Instructional Assistant

GENERAL SUMMARY OF DUTIES:  Under direct supervision, the Instructional Assistant provides support in an educational environment, performing paraprofessional work in assisting teachers and students. The Instructional Assistant works with certified teachers, occupational/physical therapists, and other specialists in the education, development, and care of students with mild-to-moderate special needs. Performs related work as directed.   ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:  Provides developmental, instructional, and/or vocational assistance to students with special needs, as prescribed by the supervising teacher(s).  Assists students as they arrive on buses taking them to and from learning areas, which may include physically transferring students from wheelchairs to school desks or floor mats for participation in school activities.  Monitors activities and behavior of students to ensure the physical and environmental safety of students, as well as adherence to appropriate conduct and disciplinary controls.  Assists students with developmentally appropriate gross motor and/or fine motor activities; assists students with daily living skills as appropriate to individual development.  Applies effective principles and procedures of crisis intervention to students with aggressive behavior or other social difficulties; provides physical restraint if necessary for the safety of students.  Reinforces rules of the school and learning environment; acknowledges and encourages appropriate behavior and distinguishes inappropriate behavior for the students' understanding.  Assists the teacher(s) in the supervision of learning activities, circulating within the classroom and providing assistance and learning support to students. Provides instruction to students as prescribed by the supervising teacher(s) and reinforces skills introduced by the teacher(s); may utilize games, stories, or other constructive activities to enhance students’ learning skills. Assists the teacher(s) by noticing students’ language, math, and communication skills; monitors students’ progressive learning skills; makes the teacher(s) aware of students’ learning deficiencies; documents records of learning activities and diagnosis. May be asked to assist in the preparation of lesson plans and behavior modification plans; may be asked to provide input and assistance in the development of classroom learning activities; prepares or assists in the preparation of instructional and vocational materials.  Maintains accurate and complete records of student activities and behavior which may require the use of a computer to enter student information and data;  Assists in preparing classroom bulletin boards, classroom decorations, displays of student activities, and other classroom objectives. May be asked to prepare draft reports and to tentatively complete forms, schedules, and instructional reports, as directed.  Learns students’ assigned bus routes to assist with proper boarding of students. May be assigned monitoring duties, i.e., hallways, lunchroom, restrooms, and bus duty; ensures appropriate student conduct during these periods; escorts students to designated activity areas, i.e., music room, computer room, art classes, assemblies, etc.  May be assigned to various labs providing assistance to teachers and instruction/information to students; may translate lesson plans and other information to students for better understanding and comprehension.  Responsible for keeping up to date on current technology, as job appropriate, being used by Warren.  With the support of the district, attends training to ensure skill level in various technologies is at the level required to perform in current position.  Responsible for timely and accurate information they maintain as part of their job responsibilities.  Performs other duties as assigned by the supervisor or designee.   NON-ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:  While the following tasks are necessary for the work of the unit, they are not an essential part of the purpose of this position and may also be performed by other unit members.   Performs related duties as directed.    ENTRY-LEVEL REQUIREMENTS:  1.    EDUCATION/TRAINING: High School diploma or GED is required; an Associate’s degree or higher, or at least sixty (60) semester hours from an accredited institution of higher education is preferred (Official transcripts are required to validate education.)  2.    EXPERIENCE: Previous vocational training or work experience with school-age children with special needs is preferred.    4.    OTHER: Ability to perform the essential functions, meet the performance aptitudes, and fulfill the physical/sensory/environmental requirements of the job (with or without reasonable accommodations) is required. Understanding of the developmental, physical and emotional behaviors and challenges of students with moderate-to-profound intellectual, physical, and/or emotional disabilities; with demonstrated stress management skills; ability to fulfill the dexterity and physical requirements of the work, and effectively attend to special needs of school age children.    PERFORMANCE APTITUDES:   Data Utilization: Requires the ability to evaluate, audit, deduce, and/or assess data and/or information using established criteria. Includes exercise of discretion in determining actual or probable consequences, and in referencing such evaluation to identify and select alternatives.  Human Interaction: Requires the ability to apply principles of persuasion and/or influence.  Equipment, Machinery, Tools, and Materials Utilization: Requires the ability to operate, maneuver and/or control the actions of special needs equipment and devices, and standard office equipment.  Verbal Aptitude: Requires the ability to utilize a wide variety of reference, descriptive, and advisory data and information.  Mathematical Aptitude: Depending on the school grade classroom of assignment, may require the ability to perform addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division; may require ability to calculate decimals and percentages; may require ability to utilize principles of fractions and/or interpret graphs.  Functional Reasoning: Requires ability to carry out detailed but uninvolved written or oral instructions. Involves routine work according to clearly prescribed standard practices, with some latitude for independent judgment.  Situational Reasoning: Requires the ability to exercise the judgment, decisiveness and creativity required in situations involving the evaluation of information against sensory, judgmental, or subjective criteria, as opposed to that which is clearly measurable or verifiable.    PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS: Tasks involve the ability to exert very heavy physical effort in very heavy work, typically involving some combination of climbing and balancing, stooping, kneeling, crouching, and crawling, and the lifting, carrying, pushing, and/or pulling of heavy objects and materials (up to 100 pounds) and occasionally heavier items (100 pounds or over).   SENSORY REQUIREMENTS: Most tasks require visual perception and discrimination. Some tasks require oral communications ability. Some tasks require the ability to perceive and discriminate sounds.   ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS: Tasks are regularly performed with exposure to adverse environmental conditions, such as violence when working with developmentally disabled or emotionally disturbed children.