Behavior Interventionist Aide

REPORTS TO:   Building Principal and SIG Officer

DESCRIPTION:         Highly qualified individual with knowledge and skills necessary to assist individuals, groups, and systems through the application of positive behavior supports.  The Behavior Interventionist helps coordinate Functional Assessments of Behavior and Behavior Intervention plans that address students’ inappropriate behaviors and that provide a means to help the students become more academically successful.  The Behavior Interventionist Specialist also provides classroom and school-wide behavior management strategies.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:  B. S. in Social Work, Psychology or related field.  Masters Degree preferred. Other relevant qualifications:

• Minimum of 3 years’ experience working with at-risk youth in a school or community based setting
• Knowledge of function based intervention planning for developing behavior change strategies that focuses on reducing problem behavior and increasing more appropriate behavior
• Knowledge of use of assessment data t inform instruction and prescribe work plans for individual students
• Knowledge in the use of technology to support instruction
• Demonstrates ability to plan and evaluate strategies for improving instruction
• Ascribes to the philosophy that all children can succeed and demonstrates the commitment to do what is necessary to make this a reality

SCOPE OF POSITION:

The Elementary Behavior Interventionist will provide leadership and direction at the school level, working to design, implement, coordinate and evaluate a comprehensive behavior support program.  In addition he/she will work directly and aggressively with identified students to adopt behaviors that substantially increase their academic performance.  These students are the lowest achieving elementary students who have been identified as requiring substantial supplemental behavior intervention and support.  Under the supervision of the building principal and district representative, the Behavior Interventionist will provide diversified strategies and activities specifically designed for targeted students.

Professional Responsibilities:

The District Behavior Intervention Specialist will:

• Effectively support student acquisition of core curriculum and content standards identified by the MDE and Quitman County School District

• Assist staff in: defining and measuring behavior; understanding principles of reinforcement; teaching new behavior; implementing strategies for weakening behavior; and identifying antecedents.
• Facilitate team meetings with the identified student’s teachers and parents for the purpose of completing a Functional Behavioral Assessment.
• Facilitate team meetings that: design Behavior interventions Plans; address classroom organization, effective instruction, social skills instruction, and ethical issues; School-wide Positive Behavioral Support; and factors that affect effectiveness including social validity and treatment integrity.
• Work with individual teachers, groups of teachers and/or the entire staff on issues such as: crisis intervention, learning and collaboration issues, and factors that can affect development and implementation of interventions.
• Promote highly specialized positive behavior interventions in which “at risk” students thrive: behavior instruction that is explicit, intensive, accelerated and provides ample practice.
• Use ongoing assessments to maintain a record of student progress.
• Develop a repertoire of assessment strategies consistent with instructional goals, teaching methods, and individual student needs to more accurately assess student behavior skills and understandings.
• Regard assessment as a joint venture through which both student and teacher understanding is enhanced.
• Create fair and equitable assessments to assess higher-order thinking and problem solving as well as individual skills, knowledge, and understandings.
• Model good assessment processes that assist students in assessing their own work and behavior.
• Provide recognition of a variety of student accomplishments and positive behaviors.
• Work cooperatively with building administrators to promote positive student behavior by providing professional development that targets research, strategies and modeling of instructional practices to support teachers in their implementation of positive behavior support in their classrooms.
• Continually supervise students to ensure a safe, non-threatening, nurturing environment where students can thrive.
• Engage in on-going professional development to increase knowledge and skills of positive student behavior support for all students, targeted students and students who represent sub-group populations.
• Engage parents in the “student behavior intervention plan” process and empower parents by providing them with skills and techniques to support the positive behavior development of their child.
• Conduct conflict resolution and peer mediation sessions
• Review behavior referrals and student intervention data reports
• Develop and participate in building level Teacher Support Teams and/or grade level meetings, as appropriate

• Attend professional development opportunities to maintain high level of skill and knowledge of current research and practices
• Serve as a consultant to administrators, teachers, and parents
• Organize and schedule time commitments to meet demands of the job
• Comply with all safety policies, practices and procedures; report all unsafe activities to supervisor and/or Human Resources.
• Participate in proactive team efforts to achieve District, building, departmental and/or grade level goals
• Provide leadership to others through example and sharing of knowledge/skills