related to transporting students with special needs
• Ability to diffuse and manage stressful situations
• Ability to maintain confidentiality in all aspects of the job
• Ability to demonstrate emotional stability with challenging situations
• Ability to work within a moving vehicle for up to four hours
• Ability to work in existing and varying weather conditions
• Ability to work alone and with others
• Ability to maneuver heavy wheelchairs (manual and electric) that total weight up to 800 pounds. Criminal background check and fingerprinting required for hire

MINIMUM CERTIFICATIONS AND LICENSES: The minimum certifications and licenses that must be met, valid, and unexpired for a candidate to be considered for a position

• CPR and First Aid certifications within 90 days of hire

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS: Any job-related formal education, professional work experience, knowledge, skills, abilities, certifications, licenses, and other criteria that are inessential and in addition to the minimum qualifications, certifications, and licenses

• Associate’s degree
• Bus assistant, passenger bus driving, or work with special needs children in a paid program
• Experience working directly with people from diverse racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds
• Racially conscious and culturally competent with the skill, will, capacity, and knowledge to commit to a culture of continuous improvement

PHYSICAL AND MENTAL DEMANDS: The physical exertion, cognitive capacities, and work environments required to perform a position’s duties and responsibilities

• Heavy work strength level (lifting or carrying up to 100 pounds) 
• Works both indoors and outdoors
• Work requires maneuvering heavy wheelchairs (manual and electric) that total weight up to 800 pounds with student/chair combined (e.g. maneuvering up ramps, over curbs, and around the inside of a bus)
• Frequent bending, reaching, squatting, and climbing
• Eye/hand coordination
• Visual concentration
• Concentrated reading/writing/mathematics
• Prolonged standing and walking
• Overhead work
• Occasional lifting, pulling, and pushing
• Work within a moving vehicle for up to four hours
• Work in any existing weather conditions

This position is represented by the Cherry Creek Transportation Employees’ Association (CCTEA).