Career Center
Posted: 08-Sep-23
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Type: Full Time
Categories:
Do you seek to make a difference in the lives of immigrants, refugees, and the under served?
Mission: Our mission is to empower immigrants, refugees, and all underserved communities to thrive by removing barriers and providing supports that create opportunities for life.
Vision: To live in a world where all immigrants, refugees and underserved communities have equal access to opportunities and resources and face no barriers to full participation in life. We strive to build a community where diversity is celebrated, and all people are treated with dignity and respect.
Core Values: Core values are the fundamental beliefs and principles that guide our organizations behavior, decision-making and culture.
- Embrace Community
- Advance Opportunity
- Bolster Learning and Growth
- Honor Diversity
- Foster Collaboration
- Champion People
We are seeking a Special Education Paraprofessional - (PreK)
Department Function:
Passages Charter School serves students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. Focused specifically on the needs of immigrant and refugee students. Passages offers a tailored educational program focused on high academic standards instruction based on students' individual needs.
Job Function:
Special education aides work under the overall supervision of their building principal or Early Childhood Site Director with direct supervision provided by special education teachers. They are employed when required to implement special education or related services for a class and/or to provide direct assistance to students.
Responsibilities:
- Assist the Lead Teacher and Assistant Teacher with instructing and supervising children in classroom activities, especially those children identified as having a moderate to severe disability.
- Work with individual children or small groups of children to reinforce new skills initially introduced by the teacher.
- Assist the Lead Teacher and Assistant Teacher in devising and implementing special strategies for reinforcing
- skills based on the special needs and abilities of each child.
- Assist with critical daily activities such as classroom transition times, mealtimes and toileting.
- Utilize appropriate language, interactions, positive discipline and model positive behavior.
- Assist with field trips or day trips such as neighborhood walks under the supervision of the Lead Teacher.
- Continuously monitor children to ensure safety at all times, and report child abuse and neglect.
- Assist the Lead Teacher in administering and scoring appropriate screenings and assessments required by the program according to designated timelines.
- Maintain anecdotal notes, written observations, and other approved forms of documentation for each child for documentation of services.
- Maintain open communication with parents by scheduling and conducting parent/teacher conferences
- As a parent advocate, help resolve issues or concerns that are raised by parents and staff.
- Inform parents about daily classroom routine, expectations, policies, field trips and volunteer opportunity Communicate with parents about incidents that have been observed and/or recorded on site.
- Obtain all required classroom parental signatures such as on all incident reports and field trip permission slips.
- Work closely with classroom teaching team, Team leader, Special Education Teacher, administrators and other content area specialists.
- Actively participate in meetings which may include management, teaching team, center, committee, parent, parent policy, family reviews, city/state, agency, and board meetings.
- Attend and actively participate in all IEP meetings with teaching staff and parents.
- Participate in team meetings. Communicate and share ideas and concerns with Lead Teacher and other management team members.
- Assist in the educational and social development of students under the direction and guidance of the facilitator and classroom teachers.
- Assist in the implementation of Individual Education Plans for the students and monitor their progress.
- Provide support for individual students inside and outside the classroom to enable them to fully participate in activities.
- Work with other professionals, such as speech therapist, social worker, occupational and physical therapists.
- Assist classroom teachers with maintaining student records and in the preparation and display of student work.
- Support students with emotional or behavior concerns and assist them in developing appropriate social skills.
Qualifications (Skills, knowledge, & abilities):
- Valid Paraprofessional or Substitute License
- Be capable of physically assisting students with specials needs as required (positioning, lifting, transferring, restraining, etc.)
- Have demonstrated ability to work effectively under the direction of others
- Cooperates successfully as a member of a team.
- Communicates effectively with others, including giving and receiving feedback on the quality of services.
- Ability to regularly sit, stand, walk, talk, hear, operate a computer, hand-held learning devices and other office equipment, and reach with hands and arms.
- Must occasionally lift and/or move up to 20 pounds.
Trellus is an equal employment opportunity employer dedicated to the fair and equal treatment of all of its employees without regard to age, gender, race, color, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, disability, political or union affiliation, maternity status, parental status, military or veteran status, or any other basis prohibited by law.
