Special Population Paraprofessional - Meadow View Elementary

Meadow View Elementary School; Martinsville (VA); On-site; USD 27,000 - 38,000; Full time

Job summary

Henry County Public Schools Meadow View Elementary School in Martinsville, Virginia is seeking a Special Population Paraprofessional to provide direct educational and behavioral support to students with disabilities. The role includes implementing IEPs/BIPs, assisting teachers, and supporting student participation in inclusive settings.

The position requires a high school diploma, completion of required paraprofessional training, and ongoing Safety-Care or equivalent crisis-prevention training.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent required.
• Must satisfy federal, state, and division paraprofessional requirements.
• Must complete division-required orientation and training on time.
• Must maintain Safety-Care or division-approved crisis-prevention training when required.
• Must complete student-specific training before performing duties independently.

Responsibilities

• Implements IEPs, BIPs, 504 plans, health and safety plans under licensed supervision.
• Assists teachers with instructional activities, accommodations, and data collection.
• Provides individual and small-group support to reinforce academic, communication, social, and daily living skills.
• Supports student participation and inclusion in general and special education settings.
• Uses visual supports and assistive technology as trained.

Skills

Instructional support

Discipline & behavior management

Communication

Team collaboration

Data collection

Instructional modification

Safety awareness

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Paraprofessional requirements (state/division)

Orientation and training within timelines

Safety-Care certification (or equivalent)

Student-specific training before duties

Job description

Henry County Public Schools Meadow View Elementary School - Martinsville, Virginia Open in Google Maps

Special Population Paraprofessional - Meadow View Elementary

Henry County Public Schools Meadow View Elementary School - Martinsville, Virginia Open in Google Maps

This job is also posted in Henry County Public Schools

Job Details

Job ID: 5939370

Application Deadline: Posted until filled

Posted: Sep 24, 2026 4:00 AM (UTC)

Starting Date: Immediately

Job Description

Classification Title: Special Population Paraprofessional

Department: All Schools

Pay Grade: Classified Salary Scale (C2)

FLSA Status: Non-Exempt

Supervisor: Principal or Designee

GENERAL STATEMENT OF JOB

The Special Population Paraprofessional provides direct educational, behavioral, communication, social-emotional, physical, adaptive, mobility, personal-care, and/or safety support to students with disabilities, including students with significant or intensive support needs.

The employee works under the direction and supervision of a licensed teacher and, as applicable, a school administrator, school nurse, related service provider, or other authorized professional. Services may be provided individually or in small-group, classroom, school, transportation, vocational, community-based, or other school-sponsored settings.

Students assigned to this position may have significant cognitive, developmental, communication, behavioral, sensory, medical, mobility, or adaptive needs. Assignments may include students who exhibit severe or unpredictable behaviors, including but not limited to aggression, hitting, kicking, biting, scratching, grabbing, hair pulling, spitting, throwing objects, property destruction, self-injurious behavior, elopement, dropping to the floor, or other behavior that may present a risk of injury to the student or others.

Students supported by this position may vary substantially in age, size, weight, mobility, behavior, and level of independence. Assignments and student needs may change during the school year.

SPECIFIC DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Essential Functions:

The following duties are essential functions of the position when required by the needs of assigned students. Reasonable accommodations will be considered in accordance with applicable law.

Instructional and Educational Support

• Implements assigned components of students' Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs), Section 504 plans, health plans, personal-care plans, safety plans, communication plans, and other student-specific procedures under the direction of appropriately licensed or authorized personnel.
• Assists teachers with implementation of instructional activities, accommodations, modifications, prompting, reinforcement, data collection, assistive technology, communication systems, and other student supports.
• Provides individual and small-group assistance to reinforce academic, communication, social, behavioral, adaptive, vocational, and functional living skills.
• Supports student participation and inclusion in general education, special education, extracurricular, vocational, community-based, and other educational settings.
• May use visual supports, augmentative or alternative communication systems, sensory supports, adaptive equipment, and assistive technology as assigned and trained.

Behavioral and Safety Support

• Provides active supervision and maintains awareness of student behavior, location, environmental conditions, and potential safety risks.
• Implements positive behavioral interventions, reinforcement strategies, antecedent interventions, redirection, environmental modifications, crisis-prevention strategies, and de-escalation techniques established by the student's educational team or division.
• Responds promptly to behaviors that may create an imminent risk of physical harm, including aggression, self-injury, elopement, unsafe movement, and other significant behavioral events.
• Maintains sufficient mobility, positioning, awareness, and responsiveness to move toward or away from a student as circumstances require; summon assistance; clear other students or hazards from an area; maintain appropriate supervision; and implement trained emergency procedures.
• Implements physical restraint or other approved physical safety interventions only when legally permissible, necessary under the circumstances, consistent with Virginia law and division policy, and within the employee's current training and demonstrated competency.
• Does not use restraint or seclusion as punishment, discipline, retaliation, coercion, convenience, or solely to prevent property damage.
• Immediately obtains additional assistance when a student's size, strength, behavior, medical condition, environmental conditions, or other circumstances make individual intervention unsafe or inconsistent with training or division procedures.
• Completes required documentation and promptly reports behavioral incidents, injuries, restraint or safety interventions, suspected abuse or neglect, and other reportable events according to law and division procedures.
• Successfully completes and maintains required Safety-Care or other division-approved crisis-prevention and behavioral-safety training and demonstrates continued competency in prevention, de-escalation, personal safety, team response, and authorized physical interventions.

Personal Care and Activities of Daily Living

• Provides respectful, age-appropriate, hands-on assistance with activities of daily living when required by student need.
• Duties may include diapering; toileting and toilet training; changing soiled clothing; menstrual hygiene assistance; handwashing; grooming; dressing; assistance with clothing fasteners; feeding and mealtime assistance; positioning; mobility assistance; transfers; and use of adaptive equipment.
• Maintains student privacy, dignity, confidentiality, and appropriate professional boundaries while providing personal care.
• Follows required infection-control procedures, universal/standard precautions, sanitation practices, bloodborne-pathogen procedures, and exposure-reporting requirements.
• Safely handles urine, feces, blood, saliva, vomit, and other bodily fluids using required personal protective equipment and established procedures.

Mobility, Positioning, Transfers, and Physical Assistance

• Provides hands-on physical assistance to students whose mobility, physical development, disability, behavior, or medical needs require assistance.
• Assists students with standing, sitting, walking, repositioning, transitioning between surfaces, wheelchair use, mobility devices, adaptive equipment, transportation, and evacuation as assigned and trained.
• Assists students who may be substantially larger or heavier than the employee, including students who weigh approximately 250 pounds or more, using appropriate assistive devices, mechanical equipment, team assistance, transfer techniques, and other safety measures required by the student's plan and division procedures.
• Participates as a member of a trained team when multiple employees are required for student transfers, positioning, mobility, behavioral intervention, emergency response, or evacuation.
• Uses available mechanical or adaptive equipment and requests team assistance whenever required by training, student plans, equipment instructions, or safe work practices.
• Does not independently lift, carry, restrain, or transfer a student when doing so would be inconsistent with training, established safety procedures, student-specific plans, or the proper use of available equipment or team assistance.

Health and Medical Support

• Follows student health plans, emergency plans, feeding protocols, seizure protocols, allergy precautions, positioning requirements, and other medically related procedures as assigned and trained.
• Performs health-related or medical support procedures only when permitted by law, authorized by the division, and appropriately delegated or supervised.
• Recognizes and promptly reports changes in a student's physical condition, behavior, level of consciousness, mobility, breathing, eating, or other conditions that may require assistance.
• Summons nursing, administrative, emergency medical, or other assistance when required.

Supervision and Student Support

• Provides active and continuous supervision appropriate to assigned student needs.
• Supervises students during classroom instruction, transitions, meals, recess, arrival and dismissal, transportation, field trips, community-based instruction, vocational activities, emergency drills, and other school-sponsored activities.
• Responds appropriately to elopement or attempted elopement consistent with the student's plan, training, division policy, and environmental safety considerations.
• Maintains awareness of student location and safety while preserving student dignity and independence to the greatest extent appropriate.

Documentation, Communication, and Professional Responsibilities

• Collects and accurately records academic, behavioral, functional, health, and other student data as assigned.
• Maintains required documentation and communicates material student information promptly to appropriate personnel.
• Maintains confidentiality of student educational, medical, behavioral, and personally identifiable information in accordance with applicable law and division policy.
• Collaborates professionally with teachers, administrators, nurses, related service providers, transportation staff, other paraprofessionals, families, and authorized service providers.
• Participates in required meetings, professional development, drills, Safety-Care training, student-specific training, and other assigned training.
• Follows supervisory directives, student plans, division policies, safety requirements, and applicable federal and state laws.
• Performs other related duties consistent with the purpose, responsibilities, and essential functions of the position.

MINIMUM EDUCATION AND TRAINING

• High school diploma or equivalent required.
• Must satisfy applicable federal, state, and division requirements for paraprofessional employment, including any applicable requirements regarding college credit, associate's degree, or an approved paraprofessional assessment.
• Must successfully complete division-required orientation and training within established timelines.
• Must successfully complete and maintain current certification in Safety-Care or another division-approved crisis-prevention and behavioral-safety program when required for the assignment.
• Must complete student-specific training related to behavioral intervention, communication, mobility, positioning, transfers, personal care, feeding, medical needs, assistive equipment, emergency response, or other assigned responsibilities before independently performing duties requiring such training.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND STANDARDS REQUIRED

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

The employee must demonstrate the ability to:

• Understand and follow oral and written instructions, student plans, safety procedures, and supervisory directives.
• Work effectively with students with significant disabilities and intensive support needs.
• Maintain composure, judgment, situational awareness, and professional behavior during stressful, unpredictable, or emergency situations.
• Implement instructional, behavioral, communication, sensory, adaptive, and personal-care strategies as trained and directed.
• Respond promptly and appropriately when a student exhibits aggression, self-injury, elopement, significant emotional or behavioral dysregulation, or other unsafe behavior.
• Safely participate in student mobility, positioning, transfers, emergency response, evacuation, and approved behavioral-safety procedures.
• Recognize when additional personnel, equipment, nursing assistance, administrative assistance, or emergency services are required and promptly obtain such assistance.
• Collect and maintain accurate data and records.
• Communicate professionally and effectively with students and staff.
• Maintain confidentiality and appropriate professional boundaries.
• Work collaboratively as a member of a multidisciplinary educational team.
• Perform the essential functions of the position, with or without reasonable accommodation.

Physical and Safety Demands :

The physical demands described below are representative of those necessary to perform the essential functions of this position. The frequency and intensity of particular activities will vary depending upon student assignment.

The employee must be able, with or without reasonable accommodation, to:

• Frequently stand, walk, sit, bend, stoop, kneel, crouch, reach, turn, and change body position throughout the workday.
• Move between floor level and standing position when assisting students or responding to student needs.
• Maintain sufficient balance, mobility, coordination, and positional control to safely assist and supervise students in classrooms, hallways, restrooms, playgrounds, buses, vocational settings, and community environments.
• Provide hands-on assistance with student positioning, transfers, mobility, personal care, and activities of daily living.
• Push or pull wheelchairs, adaptive equipment, mobility devices, or other equipment used by students.
• Participate in team-assisted transfers, positioning, emergency evacuation, and approved behavioral-safety interventions.
• Respond promptly to sudden or unpredictable student movement, aggression, self-injurious behavior, falls, elopement, or other safety emergencies.
• Maintain appropriate proximity to students and reposition as needed to protect student and staff safety.
• Tolerate periods of significant noise, movement, physical activity, and behavioral escalation.
• Perform duties involving students who may weigh 250 pounds or more by using required mechanical assistance, adaptive equipment, team assistance, trained techniques, and other established safety measures.

The reference to student weight describes the student population that may be served and does not establish a requirement that an employee independently lift or manually handle a 250-pound individual. Employees are expected to follow student-specific procedures, training, safe work practices, equipment requirements, and team-assistance protocols.

Employees shall not use lifting, transfer, restraint, or other physical techniques for which they have not been trained or that are prohibited by law, division policy, student-specific restrictions, or established safety procedures.

Work Environment :

Work is performed in general education and special education classrooms, restrooms and personal-care areas, cafeterias, hallways, playgrounds, school buses and other transportation settings, vocational settings, community locations, and other school-sponsored environments.

Employees may regularly encounter:

• Moderate to high noise levels and frequent interruptions.
• Close physical contact with students during personal care, mobility assistance, positioning, transfers, behavioral support, and emergencies.
• Students exhibiting significant emotional or behavioral dysregulation.
• Aggressive or unsafe behaviors, including hitting, kicking, biting, scratching, grabbing, pinching, hair pulling, spitting, throwing objects, self-injury, elopement, or property destruction.
• Exposure to blood, urine, feces, saliva, vomit, respiratory secretions, and other bodily fluids.
• Outdoor weather conditions during arrival, dismissal, recess, field trips, emergency situations, and community-based activities.
• Wheelchairs, lifts, adaptive seating, gait devices, communication devices, and other specialized equipment.

Employees must use required personal protective equipment, assistive equipment, safe work practices, and established exposure-control procedures.

Reasonable Accommodation

The division provides reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants and employees with disabilities in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Virginia Human Rights Act, and other applicable law.

An individual must be able to perform the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodation. The division will engage in the interactive process when an accommodation is requested or otherwise required by applicable law. An accommodation is not required if it would eliminate an essential function of the position or otherwise constitute an undue hardship as defined by applicable law.

Conditions of Employment

Continued employment in this position is contingent upon maintaining all training, certifications, background requirements, and other qualifications required by law or division policy.

Student assignments may change based upon student enrollment, IEP requirements, staffing needs, safety considerations, and other operational requirements. Employees may be reassigned among students, classrooms, schools, or programs consistent with division needs and applicable law.

Acknowledgment

I acknowledge that I have received and reviewed this job description and understand the essential functions, physical demands, safety responsibilities, and working conditions associated with the position. I understand that student assignments may vary and that I may be assigned to students with significant behavioral, physical, personal-care, mobility, communication, or other support needs.

Position Type: Full-Time

Salary: $27,256 to $38,084 Per Year

Job Categories:

Instructional Support > Paraprofessional / IA

Special Education > General Special Education

Contact Information

• Human Resources
• 3300 Kings Mountain Road
• Martinsville, Virginia 24112
• Phone: [phone]
• Fax: [phone]
• Email: [e-mail]