Paraprofessional - Transition

Paraprofessional - Transition

Full time 1.0, 100%, 7.7 Hours/Day, 177 Days Regular SUMMARY: Assist students with special needs to transition to their communities with the greatest level of independence. Please see the attachment for a list of job duties and requirements. Starting rate of pay is $20.52 per hour plus benefits. Range 13 - Classified Salary Schedule Benefits include: Health insurance, dental, life insurance, PERA retirement, paid time off, extended leave bank, as well as other optional benefit elections.

Thompson School District

Classified Job Description

Revised Date: March 2017

Work Year: 177 days

Department: Special Education

Reports To: Transition Specialist

Benefits include: Health, dental, and life insurance, PERA retirement, paid time off, extended leave bank, as well as other optional benefit elections.

About Thompson School District

The Thompson School District is the 17th largest school district in Colorado, encompassing 362 square miles and serving approximately 15,000 students. The district's territory includes Loveland and Berthoud, plus sections of Fort Collins, Windsor, Johnstown and unincorporated land in Larimer, Weld and Boulder counties.

TSD serves students in Pre-K through 12th grade with thirteen school-based preschool programs, a dedicated preschool building, two K-8 buildings, eighteen elementary schools, five middle schools, five high schools, two charter schools and one career campus. Teachers and administrators collaborate with families and community partners to ensure that students are college, career and community ready. Visit the district website at thompsonschools.org to learn more.

SUMMARY: Assist students with special needs to transition to their communities with the greatest level of independence.

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

• Plan shopping list, compare prices, purchase items, stock shelves in kitchen with new supplies.
• Teach students to safely operate kitchen appliances, utensils, and modify recipes. Encourage preplanning of meals to include healthily choices.
• Assist students in various levels of bathroom and hygiene needs.
• Assist students during meal times; includes monitoring for safety, assisting with feeding, and teaching socialization skills.
• Develop self-advocacy skills through role playing, practicing phone skills, requesting assistance when needed, etc.
• Build connections with public and students through education, modeling and situational exposures.
• Utilize household equipment properly, make adaptations when needed such as washer/dryer, vacuum, iron, microwave, etc.
• Monitor seizures, carry out written orders for occupational therapy/physical therapy adaptive equipment.
• Teach and educate students on various job skills. Coach and/or shadow students on their job site. Assist students with prevocational skill such as completing job applications and interview skills.
• Teach and assist students in accessing public transportation (e.g. operating a chair lift, securing wheelchairs, and teaching how to access bus routes)
• Teach various independent living skills such as accessing and using community resources for recreation and leisure.
• Perform clerical duties such as entering data for IEP's, tracking and documenting 1 data for Medicaid, tracking attendance, copying, filing, tallying lunch program money, etc.
• Attend trainings related to duties of paraprofessional positions as assigned by the Exceptional Student Services (ESS) Department. (Example: Restraint, CPR, First Aide, Assistive Technology and other district trainings)
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Job Qualifications

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.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, and ABILITY:

• Basic math, writing, communication, and accounting skills.
• Ability to work with special needs students.
• Operating knowledge of electric wheelchairs preferred at hire.
• Knowledge of basic independent living skills such as cooking, cleaning and money management.

Education And Training

High school diploma or equivalent, or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Experience

0 – 2 years experience in working with children with special needs and working in school setting.

Skills, Knowledge, & Equipment Certificates, Licenses, & Registrations

Must posses a valid Colorado driver's license. Small vehicles permit (district driver within two months of hire). CPR and First Aide certification preferred.

Supervision/Technical Responsibility

Assists with supervision of special needs students. Assists with carrying out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization's policies and applicable laws. Responsibilities include directing work; addressing complaints and resolving problems; training other paraprofessionals. Acts a resource for community in areas of adaptations, communications and education of special education services including training, demonstrating, and answering questions.

Safety To Self And Others

• In order to safely perform this position, the employee must be familiar with the safety rules of the job and participate in all safety training provided by the department.
• Employee must wear personal protective equipment whenever required, ask for assistance if the task requires more than one person and, if unsure how to perform a task safely, stop and ask supervisor for instruction before continuing.
• All employees of the District are responsible for maintaining a safe and healthy work place and ensuring that safety precautions and practices are followed. 2
• Employees are expected to immediately report any unsafe working conditions or safety problems to the immediate supervisor. Until corrective action is taken, ensure that the area or condition is restricted and that cautionary devices, i.e., cones, temporary fencing, floor signs, etc. are in place so that others are not affected or injured.

The physical demands described below are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Physical Demands

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to stand or walk. The employee is occasionally required to sit; climb or balance; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl; taste or smell. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY:

Thompson School District shall not discriminate in its employment or hiring practices on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability. The Superintendent is committed to cultural diversity among district personnel as a means of enriching educational experience. The District shall identify, solicit, and consider applicants for employment from a broad spectrum of qualified individuals who will contribute to that effort.

Note: This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all

duties, responsibility, or qualifications associated with the job.