Special Ed Sensory Services, TOPS K-8 - Intervener - FTE

Overview

An intervener is a staff position designated to provide direct support to a student with deaf‑blindness under the supervision of a certificated special education teacher for all or part of the instructional day as determined by the student's Individual Educational Plan (IEP). The decision to designate an intervener is based on the level of support needed by a student to participate effectively in his or her instructional environment(s) as described by the IEP.

The intervener works collaboratively with a variety of direct service providers and consultants, including teachers of children with hearing impairments, visual impairments, or severe disabilities; speech therapists; occupational and physical therapists; orientation and mobility instructors; and other professionals and paraprofessionals. The intervener is not a replacement for a certificated special education teacher and must always work under the guidance and supervision of a student's certificated special education teacher.

To learn more about our special education service pathways, please follow this link to the SPS Special Education Department website: https://(Use the "Apply for this Job" box below)..

• Become proficient in students' individual communication methods and strategies.
• Accompany and support the student during community‑based instruction and leisure activities during the school day.
• Provide personal care support, including toileting and feeding support, as needed.
• Provide specially designed instruction under the direction of the student's special education teacher.
• Coordinate with the teacher in monitoring supplies and equipment for the deaf‑blind student.
• Assist the teacher in preparing instructional and supplementary materials for the deaf‑blind student.
• Participate in the assessment of the student and in preparing IEPs, progress reports, behavior plans, data collection, and other documentation for program monitoring.
• Attend building and department staff meetings and in‑service workshops as requested.

• Perform related duties consistent with the scope of the position.

• Functional knowledge of subject matter.
• Effective communication with students, parents, district staff, and the public in a multicultural community.
• Maintain confidentiality of information and records.
• Effective oral and written communication.
• Maintain composure in stressful situations; be flexible; recognize and adjust to different cultural backgrounds.
• Comfortable working in close physical proximity to students while frequently using touch to communicate with and instruct students who are primarily tactile learners.
• Exercise good judgment, cooperation, tact, and discretion in dealing with the student, family, and others.
• Show interest in developing additional knowledge and skills.
• Follow team decisions, established policies and procedures, and designated lines of communication and authority.

Reports to the assigned building Principal for site‑based activities, and to a Special Education Program Manager or Supervisor. The Principal and Special Education Manager or Supervisor will jointly work with the intervener for professional goal setting and evaluation.

Required to work in a school setting, including participation in community activities; required to work with a wide range of student performance and behavior, dependent on each student's level of academic and communication skills; required to lift, sit, stand, walk, reach, bend, and squat to work with, move, and/or reposition students; potentially exposed to ordinary infectious diseases carried by students; may occasionally or regularly deal with distraught or difficult students;

may be required to change soiled clothing and may be exposed to student bodily fluids and serious infectious diseases carried by students; must be willing to participate in ongoing training in the area of deaf‑blindness.

Completion of an Associate’s degree or completion of two (2) years of college, or seventy‑two (72) quarter or forty‑eight (48) semester credits and one (1) year of related work experience with students with sensory impairments.

One (1) year of related work experience with students with sensory impairments.

The completion of an interpreter’s training program and an additional year of qualifying work experience may substitute for the Associates' degree requirement.

• Certification by the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc. and/or National Association of the Deaf Certification is desirable, but not required.
• Valid State of Washington Driver’s License or evidence of equivalent mobility.