To be responsible for developing, implementing and monitoring the educational program to improve all areas of functioning for students with severe/profound developmental challenges. The position includes working with all children in all age ranges including those with and those without disabilities where inclusive settings exist. Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
-
Assess within the students environment their specific functioning levels through observations, formal and/or informal testing, discussions with teacher assistants and other professional staff.
-
Train teacher assistants to perform all academic tasks and supervise their performance in the physical aspects of their jobs.
-
Develop appropriate educational goals and/or benchmarks for students based upon R. I. frameworks or New Standards using portfolio, electronic record, observation, formal and informal testing, and discussion with colleagues necessary to complete the alternate assessment.
-
Develop and implement weekly individual lesson plans based upon IEPs goals and objectives and submit on a weekly basis to the Special Education coordinator.
-
Participate as a member of the IEP team for Annual Reviews, and six-month reviews meetings and other pertinent meetings involving their students.
-
Complete all the required paper work, i.e. IEPs, quarterly progress reports, six-month reviews, three-year reevaluations and any other report requested for the benefit of the student.
-
Carry out and integrate recommended physical therapy, occupational therapy, nutrition, speech/language therapy, behavior plans, activities of daily living, feeding, etc. as needed to create a functional classroom setting and to meet individual benchmarks or goals.
-
Provide inclusive settings such as community based vocational programming and/or community activities for students in order to provide an opportunity to use skills learned in school over various settings while developing social skills.
-
Where the opportunity is provided, work in a collaborative and inclusive setting with children without disabilities, either on site or within the public schools or on a job site.
-
Provide information to parents about progress on IEP goals on a continual basis through daily communication, individual meetings, telephone conversations and brief reports as appropriate.
-
Provide access to a communication system for each child in the classroom at all times.
Peripheral Duties and Responsibilities:
-
Provide on-going training, encouragement and support to teacher assistants in the classroom to make them a part of the educational team.
-
Develop meaningful family contact through notes, phone calls, school visits or home visits in order to maintain consistency of programming in the home.
- Possess knowledge of the functioning of suctioning, trachs, oxygen usage, G-tubes, J-tubes, physical therapy equipment used in the classroom, and other relevant apparatus used by students.
-
Develop an understanding of childrens health issues in the classroom and work closely with nursing staff to inform them of any health concerns.
-
Establish a standard of cleanliness and orderliness for the classroom and train assistants to maintain this standard on a daily basis.
-
Maintain the classroom as an educational setting as opposed to rehabilitation or hospital setting, taking into consideration the needs of all students.
-
Demonstrate and model at all times the expected professional behavior of teachers.
-
Set a professional standard within the classroom and community to which teacher assistants can model.
-
Assist in the toileting, changing, feeding and care of children in the classroom.
-
Demonstrate the ability to work as a member of the educational team.
-
Monitor staff in universal precaution, proper lifting and feeding techniques on an on-going basis.
-
Provide a harmonious, respectful, professional and stimulating classroom environment for children and staff.
-
Encourage students to participate in all activities rather than relying on staff to complete the entire task or activities.
-
Maintain a practice that supports all work of the student is focused on process rather than product.
-
Provide choice making opportunities to children throughout the day, including lunch.
-
Other duties as assigned.