DEAF/HARD OF HEARING LANGUAGE FACILITATOR
QUALIFICATIONS:
POSITION INFORMATION:
- 181 days per year (includes 10 holidays)
- 6.5 hours per day
- PSE of Forks Salary Schedule, Interpreter/Hearing Impaired
JOB DESCRIPTION
Quillayute Valley School District
LANGUAGE FACILITATOR FOR THE DEAF/HARD OF HEARING
Purpose Statement
The Language Facilitator’s primary role is to facilitate communication between D/HH students and classroom teachers, administrators, peers, and other school staff.
This job reports to the Assistant Superintendent.
Essential Functions
- Monitors D/HH students’ understanding of all auditory information within the educational setting and facilitates communication between D/HH students and general education teachers, students, and other school staff as appropriate in the student’s preferred communication mode(s).
- With support/direction from special education case manager as needed, previews classroom setting (including lighting, placement, availability of captioning, etc.) and modifies physical environment as needed to ensure the provision of equal access to visual and auditory information for D/HH students, and previews instructional lessons and materials to ensure accurate facilitation of instructional content.
- Collaborates with the teacher of the D/HH and other school staff to ensure the needs of students are met, and serves as a liaison within the school environment, promoting positive and cooperative relationships.
- Monitors student comprehension and provides instructional reinforcement as needed, under the direction of the Teacher of the D/HH. Introduces and explains 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 D/HH students have equal access to auditory information in the regular education classroom, under the direction of the teacher of the D/HH, and in accordance with student IEPs. The language facilitator is not a tutor, teacher, or teacher assistant.
- Assists in monitoring of amplification equipment and/or IEP progress as appropriate, documenting progress and concerns through logs, as determined by the educational team.
- Gradually leads student toward more responsibility for his/her own education and communicative competence. Expectations for language facilitators at the primary level are more comprehensive than at the intermediate level, with the goal of gradually phasing out the service to an individual student as appropriate.
- Serves as a member of the educational team(s) involved with particular D/HH student(s), and participates as appropriate in the Individual Education Program (IEP) process, in servicing and consulting with regular education staff and students regarding language facilitation service, teaming with appropriate teachers and staff, and providing direct language facilitation service to learners. .
- Assists teachers and administration with duties that contribute to the enhancement of the classroom environment while not interfering with the primary duty of language facilitation.
Other Functions
- Performs other related duties as assigned for the purpose of ensuring the efficient and effective functioning of the work unit.
Job Requirements: Minimum Qualifications
COMMUNICATION SKILLS:
- Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from administrators, students, staff and the general public consistent with the duties of this position.
MATHEMATICAL SKILLS:
- Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure consistent with the duties of this position.
- Ability to apply concepts such as fractions, percentages, ratios, and proportions to practical situations consistent with the duties of this position.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:
- Ability to work with individuals and groups of students to support academics and behavior management.
- Must have patience working with D/HH children.
- Ability to learn new skills, flexibility and willingness to perform a variety of tasks.
- Works well with others, follows written and oral directions and completes assignments given.
- Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with students, peers, parents, staff members, and departments and business contacts outside of the District.
- Is self-directed, and works without direct supervision.
REASONING ABILITY:
- Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists consistent with the duties of this position.
- Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form • consistent with the duties of this position.
OTHER SKILLS AND ABILITIES:
- Ability to accurately perform assigned tasks.
- Ability to perform duties in full compliance with district requirements and School Board Policies.
- Ability to promote harmonious working relationships with staff, students, and parents.
- Possesses oral and written communication skills consistent with the duties of this position.
- Possesses interpersonal relationship skills consistent with the duties of this position.
Responsibility
Responsibilities include: working under limited supervision using standardized practices and/or methods; leading, guiding, and/or coordinating others and operating within a defined budget. Utilization of resources from other work units may be required to perform the job's functions. There is a continual opportunity to impact the organization’s services.
Working Environment
The Work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The noise level in the work environment is moderate to loud. The information contained in this job description is for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and is not an exhaustive list of the duties performed by this position. Additional duties are performed by the individuals currently holding this position and additional duties may be assigned.
The usual and customary methods of performing the job's functions require the following physical demands: some lifting, carrying, pushing, and/or pulling; some stooping, kneeling, crouching, and/or crawling; and significant fine finger dexterity. Generally the job requires 40% sitting, 30% walking, and 30% standing. The job is performed in a generally hazard free environment.
Experience Experience working with Deaf and Hard of Hearing (D/HH) students with varying communication needs within the public school setting (preferred).
Education High School Diploma or equivalent and 60 hours of college credit
Equivalency None Specified
Required Testing Certificates & Licenses
None Specified
Continuing Educ. / Training Clearances
Fingerprint/Background Clearance
Specialized training or the willingness to participate in training in the use of assistive devices, amplification, and language facilitation techniques.