Job Details

Special Education Classroom Instructional Assistant I

The Special Education Classroom Instructional Assistant I provides assistance and motivation to students with disabilities. This position will provide assistance with health and behavior supports needed to allow our students to effectively access instruction in a variety of settings. This position will generally work with students who are working toward grade level standards and who spend part of the day in the general education environment.

Essential duties and responsibilities include the following:

• Work effectively with children having disabilities and special needs within general and special education classrooms and in varied settings. May work with one student or a small group of students.
• Communicate and work effectively with special education and classroom teachers, co-workers.
• Practice professional, legal, and ethical conduct toward students, parents, and co-workers.
• Motivate and assist student(s) to build self-esteem and independence, develop interpersonal and social skills, think independently, learn actively, and self-advocate.
• Use assistive technology, computers, and adaptive equipment providing special care or physical assistance required for the student to function in school and learn effectively.
• Gather and maintain accurate data regarding the student, including academic, behavioral, and/or health information, as needed, and providing feedback to the teacher to improve instruction for the student.
• Understand and appreciate diversity in children's skill and abilities, cultural heritage, lifestyles, values systems, and human rights.
• Maintain confidentiality with student information and student records.
• Implement prevention and response strategies as outlined in a student's Behavior Intervention Plan.
• Implement supports and services as outlined in a student's Individual Health Plan. This may include toileting, assisting with meals, and other self-care activities for students who spend a majority of their time in the general education setting.

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, education and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Education and/or Experience

Minimum education include a high school graduate and previous experience working with children. A paraeducator certification is preferred.

Communication Skills

Must possess the ability to communicate effectively with a variety of individuals and groups from all levels of the organization. Individual must have effective listening skills.

Analytical and Reasoning Skills

Ability to gather, collate, and/or classify data. Ability to work with a variety of data. Problem solving is required to identify issues and create action plans.

Physical Demands and Work Environment

May be required to lift up to 50 pounds frequently. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate. The employee may work inside or outside. The environment is usually fast paced with a great deal of movement throughout the day. Individuals must be able to engage in physical activity associated with active supervision of students.

Technology Skills

Must be able to use the computer, process electronic requests. Must be able to learn different communication devices from pictures/symbols to individual student augmentative communication devices. Able to retrieve and print information from various computer programs when needed.

Other Duties As Assigned

Will perform other duties as may be assigned by the superintendent or designee, necessary and appropriate to achievement of the program and/or District goals and objectives.

Under the Every Student Succeeds Act prior to starting, you must have one of the following:

• Two years of study at an institution of higher education;
• Associate degree or higher;
• Obtain voluntary certification through the Board of Educational Examiners (Paraeducator Certification); or
• Successful completion of ACT WorkKeys® (NCRC Assessment).

ACT WorkKeys® is a job skills assessment system that helps employers select, hire, train, develop and retain a high-performance workforce. This series of tests measures foundational and soft skills and offers specialized assessments to target institutional needs.

Successful completion of ACT WorkKeys® assessments in Applied Mathematics, Locating Information and Reading for Information can lead to earning ACT's National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC), a portable credential earned by more than 2.3 million people across the United States. If you are interested in taking the NCRC assessments, you may schedule a time at one of the Iowa WORKS Centers.

Non-Discrimination Statement

The Sioux City Community School District offers career and technical programs in the following areas: Business & Marketing, Family & Consumer Science, Health Science, and Industrial Arts, Technology, & PLTW. The Sioux City Community School District is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, genetic information (for employment), national origin, religion, age (for employment), disability, socioeconomic status (for programs), marital status (for programs), or veteran status (for employment) in its educational programs and its employment practices.