Bus Attendant Substitutes ($16.51 hourly)

Dorchester County Public Schools is currently accepting applications for Bus Attendants Substitutes serving Special Education students. This position, under close supervision, attends to the physical and emotional needs of special education students on school buses. The Attendant is responsible for the care and safety of students with disabilities transported to and from their homes and school, and involves the managing student behavior to provide the driver freedom to operate the school bus safely while creating a positive and safe transportation environment. The successful candidate must exercise constant alertness to children’s physical problems and to react promptly in the event of seizures or other problems. This position reports to the Transportation Supervisor in collaboration with consultations from special education teachers, administrators, and bus operators.

DUTIES:

• Monitors and works with student population which may exhibit physical, sensory, emotional or learning disabilities;
• Escorts students on and off the bus and aids them physically;
• Must be able to lift students for emergency bus evacuation;
• Requires prompt reporting and attention to detail;
• Assigns students to seats and adjusts safety straps and other restraints;
• Properly secures students in various types of equipment;
• Observes and responds to students with seizures, other medical conditions, behavior changes, and any other unusual conditions on the bus and implements behavior controls when necessary;
• Performs bus attendant pre-trip inspection of special equipment;
• Completes daily attendance on accountability forms;
• Keeps required equipment clean and in good working order;
• Treats all students and others with respect and compassion;
• Deals in an effective and tactful manner with emotionally impaired students;
• Assists the bus operator in performing bus evacuation drills;
• Remains calm in an emergency situation, and efficiently and quickly evacuates students as needed;
• Performs related work as required.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Possession of a high school diploma or equivalency; and possess the knowledge and ability to properly fulfill the job duties;
• Knowledge of the field of child development with specific applications to students with disabilities;
• Must be able to operate the wheelchair lift;
• Must have the physical strength and stamina to assist handicapped students on and off the bus and bodily lift a student when required;
• Must be able to lift and carry a minimum of 75 pounds;
• Considerable patience and ability to assist the physically, mentally and emotionally impaired students;
• Ability to use sound judgment in dealing with students and confidential information;
• Ability to assume responsibility for the safety of students in the absence of the school bus operator;
• Must have the ability to learn bus evacuation procedures;
• Ability to take complete ownership of responsibilities.

Dorchester County Public Schools does participate in the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act. The Maryland Healthy Working Families Act (MHWFA) requires Dorchester County Public Schools to provide one (1) hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours that an employee works, subject to the provisions of the Act. The paid sick leave is paid out each month during the school year.