Personal Assistant (EJHES)

Personal Assistant

EJ Hayes Elementary School currently has an opening for a Personal Assistant for the upcoming school year. (Start Date: August 2026.) The employee will work seven and a half (7.5) hours per day for a total of 37.5 hours per week.

This is a temporary position. Continued employment will be based on the needs of the individual student and the district.

The employee will be required to obtain and maintain a license to drive a school bus and to drive when needed to "efficiently and effectively operate the school transportation system." (Board Policy 4701) Bus driving duty is considered an essential function of this position.

Qualifications

• High School Diploma or Equivalency
• Experience or training in working with physically and/or behaviorally-challenged individuals, preferred.
• Preference will be given to candidates with experience working with individuals who are visually impaired, including proficiency in Braille.
• Current and valid driver's license.

Purpose

The Personal Assistant works primarily with those students who are severely or profoundly limited in their ability to perform independently in terms of basic motor, sensory, cognitive, and/or behavior functions. Personal Assistants are assigned and reassigned according to need as determined by the Exceptional Children Director.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Ability to develop and maintain an empathetic attitude toward disabled students.
• Ability to work cooperatively with others in a positive manner.
• Willingness to learn specialized behavior management techniques, as needed.
• Willingness to seek and maintain CPR certification.
• Ability to communicate and develop effective working relationships with students, parents, and staff while maintaining confidentiality.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

1. Carries out instructional plans as designated by the Special Education Teacher and the student's Individualized Education Program (IEP).
2. Maintains and respects confidentiality of student and school personnel information.
3. Maintains student training data according to prescribed procedures.
4. Develops and maintains a pleasant and orderly training environment (e.g. maintains instructional materials, designs bulletin boards, assists Special Education Teacher and/or students in clean-up activities, etc.)
5. Strictly adheres to the student's/students' daily schedule which regularly and systematically accounts for their IEPs.
6. Carries out appropriate behavior management techniques/programs with the Special Education Teacher's supervision and direction.
7. Procures, sets up, and operates audio-visual equipment as necessary.
8. Assists the Special Education Teacher during recess, field trips, assemblies, etc., as directed.
9. Performs such clerical duties as typing, filing, and duplicating as directed by the Special Education Teacher.
10. Supervises and trains students during free time and other non-instructional periods as directed by the Special Education Teacher.
11. Assists in the maintenance of Special Education students' records under the supervision of the Special Education Teacher and/or Principal.
12. Rides the school bus with the student when needed.
13. Drives a bus when needed to efficiently and effectively operate the school transportation system.
14. Performs other duties and responsibilities as assigned by supervisor.

Physical and Cognitive Requirements

The major physical and cognitive requirements below are applicable to the Personal Assistant job classification within Martin County Schools. Work in this classification is considered light physical work requiring the exertion of up to 20 pounds of force occasionally and a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to move objects.

• Regularly requires the ability to sit and talk or hear.
• Frequently requires the ability to stand and reach with hands and arms and to walk and use fingers to operate tools or controls.
• Occasionally requires lifting of equipment, materials and/or students up to 90 pounds.
• Daily personal close contact with students to provide classroom management and learning environment support is required.
• Must have an understanding of universal precautions and use of proper materials due to possible exposure to bodily fluids.
• Specific visual abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.
• Requires the ability to compare and/or judge the readily observable, functional, structural, or composite characteristics (whether similar or divergent from obvious standards) of data, people, or things.
• Requires the ability to speak and/or signal people to convey or exchange information, including receiving instructions, assignments, and/or directions.
• Requires the ability to apply principles of logical or scientific thinking to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw conclusions; to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical or diagrammatic form; and to deal with several abstract and concrete variables.
• Requires the ability to read a variety of correspondence, reports, forms, articles, proposals, manuals, legislation, graphs, charts, etc.
• Requires the ability to perform under stress, deal with persons acting under stress, and adapt when confronted with emergency situations.
• Requires the ability to speak to people with poise, voice control, and confidence.
• Requires the ability to record and deliver information, to explain procedures, and to follow oral and written instructions.
• Requires the ability to be sensitive to cultural differences among individuals and groups of persons.

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee regularly works indoors. The noise level in the work environment is usually minimal. The work is performed in the school.