ECSEC DHH Language Facilitator

The following vacancy exists in Goshen Community Schools for the  school year:

ECSEC

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Language Facilitator

The Elkhart County Special Education Cooperative (ECSEC) is made up of the Baugo, Concord, Fairfield, Goshen, Middlebury, and Wa-Nee Community Schools in North Central Indiana located 30 minutes from the University of Notre Dame. Administrative offices are located at 1216 S. Indiana Avenue, Goshen, IN 46526.

POSITION

PURPOSE:

A Deaf/Hard of Hearing Facilitator is an individual who facilitates communication among the deaf and hard of hearing persons in an educational environment through the use of techniques developed for communicating between educational team, serving staff as well as deaf people, by minimizing linguistic, cultural, and physical barriers.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

* The primary role as a member of the educational team is to facilitate communication between the DHH student and general education teachers, administrators, peers and other school staff in the student's preferred communication mode(s).

* Will perform other duties (lunch, recess, transitions, and meet student personal needs such as diapering, feeding, lifting) required of all building staff as directed by the building principal, as long as duties do not interfere with the primary role of facilitating communication for the DHH student. If the DHH student is absent, the communication facilitator may be reassigned to alternative duties or continue in their assignment to prepare instructional materials for DHH student.

* Participate in routine staffing, case conferences, job specific training and continuing education as required by their job assignment.

* Collaborate with the teacher of the DHH and other school staff regarding environment, lessons, materials, technology, etc. to optimize the student's access to all auditory and visual information.

* Monitor student comprehension and provide repetition, reinforcement, and remediation while fostering application of strategies used across environments, appropriate communication strategies, and self-advocacy skills, under the direction of the Teacher of the D HH.

* Introduce and explain vocabulary, repeats and reinforces classroom instruction, fosters appropriate classroom communication strategies and student self-advocacy skills, coordinates the provision of lecture notes, and performs other tasks as appropriate to ensure DHH students have equal access to auditory information in the general education classroom.

* Will have working knowledge of typical language development.

* Will have understanding of the potential impact of hearing loss on communication, development, and learning, particularly procedural policies and confidentiality requirements.

* Will demonstrate skills in the communication mode(s) used by the deaf or hard of hearing students) with whom s/he would be working and appropriate strategies to facilitate understanding of auditory communication.

* Monitor DHH students' understanding of all auditory information with the educational setting and facilitates communication between interpreter/facilitator, DHH students and general education teachers, students, and other school staff as appropriate in the student's preferred communication mode(s).

* Preview classroom setting (including lighting, placement, availability of captioning, etc.) and auditory information for DHH students

* Preview instructional lessons and materials to ensure accurate facilitation of instructional content

* Collaborate with the teacher of the DHH, Interpreter, and other school staff to ensure the needs of students are met, and serves as a liaison with the school environment, promoting positive and cooperative relationships.

* Promote the process toward independence in all areas (social, self-advocacy, academic, etc.)

* As note-taker especially, must have the ability to communicate effectively in oral and written forms; with competence in English grammar and mechanics (spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.) and strong interpersonal skills.

* As note-taker will take comprehensive and legible notes. They must convey information accurately, giving the content and the spirit of the speaker, to the best of their ability. They will be responsible to aid the student in the understanding of curriculum through use of the notes provided.

* As note-takers must be knowledgeable about content, assignments, assessments, deadlines, etc. and may need to do assignments along with students as directed.

* Expected to work with students of varying maturational, communicative, cognitive, and functional educational levels.

REQUIREMENTS:

* Must be at least 18 years of age.

* Possess a high school diploma or equivalent.

* Two-year degree or equivalent (Preferred)

* Experience working with Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) students with varying communication needs within a public-school setting (Preferred).

* General background in liberal arts, science, and math to allow understanding of content in Pre K - 12 curriculum areas.

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