Speech Language Pathologist

Watson Chapel School District

Speech Language Pathologist

Department: TBD


Job Status: Full Time


FLSA Status: Exempt


Reports To: Director of Special Education


Grade/Level: K-12 Certified


Amount of Travel Required: Varies


Job Type: Regular


Positions Supervised: None


Work Schedule:


190-day contract. Teachers are on-duty for 7 hrs, 40 minutes per day but may periodically be required to attend after-school or evening events as a normal expectation of their position.


POSITION SUMMARY


Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) work to prevent, assess, diagnose, and treat speech, language, social communication, cognitive-communication, and swallowing disorders in students.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
• Speech disorders occur when a person has difficulty producing speech sounds correctly or fluently (e.g., stuttering is a form of disfluency) or has problems with his or her voice or resonance.
• Language disorders occur when a person has trouble understanding others (receptive language), or sharing thoughts, ideas, and feelings (expressive language). Language disorders may be spoken or written and may involve the form (phonology, morphology, syntax), content (semantics), and/or use (pragmatics) of language in functional and socially appropriate ways.
• Social communication disorders occur when a person has trouble with the social use of verbal and nonverbal communication. These disorders may include problems (a) communicating for social purposes (e.g., greeting, commenting, asking questions), (b) talking in different ways to suit the listener and setting, and (c) following rules for conversation and story-telling. All individuals with autism spectrum disorder have social communication problems. Social communication disorders are also found individuals with other conditions, such as traumatic brain injury.
• Cognitive-communication disorders include problems organizing thoughts, paying attention, remembering, planning, and/or problem-solving. These disorders usually happen as a result of a stroke, traumatic brain injury, or dementia, although they can be congenital.
• Swallowing disorders (dysphagia) are feeding and swallowing difficulties, which may follow an illness, surgery, stroke, or injury.

Additionally, SLPs:
• Provide augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems for individuals with severe expressive and/or language comprehension disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder or progressive neurological disorders.
• Work with people who don't have speech, language, or swallowing disorders, but want to learn how to communicate more effectively (e.g., work on accent modification or other forms of communication enhancement).
• Prepare paperwork for Medicaid Billing
• Conduct Speech Evaluations
• Prepare IEP Paperwork
• Other duties as assigned

Reasonable Accommodations Statement


To accomplish this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform, with or without reasonable accommodation, each essential function satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to help enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.


Essential Functions Statement(s)
•Exhibit knowledge of content and content-related pedagogy.
•Ensure students are actively engaged in learning.
•Demonstrate care and respect when interacting with students.
•Manage classroom procedures with limited loss of instructional time.
•Exhibit knowledge of child/adolescent development.
•Meet with parents and guardians to discuss their children's progress and to determine priorities for their instructional and developmental needs.
•Develop and administer assessments of rigor that match standards of learning.
•Confer with parents or guardians, teachers, counselors, and administrators to resolve students' behavioral and academic problems.
•Guide and counsel students with adjustment or academic problems, or special academic interests.
•Enforce all administration policies and rules governing students.
•Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
•Meet with other professionals to discuss students' needs and progress.
•Confer with other staff members to plan and schedule lessons promoting learning, following approved curricula.
•Prepare reports on students and activities as required by the administration.
•Select and use appropriate resources.
•Plan assignments for teacher assistants, volunteers, and substitute teachers.
•Attend professional meetings, educational conferences, and professional development sessions to maintain and improve professional competence.
•Reflect on practice and make adjustments for professional growth.
•Attend staff meetings and serve on committees, as required.
•Administer standardized ability and achievement tests and interpret results to determine student strengths and areas of need.
•Collaborate with other teachers and administrators in the development, evaluation, and revision of elementary school programs.
•Ensure appropriate accommodations to the curriculum, lessons and learning environment. Instruction may be provided within the regular classroom setting, resource setting, and/or small classroom setting for areas in which the teacher has specialized training or preparation.
•Select, store, order, issue, and inventory classroom equipment, materials, and supplies.
•Sponsor extracurricular activities such as clubs, student organizations, and academic contests; conduct fundraising activities consistent with district policies and procedures.
•Perform student supervisory duties such as assisting on the playground, in cafeterias, and early morning or after school car/bus loading and unloading.
•Plan and set sequential outcomes with rigor and high expectations.
•Exhibit knowledge of individual students' knowledge, skills, and special needs.
•Adhere to student Individualized Education Program (IEP).
•Respond appropriately to student behavior.
•Provide timely, consistent, high-quality feedback to students.
•Reflect on practice and make adjustments for professional growth.
•Maintain professionalism with staff members.
•Report to the proper authorities any cases of suspected child endangerment, neglect, or abuse.
•Report suspected bullying to the building principal or designee as required by Arkansas law and district policies.
•Adhere to all policies of the District.
•Perform other duties as assigned by the Principal or Assistant Principal.


POSITION QUALIFICATIONS

Competency Statement(s)
•Accountability - Ability to accept responsibility and account for his/her actions.
•Accuracy - Ability to perform work accurately and thoroughly.
•Adaptability - Ability to adapt to change in the workplace.
•Communication, Oral - Ability to communicate effectively with others using the spoken word.
•Communication, Written - Ability to communicate in writing clearly and concisely.
•Conflict Resolution - Ability to deal with others in an antagonistic situation.
•Creative - Ability to think in such a way as to produce a new concept or idea.
•Decision Making - Ability to make critical decisions while following district procedures.
•Detail Oriented - Ability to pay attention to the minute details of a project or task.
•Diversity Oriented - Ability to work effectively with people regardless of their age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, or job type.
•Energetic - Ability to work at a sustained pace and produce quality work.
•Enthusiastic - Ability to bring energy to the performance of a task.
•Ethical - Ability to demonstrate conduct conforming to a set of values and accepted standards.
•Friendly - Ability to exhibit a cheerful demeanor toward others.
•Initiative - Ability to make decisions or take actions to solve a problem or reach a goal.
•Honesty / Integrity - Ability to be truthful and be seen as credible in the workplace.
•Loyal - The trait of feeling a sense of duty to the employer.
•Regular attendance - Exhibiting regular attendance in order to perform duties in a satisfactory manner.
•Reliability - The trait of being dependable and trustworthy.
•Responsible - Ability to be held accountable or answerable for one's conduct.
•Self-motivated - Ability to be internally inspired to perform a task to the best of one's ability using his or her own drive or initiative.
•Organized - Possessing the trait of being organized or following a systematic method of performing a task.
•Team Builder - Ability to convince a group of people to work toward a goal.


SKILLS & ABILITIES

Education:

Bachelor's Degree (four-year college or technical school) Required, Field of Study: Education. Master's Degree required.

Experience:


No prior experience is necessary.


Computer Skills:


Shall be able to demonstrate an acceptable level of proficiency with computers and programs associated with the position.


Certifications &
Licenses:


All teachers must have a valid Arkansas teaching license for the assigned grade level/subject matter. Must meet all state and federal requirements for the position.


Other Requirements:


1. Successful completion of pre-employment background checks.
2. Appropriate personal and professional conduct at all times around students, staff, and the general public.


WORK ENVIRONMENT


This position is predominately in an indoor environment but does involve occasional outdoor duties. The indoor sound level varies from very quiet to moderately loud, depending on the activities taking place.


Employee Signature:


Date:


The Human Resources Office has reviewed this job description to ensure that essential functions and basic duties have been included. It is intended to provide guidelines for job expectations and the employee's ability to perform the position described. It is not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all functions, responsibilities, skills and abilities. Additional functions and requirements may be assigned by supervisors as deemed appropriate. This document does not represent a contract of employment, and the Watson Chapel School District reserves the right to change this job description and/or assign tasks for the employee to perform, as the District may deem appropriate.


It is the policy of the Watson Chapel School District not to discriminate on the basis of age, sex, race, color, religion, national origin, or disability in its educational programs, activities, or employment practices.