About this role
Providence Public Schools District (PPSD) seeks an exceptional SPECIAL EDUCATION WITH LANGUAGE FACILITATOR SPECIFIC SKILLS TEACHER ASSISTANT who is excited to join our community of teachers, students and stakeholders. This is an exciting opportunity for teacher assistants who seek a challenging yet rewarding experience.
We serve approximately 22,000 students at 37 elementary, middle, and high schools. Approximately 55% of students come from homes where English is not the primary language spoken. Combined, our students and families speak over 55 different languages and hail from 91 countries of origin. In PPSD, the teachers and teacher assistants set high expectations for academic achievement, provide equal access to differentiated instruction, and endeavor to close the achievement and opportunity gap among historically marginalized subgroups within the schools. PPSD is a great place for those who desire an environment that supports their creativity and ingenuity, and respects their credentials and abilities as a teacher and/or teacher assistant.
REPORTS TO
Principal
The teacher assistant reports directly to the Principal and works under the guidance and supervision of the principal or his designee. The teacher assistant maintains a cooperative staff relationship with all personnel functioning within the educational setting.
Under general supervision, provides communication support services to deaf and hard of hearing (D/HH) students mainstreamed in the public school system. The Language Facilitator's primary responsibility as a member of the educational team is to facilitate communication between D/HH students and classroom teachers, administrators, peers, and other school staff. Other duties that may be performed when not facilitating communication include note taking, providing assistance to the D/HH and classroom teacher, and participating in meetings as a member of the educational team.
NOTE: The safety of school children is an important responsibility of the teacher assistant program. As such, please note that all teacher assistants MUST be available for bus monitoring assignments and will be paid in accordance with the additional hours worked.
Contingent upon funding
EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS
- Associate's degree
OR
- 48 college credits
OR
- Passing score of 461 on the ParaPro Test
RIDE Certification Requirements
- Teacher Assistant Training Program Certificate
DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES
The duties of the teacher assistant encompass a broad spectrum and include but are not limited to the following:
- Participate in daily and long-range lesson and classroom activity planning.
- Conduct learning exercises with small groups of students.
- Guide students in developing positive relationships with peers and adults.
- Assisting with the supervision of pupils in the classroom, corridors, school yards, lavatories, cafeterias, etc... and on field trips.
- Assist Pre-K - 5th grade students with toileting, dressing, feeding, self-care, which may include diaper changes.
- Alert the teacher to special needs of individual students.
- Collecting and distributing educational materials.
- With teacher supervision, correct students work and prescribe additional work to remediate student's weaknesses.
- Operating machines which duplicate or copy information for distribution to pupils.
- Assisting the teacher to meet the many personal and physical needs of the child.
- Under teacher supervision, participate in discipline procedure and prescribe consequences for student behavior.
- Assist teacher in devising special strategies for reinforcing behavior or academic skills based on a sympathetic understanding of individual students, their needs, interests, and abilities.
- Serve as the chief source of information and help to any substitute teacher assigned in the absence of the regular teacher.
- Commit to attend ongoing professional development sessions; such as those offered by RIDE, the Providence School Department, and Local Union 1033.
- Perform additional teacher assistant duties as requested.
SPECIFIC SKILLS
- Monitors D/HH students' understanding of all auditory information within the educational setting and facilitates communication between D/HH students and general education teachers, students, and other school staff as appropriate in the student's preferred communication mode(s).
- Previews classroom setting (including lighting, placement, availability of captioning, etc.) and modifies physical environment as needed to ensure the provision of equal access to visual and auditory information for D/HH students.
- Previews instructional lessons and materials to ensure accurate facilitation of instructional content.
- Collaborates with the teacher of the D/HH and other school staff to ensure the needs of students are met, and serves as a liaison within the school environment, promoting positive and cooperative relationships.
- Monitors student comprehension and provides instructional reinforcement as needed, under the direction of the Teacher of the D/HH. Introduces and explains vocabulary, repeats and reinforces classroom instruction, fosters appropriate classroom communication strategies and student self-advocacy skills, coordinates the provision of lecture notes, and performs other tasks as appropriate to ensure D/HH students have equal access to auditory information in the regular education classroom, under the direction of the teacher of the D/HH, and in accordance with student IEPs.
- Assists in monitoring of amplification and/or IEP progress as appropriate, documenting progress and concerns through logs, as determined by the educational team.
- Gradually leads student toward more responsibility for his/her own education and communicative competence. Expectations for language facilitators at the primary level are more comprehensive than at the intermediate level, with the goal of gradually phasing out the service to an individual student as appropriate.
- Serves as a member of the educational team(s) involved with particular D/HH student(s), and participates as appropriate in the Individual Education Program (IEP) process, in servicing and consulting with regular education staff and students regarding language facilitation service, teaming with appropriate teachers and staff, and providing direct language facilitation service to learners.
- Follows all school policies as stated in individual school handbooks and performs other duties required of all building staff as directed by the building principal to promote the safety and welfare of all students in the school, as long as duties do not interfere with the primary role of facilitating communication for D/HH students.
- Demonstrates professionalism, applying appropriate codes of conduct to the educational setting.
- Assists teachers and administration with duties that contribute to the enhancement of the classroom environment while not interfering with the primary duty of language facilitation.
- Working knowledge of typical language development.
- Understanding of the potential impact of hearing loss on communication, development, and learning, particularly in the areas of language and literacy.
- Knowledge of current federal and state legal mandates related to students with hearing loss, particularly procedural policies and confidentiality requirements.
- Skills in the communication mode(s) used by the deaf or hard of hearing student(s) with whom s/he would be working and appropriate strategies to facilitate understanding of auditory communication.
- Ability to communicate effectively in oral and written forms, with competence in English grammar and mechanics (spelling, capitalization, and punctuation) and strong interpersonal skills.
- Desire to continue development of knowledge, skills, and abilities in the field, and the completion of appropriate staff development training to attain further knowledge, skills, and abilities, including the completion of Individual Growth Plans as appropriate.
- General background in liberal arts, science, and math to allow understanding of content in K-12 curriculum areas.
- Ability to work with students of varying maturational, communicative, cognitive, and functional educational levels.
EEO Statement
Providence Public Schools is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer that is actively seeking to increase minority recruitment among its administrators and teaching staff. PSD does not discriminate on the basis of race, age, sex, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, color, disability or veteran status. All programs are open to all individuals, regardless of their race, age, sex, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, color, disability or veteran status.
Notice of E-Verify Participation and Right to Work
Providence Public School District participates in E-Verify. Federal law requires all participating employers to verify the identity and employment eligibility of all persons hired to work in the United States. Please review the following posters for more information:
- Notice of E-Verify Participation (English/Spanish)
- IER Right to Work Poster (English/Spanish)