Paraprofessional

Roles and Responsibilities: 

The core responsibility of the Paraprofessional is to foster student independence, achievement of learning goals, social-emotional skills, and self-esteem by attending to the personal, academic, and emotional needs of students. The Paraprofessional role is defined by the diverse learning needs of a student or group of students, as defined by their Individual Education Plan (IEP) or 504 plan, and in accordance with ISBE's student to teacher class size expectations. Paraprofessional positions are allocated and assigned annually based on student needs and may be subject to change. Expectations specific to the Paraprofessional role include but are not limited to:

Direct Student Support and IEP Documentation 

• Actively engage students within daily instructional time to meet learning goals, during both whole-group, small group, and 1:1 instruction with materials and guidance from teachers

• Implement all interventions and behavior strategies as outlined in the student’s IEP or 504 plan

• Support with necessary student personal needs (hygiene, medical) and/or assisted technology and augmentative devices if noted in the IEP or 504 plan

• Support with assignment completion and reiteration of classroom instruction to improve academic outcomes

• Support with implementation of accommodations during class, district and state assessments 

• Implement accommodations, scaffolds, and modifications to core curriculum as directed by the teacher to ensure access to grade-level content

• Provide behavioral management, effectively implementing de-escalation strategies as needed

• Maintain consistent weekly data tracking to monitor student growth, leveraging these insights during collaborative reflections with providers to drive data-informed adjustments to student interventions

• Maintain logs in SSM and contribute to Para Justification completion in readiness for the student’s IEP + 504 plan

• Actively participate in IEP + 504 meetings, providing meaningful input regarding the students performance

School-wide Culture & Instruction Responsibilities 

• Collaborate with Gen Ed teachers, Diverse Learners teachers, and Case Managers to ensure the requirements of students’ IEPs are met and lessons are effectively reinforced

• Be responsive to direction and incorporate feedback from General Education Teacher, Diverse Learning Teacher, Case Manager and Principal

• Utilize school-wide systems and expectations for student culture effectively 

• Adhere to individual schedule and support assigned students and classes as determined by Case Manager 

• Model professional and ethical standards when interacting with students, staff, and parent/guardians

• Actively participate in school professional development and regional Paraprofessional professional development

• Participates in Safety Care training and other school-based and CPS trainings to ensure student safety

• Maintain prompt and consistent attendance to work and assigned responsibilities during daily school hours

• Maintain and model professional communication, work habits, and interpersonal interactions at all times  

School-wide Duties 

• Actively monitor daily arrival and dismissal post, aligned with school-wide schedule and expectations 

• Actively monitor assigned late-pick up when assigned, aligned with school-wide schedule and expectations

• Support school day transitions and routines (lunch, restrooms, recess, etc.) within assigned student(s) schedule