Educational Assistant Job Description, Key Duties and Responsibilities

This post provides exhaustive information on the educational assistant job description, including key duties, tasks, and responsibilities they commonly perform.

It also highlights the major requirements you may be asked to meet to be hired for the educational assistant role.

What Does an Educational Assistant Do?

An educational assistant is responsible for the safety and security of students.

The educational assistant job description entails assisting with all classroom related activities, including organizing the room, cleaning up the room, and preparing materials for each class period.

It also involves conducting special projects for teachers to promote student learning in a fun environment, in addition to the classroom work.

The educational assistant will also communicate regularly with teachers and staff about children’s learning needs or concerns that may interfere with their academics or social development.

It is also their responsibilities to ensure that children are protected from all forms of abuse.

They help children with different disabilities to access the facilities, materials and programs.

Assisting with special projects, including those designed to prevent drug and alcohol use among the students is a key part of their duties.

Preparing students for social or life activities, such as job interviews, home budgeting and cooking is also part of the educational assistant tasks.

A good educational assistant will help each student adjust their daily activities as needed to help them cope with their activities and school work.

The educational assistant work description also involves providing special services or support to students with medical conditions, such as asthma, vision impairment, and mental retardation, and cancer.

It also entails providing social services for students with visual or hearing impairments or physical disabilities.

Educational assistants communicate with parents on a regular basis to ensure that all their needs are being met by the school system.

It is also their duty to ensure that teachers and other staff members in the building do not apply inappropriate discipline on students.

They will notify parents of the intended disciplinary measures in writing 15 days before they are imposed on the students.

Educational assistants are responsible for preventing students from running away from the school system.

They offer services and assistance to emotionally disturbed or suicidal students.

Educational Assistant Job Description Sample/Example/Template

The educational assistant job description consists of the following duties, tasks, and responsibilities:

• Conduct a briefing for new students
• Prepare final lesson plans for the following week
• Help with classroom organization, scheduling, and grading
• Provide support for students to aid their study
• Aid teacher in conducting workshop or offering extra help to students
• Assist teachers in preparing reports
• Assist with field trips, cultural events, and other extra-curricular activities
• Compile attendance records
• Help out students with discipline issues
• Prepare students for exams and tests
• Aid teachers in administering standardized tests
• Maintain records of daily attendance for each student/group of students
• Aid teachers in maintaining a safe and secure environment
• Assist teachers with special needs
• Assist teachers with special projects like back to school, speech and language therapy, etc.
• Aid teacher in providing support services to students such as physical therapy and occupational therapy related activities
• Provide support for special education students experiencing behavioral problems
• Help out with programs, e.g., wheelchair sports program, vocational training, etc., for both gifted and special education students
• Help with programs that help disabled students make the transition from school to society/workplace/community
• Participate in professional development activities
• Assist in school functions, e.g., parent teacher conference, etc.
• Assist students with special needs to participate in extracurricular activities and sports
• Assist teachers with counseling and mentoring for students at risk of dropping out of school (known as “dropouts”)
• Continue to provide support for any special education students that are still attending the school, even after they no longer meet the criteria for special education services
• Provide support for students who are first offenders and expelled from the school or any student who has been kicked out of two schools within a two year period due to disciplinary reasons.

Educational Assistant Job Description for Resume

If you have worked before as an educational assistant or are presently working in that role and are making a resume or CV for a new job, then you can apply the educational assistant job description example above in making the Professional Experience section of the resume.

You can express the duties and responsibilities you have performed or are currently performing as an educational assistant in your resume’s Professional Experience by utilizing the ones in the above educational assistant job description.

This will show to recruiters/employers that you have been successful performing the duties of an educational assistant, which can greatly enhance your chances of being hired for the new position, especially if it requires someone with some educational assistant work experience.

Educational Assistant Requirements: Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities for Career Success

Here are important requirements that you may be expected to fulfill to be hired for the educational assistant job:

• A high school diploma or its equivalent and at least one to four years of related work experience
• Strong interpersonal skill and ability to communicate effectively are essential for the job
• Good verbal and written communication skills (hand writing must be legible)
• Must be able to communicate effectively with students and their parents in English as well as in any other language that the school may use in the classroom, such as Spanish, Chinese, or Japanese (only required if language is not English)
• Friendly attitude towards co-workers and administrators
• Ability to work with a team and individuals without being judgmental or condescending to others within the organization
• Fluent in English and must speak another language other than English
• Possess a valid driver’s license and have no history of reckless driving or vehicular accidents
• Ability to drive a school bus
• Willing to work on any day of the week, including weekends, during holidays and vacation periods (an exception can be made for physical/mental illness or family emergency)
• Possess a neat and clean image (haircut must conform to school’s grooming policy)
• Must not have any drug related criminal records (unless receiving special permission from the school board).

Educational Assistant Salary

According to Glassdoor, the national average compensation for an education assistant in the United States is $36,490 per year.

Conclusion

The educational assistant is a vital part of the school system for not only providing services to students with disabilities, but also for their non-disabled peers as well.

This post is helpful to individuals interested in the educational assistant career.

They will be able to learn all they need to know about the duties and responsibilities of an educational assistant, and so be able to decide if it’s the right job for them.

It is also useful to recruiters/employers in making a detailed job description for the educational assistant role in their organizations, for use in hiring for the position.