Job Description

Learning Support Teachers:

• are experienced and skilled teachers who provide direct, collaborative support to classroom teachers and students

• support classroom teachers by developing and implementing strategies to promote students’ well-being and achievement

• work directly with individual or small groups of students

• responsive to student need as identified at the school level by the school principal as leader of the Teaching Support Team and at the regional level by the Programs and Student Services team.  

• are flexible in service delivery models that align with Multi Tiered Services and Supports (MTSS) in order to address academic, social/emotional, and behavioural needs across the three tiers

• are expected to adhere to the principles of inclusive education by Learning Support Teachers

Learning Support Teacher Responsibilities:

• value student voice and choice and provide opportunities for them to speak to their strengths, challenges, and preferred ways of learning.

• work with parents/guardians to help them feel welcome in the school community and to empower them as essential decision makers regarding programming and/or supports for their child, including, but not limited to, participating on Student Planning Teams.

• work with parents/guardians to understand their preferred ways of working with teachers, principals, and other staff, and to accommodate it, as much as possible.

• provide direct support to classroom teachers to meet the identified needs of their students.

• promote students’ well-being and achievement by developing and implementing strategies with teachers and other staff.

• provide specific interventions and support(s), primarily in classrooms or common learning environments, to individual students or small groups of students who may require additional supplemental and intensive interventions.

• work collectively with school-based and regional support staff, as appropriate, to support teachers in the delivery of instruction, assessment, and interventions to students.

• maintain regular communication with students, parents/guardians, and other teachers and school staff with respect to students’ progress.

• are accountable for adherence to the principles of inclusive education.

• work with the Teaching Support Team to meet the needs of teachers and students.

• work with Student Planning Teams through the Program Planning Process for individual students as needed.

• assess and evaluate the effectiveness of their practice.

• Implement appropriate evidence based intervention programs for students based on identified challenges, strengths, and interests.

• Participate in the program planning team process to assist in determining appropriate intervention for students with academic and achievement challenges. This will be based on student achievement data, and the students strengths,  challenges, and interests.

• Assist staff in using a variety of assessment approaches to determine student achievement in learning outcomes.

• Model appropriate strategies for classroom teachers to support students within the classroom setting.

• Use collaborative strategies in working with students, teachers, parents and community personnel.

• Provide tier 1 (classroom interventions) and tier 2 (targeted interventions) supports as identified through student achievement data and Teaching Support Teams.

Some positions may be identified as having a primary focus while others will be more general and provide whatever supports are necessary to meet the needs of students.  Positions may be identified with the following focus:

Learning Support Teacher with primary focus on Resource Support

Students receiving resource support may have diagnosed Learning Disabilities and/or other learning challenges impacting all academic areas.  In addition to the competencies and responsibilities noted above the following are more specific components to this role.

• Understand and engage in structured literacy instruction for both whole class and small group instruction.

• Training in evidence-based literacy/math interventions (e.g., LIPS, Seeing Stars, Wilson Reading System, etc.) is required.

• Track the achievement progress of students receiving resource intervention through pre and post intervention screening and record in student intervention plans.
  
  

Learning Support Teacher with primary focus on High Needs Support

Students receiving support through a High Needs Learning Center may have complex challenges that include, but are not limited to medical/personal care, behavioral, social/emotional, communication, and/or developmental delays.  In addition to the competencies and responsibilities noted above the following are more specific components to this role.

• Provide direct instruction based on identified student needs as outlined in the program plan, in collaboration with the classroom teacher and other student services staff.

• Share the responsibility with other team members of interpreting and reporting teacher-based and standardized assessment results and other pertinent information with parents, administrators and other professionals.

• Work collaboratively with administrators, teachers, student services specialists parents and students in the design, implementation and review of comprehensive individual program plans.

• Design, implement and evaluate instructional and behavioural programs that enhance the student’s social participation in family, school and community activities.

• Adapt and modify existing assessment tools and methods to accommodate the unique abilities and needs of students with developmental disabilities including learning styles inventories, portfolio assessments, and functional assessments.

• Assist students in the use of alternative and augmentative communication systems in collaboration with the Speech-Language Pathologist.

• Assist parents and other professionals in planning appropriate transitions for students with developmental disabilities, including job placement, school-to-work and independent living.

• Promote and maintain confidentiality regarding records and documentation.

• Maintain ongoing collegial support through professional support sessions.

• Be able to assume a leadership role in a Program Planning Team.

• Be able to collaboratively plan, implement, and evaluate programming for students with special needs.

• Be able to demonstrate an expertise in a variety of assessment and programming approaches.

• Be able to integrate students in the regular classroom with peers where/when appropriate, in consultation with the Program Planning Team.

• Provide professional support to teachers within the classroom to program effectively for students with special needs.

Learning Support Teacher with primary focus on Academic, Social, and Behavioural Support 

 Students receiving support through a Behaviour Support Learning Centre may have challenges that include, but are not limited to academic, behaviour, and/or social-emotional concerns.  The Learning Support Teacher provides programming in academics, behaviour, and social/emotional skills to students across all three tiers.  In addition to the competencies and responsibilities noted above the following are more specific components to this role.

• Ability to implement and monitor Safety Regulation plans with the guidance of the Behaviour Support Teacher Specialist.

• Ability to provide whole class programming around behaviour skills and social/emotional regulation strategies

• Ability to work with small groups of students on more targeted academic, behaviour and social-emotional intervention both within and outside of the classroom

• Assist in developing more individualized programming and supports for students exhibiting complex needs academically and behaviourally. 

• Knowledge of social/behavioural programming (e.g., social explorers, mind-up curriculum, whole body listening, zones of regulation, options to anger, leaky breaks, self-reg, etc.)

• Collaborate with the classroom teachers to examine the classroom environment with regards to universal design for learning and situations which may act as triggers that maintain stress behaviour and develop methods to reduce these stressors and regulate emotions.