Paraprofessional, Special Education Moderate Needs

VISION: To Engage, Equip, and Empower Each and Every Student, Each and Every Day.

SUMMARY: Operating under the general supervision of the assigned teacher and school leadership, this employee coordinates with the assigned school’s SpEd team to provide a variety of emotional, behavioral, and instructional support to students with significant behavioral development needs. Employee acts as a teacher resource working directly with students to instruct and demonstrate appropriate behavior as well as reinforce the D51 Learning Model through preparing and assisting with core lessons, participating in students’ reading or math programs, and other curriculum-based instruction. This position provides an environment in which students can feel safe in order to inspire them to improve behavior and reach specific behavioral and educational goals. The Moderate Needs Paraprofessional is also often a point of contact for the staff and students entering the classroom environment and the employee must work cooperatively to facilitate these interactions.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
EDUCATION AND RELATED WORK EXPERIENCE:

• High school diploma or equivalent required and;
• Preference given for additional credit hours in early-childhood education, education, or healthcare;
• Minimum two years of experience working with pre-adolescent children required; preference given for prior school district experience;
• Direct experience or knowledge of students who have significant disabilities preferred;
• Bilingual oral and written skills, English/Spanish, are desirable;
• Acceptable demonstration of education and/or experience is at the sole discretion of the district.

LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS or CERTIFICATION:

• Valid Colorado driver’s license or other form of identification required;
• Successful passing of criminal background check required for hire;
• Must be able to lift 35 pounds; Lift test required at time of hire and renewed every three years;
• Quality Behavioral Solutions certification (QBS) must be obtained within 60 days of hire;
• Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) certification required within 60 days of hire;
• Attend and successfully complete all staff development training as required by state law or as directed by supervisor.

TECHNICAL SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE & ABILITIES:

• Exceptional ability to stay calm and relaxed during situations in which student must be restrained or disciplined while demonstrating physically and/or verbally abusive behavior;
• Exceptional ability to be patient with and non-reactive to emotionally/verbally obloquy students;
• Strong ability to use de-escalation techniques and to defuse stressful and possibly volatile situations;
• Strong working knowledge of laws and statutes as outlined in the:
  • Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015),
  • Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA),
  • Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA, 1996);
• Well-developed oral communication skills in English, preference given for Spanish language skills;
• Well-developed interpersonal and relationship building skills with youth;
• Ability to maintain confidentiality in all aspects of the job, especially as related to student issues and information;
• Ability to work independently as needed with minimal direction and/or supervision;
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and frequent interruptions in a timely manner;
• Ability to be adaptable and flexible with critical thinking and problem-solving capabilities;
• Ability to promote and follow Board of Education policies, building and department 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.

MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT OPERATING KNOWLEDGE:

• Operating knowledge of and experience with personal computers and peripherals;
• Operating knowledge of and experience with typical office equipment, such as telephones, copier, fax machine, E-mail, etc.
• Operating knowledge of and experience with software programs for presentations, word processing, spreadsheets, and online computing platforms including G Suite and Office 365 integrated educational packages;

Salary & Benefits:
View all salary schedules for the current school year at: https://www.d51schools.org/departments111/human-resources/salary-schedules
Information regarding D51 Benefits can be found here: https://www.d51schools.org/departments111/human-resources/employee-benefits