Lead Classroom Paraprofessional

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Job Description:

Job Summary

The Paraprofessional Lead is responsible for providing coaching to the other classroom Paraprofessionals and assists the teacher with coordination of student services, plans, and care. The Paraprofessional Lead will support the teacher in efforts to ensure the students are safe and receive quality care, that instructional programs are implemented effectively, and that the classroom is maintained to meet or exceed licensing regulations and Heartspring standards.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Serve as a Lead Paraprofessional in assigned classroom.
• Provide a safe, clean, and nurturing environment that meets and/or exceeds all requirements set forth by Heartspring.
• Support the classroom teacher in monitoring the implementation of student schedules, instructional programming, and Individual Treatment Plans (ITP’s) to ensure consistency and quality of programs.
• Ensure that all staff are taking daily student data in absence of teacher.
• Send out monthly progress reports in the absence of the teacher.
• Monitor and support classroom staff in absence of teacher in areas of student coverage, maintaining programs and schedules, and ensuring that students are safe.
• Support medical office staff in communicating student medication changes to team members.
• Contact and report to appropriate manager and/or administrator any accidents, special incidents, use of emergency procedures including restraint or seclusion/time-out in absence of teacher.
• Help to train, develop, and mentor new and existing Paraprofessionals in the classroom on all procedures, requirements, and expectations.
• Adhere to all procedures and techniques as outlined in the Non-Violent Crisis Intervention (NCI) training.
• Report inappropriate actions and/or policy violations to teacher.
• Prompt and regular attendance is required for this position.
• Demonstrate positive classroom communications and attitude.
• Notify teacher when training and support are needed.
• When possible, attend Student Review Meetings when the teacher is not available.
• Check voicemail and email communication in the absence of teacher and respond under the direction of the teacher.
• Ensure classroom visitors are greeted and made to feel welcome.
• Document and report any instances of abuse, neglect, exploitation, or other unusual incidents or events, as per Heartspring and Department of Child & Family Services guidelines.
• Must work one weekend shift a month in the Residential Homes.
• Must work any recognized holiday that falls on a weekday in the Residential Homes.
• Complete other duties as may be assigned.

Requirements:

Required Knowledge and Skills

• Collaboration - maintain good working relationships with other Paraprofessionals.
• Communication - comfortable engaging people.
• Constructive Feedback - ability to communicate and coach new hires appropriately when they need redirected.
• Self-Control – job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive responses, even in very difficult situations.
• Attention to Detail – job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing assigned tasks.
• Dependability – job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and to fulfill obligations.
• Persistence – job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
• Technology – job requires the ability to use/operate a standard computer system and hand-held devices.
• All Lead Paraprofessionals will have a laptop.

Educational, Experience, and Licensure Requirements

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the education and experience required.

• High school diploma, or equivalent.
• Must be willing to obtain a Substitute Teaching License from the Kansas Start Department of Education.
• 6 months of consecutive employment at Heartspring as a classroom Paraprofessional.
• Must successfully complete all required orientation and training conducted by Heartspring staff.
• Non-Violent Crisis Intervention (NCI) certification.
• First Aid & CPR certification.
• Must complete required In-service training when scheduled annually.
• Must attend leadership training courses for professional development.

Required Organizational Competencies

• Advocacy: Uses expertise to influence and advocate for improved practice and to advance organizational outcomes.
• Analytical Thinking: Demonstrates the ability to analyze information and use logic to address work-related issues and problems.
• Collaboration: Demonstrates the ability to work productively within and across teams to achieve goals that are customer centered.
• Communication: Applies a customer centered approach to deliver and exchange information that leads to mutual understanding.
• Critical Thinking: Demonstrates ability to use logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
• Expertise: Demonstrates advancing knowledge, skills and abilities in role and in field of practice.
• Integrity: Demonstrates quality of honest, ethical, and the ability to maintain confidentiality.
• Organizational Advancement: Demonstrates actions that support organizational growth based on a shared understanding of the current and future Heartspring operating environment.
• Professionalism: Demonstrates attitudes, behaviors and orientations that are consistent with the conduct, aims and qualities that characterize Heartspring.

Benefits:

Heartspring offers a generous benefits package including three weeks of paid vacation, sick leave, medical/dental/vision insurance, life insurance, short term disability insurance and retirement plans. Heartspring also offers opportunities to grow within and advance your careers through on-the-job training, internal promotion preferences, and the Heartspring scholarship program to help you go back to school.

Heartspring is a drug-free campus. Heartspring is an EEO employer.

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