Length of Position: Permanent (Two positions available)

Type of Benefits: Full

Months per year: 10

Number of hours per week: 37.5

Number of days per week: 5

State Salary Schedule: Yes

Special Education One-on-One Teacher Assistant and Bus Driver

Primary Purpose: 

Help special education teachers provide for the physical and instructional needs of students with disabilities in special education settings. Assist in the implementation of classroom programs, including self-help, behavior management, and instruction programs. Work under the general supervision of the principal and immediate direction of a certified teacher.

Qualifications: 

Education/Certification: High school diploma or GED 

Teacher assistants must hold one of the following qualifications:

• A 2-year associate degree;
• A minimum of 48 semester hours of college coursework
• A CDL is required and/or applicants must be eligible and willing to obtain

Special Knowledge/Skills:

Ability to work with children with disabilities 

Ability to follow verbal and written instructions 

Ability to communicate effectively 

Knowledge of general office equipment

Experience: Some experience working with children

Major Responsibilities and Duties:

Instructional Support 

1. Help teachers prepare instructional materials and classroom displays. 
2. Help maintain a neat and orderly classroom. 
3. Help with inventory, care, and maintenance of equipment. 
4. Help teachers keep administrative records and prepare required reports. 
5. Provide orientation and assistance to substitute teachers. 

Student Management 

1. Assist students with physical disabilities according to their needs, including transferring to and from wheelchairs, lifting, or positioning. 
2. Assist students with physical needs and personal care, including feeding, bathroom, and personal hygiene.
3. Help manage the behavior of students. This includes intervening in crises and restraining disruptive or dangerous student behavior as needed. 
4. Assume responsibility for learning and adapting to each student’s special medical, physical, communicative, and emotional needs. 
5. Work with individual students or small groups to develop motor skills and conduct instructional exercises assigned by the teacher. 
6. Help supervise students throughout the school day, inside and outside the classroom. This includes lunchroom, bus, and playground duty. 
7. Keep the teacher informed of the special needs or problems of individual students. 

Other 

1. Maintain confidentiality. 
2. Participate in staff development training programs, faculty meetings, and special events as assigned. 
3. Perform other duties as assigned. 

Supervisory Responsibilities: None. 

Equipment Used: Wheelchair lift, ramp, computer, copier, and audiovisual equipment. 

Working Conditions: Mental Demands/Physical Demands/Environmental Factors: Maintain emotional control under stress. Frequent standing, stooping, bending, kneeling, pushing, and pulling; regular heavy lifting of students. Biological exposure to bacteria and communicable diseases. 

Bus Driver Job Description

GENERAL STATEMENT OF JOB:

• Under general supervision, operates a school bus on assigned route(s) and schedule to provide safe and efficient transportation of students to and from school.
• Work involves performing pre-and post-trip inspections of the bus; operating a bus; obeying all traffic laws and school bus regulations while operating the bus; observing all safety regulations and standards for school buses; and maintaining discipline of students assigned to ride the bus.
• Employee is also responsible for completing all required reports and securing the assigned bus before leaving the vehicle at the conclusion of a run or route.
• Employee must exercise tact and courtesy in maintaining acceptable relations with parents/guardians of students transported and with school personnel.

SPECIFIC DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Performs required pre-trip and post-trip inspections and document inspections as required by Transportation Department Operating Instructions for bus drivers. Reports mechanical defect(s) or failure(s) to the school bus garage.
• In accordance with Transportation Department Operating Instructions for bus drivers, performs required post-trip inspection, to detect students who may still be on board the school bus asleep or incapacitated and to detect any other irregularities or vandalism to the bus interior.
• Obeys all traffic laws and school bus regulations while operating the school bus.
• Observes all safety regulations and standards for school buses. This includes clearing the school bus and evacuating students quickly in the event of an emergency.
• Maintains discipline of students assigned to ride the school bus.
• Reports undisciplined students to the responsible school principal.
• Discharges students only at the authorized school or bus stop locations.
• Transports only authorized students.
• Keeps the school bus clean and free of papers, bottles, cans food wrappers and other items which may present a safety problem.
• Reports all accidents as required by Transportation Operating Instructions and remains at the scene of the accident until released by the on-scene transportation supervisor.
• Remains in charge of all students aboard the bus at the time of an accident, determining the existence and extent of any injuries and maintaining the safety of all passengers.
• Secures the assigned bus before leaving the vehicle at the conclusion of a run or route. This includes parking the vehicle properly, making a visual inspection of the bus to check for damage and the possibility of remaining passengers, and securing all windows and doors to protect the interior of the vehicle.

MINIMUM TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE:

18 Years of age of older. CDL required or applicant must be willing to obtain at the next available bus driver class.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS OR STANDARDS REQUIRED TO PERFORM ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

• Physical Requirements: Must be physically able to operate a school bus. Must be able to quickly decelerate the bus and firmly apply the brake in an emergency situation. Must be able to turn the steering wheel of the vehicle rapidly in an emergency situation. Must be able to begin in a seated position with seat belt fastened, parking brake released, and engine running, secure the bus (parking brake set, key removed), rise from the seat, exit through the rearmost emergency exit, and be in position to assist passengers in exiting the bus within 20 seconds. Must be able to exert up to 50 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 25 pounds of force frequently, and/or up to 10 pounds of force constantly to move objects. Physical demand requirements are for Medium Work.
• Requires the ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagrammatic form; to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in or from standardized situations.
• Requires the ability to record and deliver information, to explain procedures, to follow oral and written instructions
• Requires the ability to recognize the colors of traffic signals and devices showing standard red, green, and amber.
• Requires the ability to deal with people beyond giving and receiving instructions. Must be adaptable to performing under stress and when confronted with persons acting under stress.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Considerable knowledge of safe and efficient practices and procedures used in the operation of a school bus.
• Considerable knowledge of traffic laws and school bus regulations.
• Considerable knowledge of safety regulations and standards for school buses. General knowledge of Transportation Department Operating Instructions.
• Ability to physically inspect the bus according to Transportation Department Operating Instructions.
• Ability to detect and report observable mechanical defects or failures on the school bus.
• Ability to maintain discipline of students assigned to ride the school bus. Ability to maintain a clean school bus.

Disclaimer:  The preceding job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work employees perform within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees in this job.