CNA/CMA Paraprofessional

Para Educator

Position: Para Educator

Supervisor: Supervising Teacher BCSS Assistant Director

Contract: The contract for the position varies with experience and job assignment.

Professional Growth: The para educator and job coach must obtain twenty (20) hours of in-service training per school year.

Qualifications:

• Current CNA License
• High school diploma, with post-secondary education preferred.
• Function professionally according to details within the Classified Personnel Handbook and the Paraeducator Handbook.

Skills and Qualities:

• Good physical and emotional health
• Possess good character and leadership qualities
• Displays an interest and ability to work with students with disabilities
• Exhibit total confidentiality in matters relating to students.

Definition:

The Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) Paraprofessional is responsible for performing direct student care and student care related activities, including, but not limited to: personal care (i.e. toileting, feeding), activities of daily living, and other skills necessary for the student to access the school environment and make progress toward the mastery of individual IEP goals. CNAs may help students access the learning environment by assisting students with mobility limitations and by facilitating the students' learning as directed by the classroom teacher.

Para Education Job Functions:

• Maintains confidentiality of medical and educational related concerns in the school setting.
• Collaborates with student's school nurse, teacher and therapists to help provide a positive educational experience for the student.
• Demonstrates a professional behavior when interacting with school staff, parents and students.
• Takes educational data while working with a student.
• Demonstrates effective communication with the student, supervising nurse, classroom teacher and co-workers.
• Maintains current CPR/First Aid and CNA certification.
• Shows sensitivity to the student's social, cognitive and mental health needs.
• Reports students concerns to the classroom teacher.
• Provides escort and transport duties as needed for student care.
• Reads aloud to students or listens while children read.
• Assists students in performing activities that have been initiated by the teacher.
• Hands out papers and collects them.
• Assists with supplementary work for advanced students.
• Provides special help, such as drilling with flash cards, spelling words, and play activities.
• Assists in preparing instructional materials.
• Reinforces learning with small groups.
• Assists children in learning personal data: phone numbers, etc.
• Supervises free play activities.
• Observes learning and behavior difficulties and reports such difficulties to the teacher.
• Provides assistance with individualized programmed materials.
• Works with individual students or small groups on language development, as outlined by the speech clinician.
• Works with individual students on range of motion activities and other physical activities as outlined by the occupational and/or physical therapist.
• Intervenes in behavior problems observed.
• Other duties as assigned at the discretion of the supervising teacher (may not include providing direct, first-time instruction, or any unacceptable duty as listed lower in this document).

Physical Requirements/ Environmental Conditions:

• Sitting and standing.
• Repetitive wrist motion with computer input.
• Occasional lifting and moving objects up to twenty pounds.
• Physical exertion including bending, twisting, and turning.
• Occasional exposure to blood, bodily fluids, and tissue.
• Occasional interaction among unruly children.