NORTH SMITHFIELD SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

JOB DESCRIPTION

TITLE:Instructional Assistant – Special Education

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Proof (i.e., certificate) of having met requirements of RIGL 16-11.2: “Qualifications for Teacher Assistants”
  
• High School Diploma.
  
• Skills and ability to meet the requirements of the duties assigned.
  
• Demonstration of patience, tact and professionalism in dealing with students, the public, teachers and administrators.
  
• Basic understanding of special education concepts and practices, and computers helpful.
  
• Ability to establish and sustain rapport with students with special needs.
  
• Ability to maintain strict confidentiality.
  
• As of January 8, 2006, meet one of the following 3 requirements:
  • Completed at least 2 years of study at an institution of higher education in an education-related field; OR,
    
  • Obtained an associate’s or higher degree in an education-related field; OR,
    
  • Meet a rigorous standard of quality and can demonstrate, through a formal state (ParaPro Assessment) or local academic assessment: knowledge and ability to assist in instructing, reading, writing, and mathematics; OR, reading, writing, and mathematics readiness (ESEA.)
• Evidence of successful completion of a RIDE-approved Teacher Assistant Training Program required

REPORTS TO:

• Director of Pupil Personnel Services
  
• Building Principal/Assistant Principal

PERFORMANCE RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Primary function is to work with student(s) with disabilities under the direction, supervision of certified personnel (primarily classroom teacher), to assist that (those) student(s) in reaching the goals indicated on their IEP.
  
• Assists students in attending to personal daily activities, routines, needs in order that they may participate in school (i.e., hygiene, toiletin
• , feeding, etc.)
  
• Assist students with independent remedial and/or enrichment activities as determined by the professional service provider (primarily classroom teacher.)
  
• Provides assistance under the direction of the professional service provider (primarily classroom teacher) to individual special education students or mixed groups of students with and without disabilities.
  
• Performs duties related to preparation and delivery of instruction as determined by the professional (primarily classroom teacher) to whom assigned.
  
• Participates in in-service training programs as warranted.
  
• Maintains ethical behavior in relation to confidentiality concerning special education students as required by mandates of state and federal law.
  
• Assists the professional service providers (primarily classroom teacher) as requested in maintaining documentation (i.e., pupil files, IEP reviews, etc.)
  
• Performs other duties which assist the professional service provider (primarily classroom teacher), as may be assigned.
  
• Assumes all other responsibilities as necessarily assigned by the Director of Pupil Personnel Services, Principal, or the Superintendent of Schools.

May involve lifting.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS
Environmental conditions are a means of describing the physical surroundings of a worker in a specific job. This position is performed in a school setting where the environmental conditions should have no effect on how the job is required. Noise – Level 3 – Moderate level of intensity.

TEMPERAMENTS
Temperaments for the purpose of collecting occupational data, are defined as personal traits required by a worker by specific job-worker situations. The temperaments required for this position include:

• Making Judgments – Adaptability to making generalizations, evaluations, or decisions based on sensory or judgmental criteria.
• People – Adaptability to dealing with people beyond giving and receiving instructions.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS
Physical demands are a way of describing the physical activities that a job requires. Rating Key:

• Occasionally – Up to 1/3 of the time.
  
• Frequently – From 1/3 to 2/3 of the time.
  
• Constantly – 2/3 of the time or more.

• Strength-Light-Lifting 50 pounds maximum with frequent lifting and/or carrying of objects weighing up to 10 pounds.

• Standing – (O)
  
• Sitting – (F)
  
• Walking – (F)
  
• Lifting – (O)
  
• Stooping – (O) – Bending the body downward and forward by bending the spine at the waist.
  
• Reaching – (F) – Extending the hand(s) and arm(s) in any direction.
  
• Handling – (F) – Seizing, holding, grasping, turning or otherwise working with hand or hands.
  
• Fingering – (F) – Picking, pinching, or otherwise working with fingers primarily.
  
• Talking – (F) – Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word.
  
• Hearing – (F) – Perceiving the nature of sounds by the air.
  
• Near Acuity – (F) – Clarity of vision at 20 inches or less.
  
• Far Acuity – (O) – Clarity of visions at 20 feet or more.
  
• Color Vision – (O) – Ability to identify and distinguish colors.
  
• Field of Vision – (O) – Observing an area that can be seen up and down or right to left when eyes are fixed on a given point.

GENERAL EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT
General educational development embraces those aspects of education (formal and informal) which contribute to the worker’s reasoning development and ability to follow instructions. This is education of a general nature. Ordinarily, such education is obtained in elementary school, high school, or college. However, it derives also from experience and self-study. Ratings are based on a low of “1” and a high of “6”.

REASONING – LEVEL 4
Apply principles of rational systems to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where limited standardization exists. Interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagrammatic or schedule form.

MATHEMATICS – LEVEL 3
Compute, discount, interest, profit, and loss; commission, markup, and selling price; ratio and proportion, and percentage. Calculate surfaces, volumes, weights, and measures. ALGEBRA: Calculate variables and formulas; monomials and polynomials; ratio and proportion variables; square roots and radicals. GEOMETRY: Calculate plane and solid figures; circumference, area, and volume. Understand kinds of angles, and properties of pairs of angles.

LANGAUGE – LEVEL 4
READING: Read novels, poems, newspapers, periodicals, journals, manuals, dictionaries, thesauruses, and encyclopedias. WRITING: Prepare business letters, expositions, summaries, and reports, using prescribed format and conforming to all rules of punctuation, grammar, diction, and style. SPEAKING: Participate in panel discussions, dramatizations, and debates. Speak extemporaneously on a variety of subjects.

SPECIFIC VOCATIONAL PREPARATION
For the purpose of rating jobs, training time is defined as the amount of general education development and specific vocational preparation needed for average performance on a job. Ratings are based on a low of “1” and a high of “9”. Level 4 is required for this position, which is over 3 months and up to and including 6 months.

APTITUDES
Specific capacities/abilities of an individual in order to learn or perform adequately in a task or job duty. Ratings are based on a low of “5” and a high of “1”.

• Intelligence: General learning ability – Level 3 – Average ability required.
  
• Verbal: Ability to understand meanings of words and ideas associated with them, and to use them effectively – Level 3 – Average ability required.
  
• Numerical: Ability to perform arithmetic operations quickly and accurately – Level 3 – Average ability required.
  
• Spatial Perception: Ability to comprehend forms in space and understand relationships of plane and solid objects – Level 4 – Below average ability required.
  
• Form Perception: Ability to perceive pertinent detail in objects or in pictorial or graphic material – Level 4 – Below average ability required.
  
• Clerical Perception: Ability to perceive pertinent detail in verbal or tabular matter – Level 3 – Average ability required.
  
• Motor Coordination: Ability to coordinate eyes and hands or fingers rapidly and accurately in making precise movements – Level 4 – Below average ability required.
  
• Finger Dexterity: Ability to move the fingers and manipulate small objects with the fingers rapidly and accurately – Level 4 – Below average ability required.
  
• Manual Dexterity: Ability to move the hand easily and skillfully – Level 3 – Average ability required.
  
• Eye/Hand/Foot Coordination: Ability to move the hand and foot coordinately with each other in accordance with visual stimuli – Level 5 – Below average ability required.
  
• Color Discrimination: Ability to perceive or recognize similarities or differences in colors, or in shades or other values of the same color or to identify a particular color – Level 3 – Average ability required.

Note:
The above description has been developed based on the guidelines as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (1990). Essential functions, tasks and activities were identified through on-site analysis and confirmation from the employer. This description is intended to indicate the kinds of tasks and levels of work difficulty that will be required of positions that will be given this title and shall not be construed as declaring what the specific duties and responsibilities of any particular position shall be. It is not intended to limit or in any way modify the right of any supervisor to assigned, direct, and control the work of employees under his/her supervision. The use of a particular expression or illustration describing duties shall not be held or exclude other duties not mentioned that are of similar kind or level of difficulty.