The Educational Aide is located in all public schools within the DCPS system. Situated at the center of national government, the goal of DPCS is to provide students with a quality education that prepares them to become future leaders, productive citizens, and individuals who are engaged in the life of the community. The District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) has students with disabilities that require the services and supports of a variety of Educational Aides pursuant to their Individual Education Plan (IEP).

1. General Educational Aides provides a variety of duties that involve working with students individually and in small groups, reinforcing daily lessons, motivating learning, assessing progress, assisting with classroom management. The General Educational Aide will receive assignments from the Recruitment and Selection Team in the Office of Talent and Culture (OTC) – Division of Talent Acquisition and Retention.
2. Special Education Aides assists teachers in the development and administration of the instructional plan for students with disabilities, support student’s individual needs such as toileting, feeding, dressing (if necessary), and collect student data when requested.
3. Dedicated Aides provides 1:1 support to their assigned students; and will receive assignments from the Academic Programs Team in the Office of Teaching and Learning (OTL) - Division of Specialized Instruction. There are two types of dedicated aides:
   • Dedicated Instructional Aides provides physical prompting, assistance with daily living skills (including toileting and feeding), assistance with orientation and mobility, applied behavior analysis (ABA), and reinforcement of skills and concepts introduced by a teacher. These aides ensure that their assigned student have maximum engagement with academic instruction and support with self-care.
   • Dedicated Behavioral Aides provides crisis prevention, passive physical management, data collection for functional behavioral analysis (FBA) and/or implementation of a behavior interventional plan (BIP), and data collection on the results of positive behavioral supports. These aides help ensure that their assigned students do not engage in dangerous elopement, major property destruction, and/or serious imminent danger to self and/or others.
4. English Language Learners (ELL) Aides provides support to students to help monitor their progress in their English language acquisition and the continued development of their home language. ELL Aide assists teaching staff in implementing research-based practices including data collection, how to support each stage of language acquisition, the classroom set-up of culturally and linguistically responsive environments, and language modeling and bridging. The English Language Learners (ELL) Aide will receive assignments from the Academic Programs Team in the OTL - Language Acquisition Division and the Division of Early Childhood Education.
5. Early Childhood Education Aides provides hands-on help to children and helps to monitor their progress. The ECE Aide ensures the physical environment is safe and healthy; assists children with daily living skills (including toileting and dressing); helps the teacher observe the skills of individual children, assesses their strengths and the areas that need improvement; organizes and prepares instructional materials; co-supervises the class at all times and when teacher is not present. The Early Childhood Education Aide will receive assignments from the Academic Programs Team in the OTL- Division of Early Childhood Education.
6. Deafblind Interveners for Students are a separate type of paraprofessional. Many students who are Deafblind require extensive and novel modifications to an existing educational model. An Intervener is a staff position designated to provide direct support to a student who is Deafblind for all or part of the instructional day as determined by the student’s IEP. A child who is Deafblind needs to have the opportunity to develop a personal relationship with a person who will consistently be available to interpret the world for the child. An intervener serves as a bridge to the world for a child who is Deafblind, which allows the student to develop a sense of trust and security that will enable them to learn. Serving as an Intervener requires a proficiency in the mode(s) of communication or language, such as ASL and/or ProTactile Sign Language used by the student. Intervenors provide 1:1 support to their assigned students and will receive assignments from the Academic Programs team in the Office of Teaching and Learning (OTL) - Division of Specialized Instruction.

This position is a safety-sensitive position. As a result, throughout employment this position will be subject to the Employee Mandatory Drug and Alcohol Testing Policy.

The Educational Aide will report to the Principal.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

The below statements are intended to describe the general nature and scope of work being performed by this position. This is not a complete listing of all responsibilities, duties, and/or skills required. Other duties may be assigned.

General Educational Aides:

• Collaborates in the implementation of the daily lesson plans by performing tasks that reinforce learning.
• Assists the teacher in regularly observing students and taking anecdotal notes to inform planning, arrangement of small groups, the set-up of the classroom and interest areas, and assessments.
• Helps maintain accurate student records.
• Works closely with students who may require individual or close attention. Assists the teacher with the development of individualized programs.
• Reads to students, listens to and writes down their dictations, and models language by conversing with students throughout the day, while also encouraging students’ conversations between each other when appropriate.
• Works with groups of students engaged in drawing, writing, centers, or similar work while the teacher is otherwise occupied.
• Assists in the administration of the instructional plan for students with disabilities. Addresses multiple intelligences of each student through lesson plans and materials. Infuses culturally relevant, anti-bias materials and pedagogical strategies.
• Maintains on-going communication with families.
• Implements a variety of instructional groupings of students (small group and cooperative learning).

Special Education Aides:

• In addition to the essential duties and responsibilities of the General Educational Aide, the Special Education Aide will:
• Supports student’s individual needs such as toileting, feeding, dressing, if necessary. Collects student data when requested.

Dedicated Instructional Aides:

• Assists in the implementation of the IEPs and/or behavior intervention plans of their assigned students, and remains with their assigned students for the duration of the school day.
• Assists their assigned students with the performance of daily living skills to include but not limited to eating, dressing, toileting, and maintaining personal hygiene.
• Assists their assigned students with safe transitions from one activity to another and one setting to another.
• Assists their assigned students in the effective and efficient use of technology.
• Builds and maintains positive, professional relationships with all educational stakeholders to include students, school staff, and Central Office staff, families, and community partners.
• Maintains required data and anecdotal notes relevant to assigned students, using the data collection instruments provided by DCPS.
• Transfers, along with their assigned students, to other locations within DCPS.
• Requests access to review a copy of their assigned students’ IEPs, behavior intervention plans, safety plans and/or any documents necessary to provide appropriate support and demonstrate thorough familiarity with these documents.

Dedicated Behavioral Aides:

• Implements crisis prevention and maintains Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence (ABC) data on each incident of maladaptive behavior.
• Implements approved passive physical management only when the student demonstrates serious, imminent danger to self, and/or others or in instances of major property destruction.
• Attends professional development as outlined by the DCPS paraprofessional scope and sequence.

English Language Learners (ELL) Aides:

• Assists lead ESL teachers in devising ESL programs according to each students’ individual learning capability. Gathers teaching materials appropriate to the level and type of lesson in question and distribute them amongst students.
• Assist students in grasping concepts of the English language and help them with their assignments.
• Observes each child to assess skills, interests and needs and use this information to facilitate individual learning and growth.

Early Childhood Education Aides:

• Associate’s Degree or 48 college credit hours
• At least 12 credit hours in Early Childhood Education strongly preferred

Qualifications

General Educational Aide, Dedicated Aide, Special Education Aide

• Associate’s Degree or 48 college credit hours or have successfully passed the ParaPro Assessment administered by ETS (with a high school diploma or equivalent).
• Experience working with students with disabilities strongly preferred.

English Language Learners (ELL) Aide

• Associate’s Degree or 48 college credit hours or have successfully passed the ParaPro Assessment administered by ETS (with a high school diploma or equivalent).
• Proficiency in English and Spanish.

Early Childhood Educational Aide

• Associate’s Degree or 48 college credit hours or have successfully passed the ParaPro Assessment administered by ETS (with a high school diploma or equivalent).
• At least 12 credit hours in Early Childhood Education strongly preferred.

Personal Qualities of Top Candidates

• Commitment to Equity: Passionate about closing the achievement gap and ensuring that every child, regardless of background or circumstance, receives an excellent education.
• Leadership: Coaches, mentors, and challenges others to excel despite obstacles and challenging situations.
• Focus on Data-Driven Results: Relentlessly pursues the improvement of central office performance and school leadership, instruction, and operations, and is driven by a desire to produce quantifiable student achievement gains. Innovative Problem-Solving: Approaches work with a sense of possibility and sees challenges as opportunities for creative problem solving; takes initiative to explore issues and find potential innovative solutions.
• Adaptability: Excels in constantly changing environments and adapts flexibly in shifting projects or priorities to meet the needs of a dynamic transformation effort; comfortable with ambiguity and non-routine situations.
• Teamwork: Increases the effectiveness of surrounding teams through collaboration, constant learning and supporting others; sensitive to diversity in all its forms; respects and is committed to learning from others.
• Dependability: Does whatever it takes to consistently deliver with high quality under tight deadlines; successfully manages own projects through strong organization, detailed workplans, and balancing of multiple priorities.
• Communication and Customer Service Skills: Communicates clearly and compellingly with diverse stakeholders in both oral and written forms; anticipates and responds to customer needs in a high-quality and courteous manner.

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