Job Summary

Facilities communication between students who are hearing impaired and the classroom teacher(s), principal(s), students, parents and other persons with whom the student comes in contact.

Essential Duties

• Acts as the facilitator of communication between the student with a hearing impairment, staff, students and others as appropriate;
• Accurately interprets/transliterates all classroom discussion, conversations and school assemblies;
• Accurately interprets/transliterates the teacher’s/speaker’s message, conveying the content and spirit of the speaker;
• Provides classroom assistance which may include repetition of directions or materials, monitoring or comprehension and redirection to classroom teacher for reteaching;
• Provides information and orientation to the hearing impaired student in an emergency situation;
• Respects confidentiality in all areas of interpreting/transliterating assignments and adheres to the RID Code of Ethics;
• Learns signs for special vocabulary prior to need;
• Provides interpreting for parent meetings when necessary;
• Assists in providing orientations on deafness to hearing students and staff;
• Avoids advising, counseling or interjecting personal opinions into the

                       Interpreted instruction or within the educational assignment;

• Strives to maintain high professional standards in compliance with the

            Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf;

• Strives to maintain current knowledge of interpretation methods and opportunities for skill development. Maintains knowledge and skills through participation in workshops, professional meetings, interaction with professional colleagues and a reading of current literature in the field;
• Works collaboratively with the hearing impaired teacher, classroom teacher and other school staff;
• Maintains prompt and regular attendance at work;
• Models nondiscriminatory practices in all activities; and
• Performs any other duties as assigned by the Principal or Director for Special Services.

Job Specifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities, who are otherwise qualified, to perform the essential functions. The work involves physical effort encountered in normal, everyday activities including sitting, walking, standing, bending, reaching and/or carrying light items (no more than 10 pounds).  Responsibilities are normally performed in a school / classroom environment. Responsibilities may be occasionally performed on field trips away from school.  The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.  Must be skilled in American Sign Language or an appropriate form of manually coded English; may be required to sign for extended periods of time.  Applicant must be prepared to sign under various environmental conditions

Minimum Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills and/or Abilities Required)

High School Diploma/GED required.  Virginia Quality Assurance Screening III (VQAS) or any other state or national certification recognized by the Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing as equivalent to or exceeding the VQAS III is preferred.  Candidates who have coursework in sign-language communication and are willing to pursue Virginia Quality Assurance Screening (VQAS) Level III may be considered.  Personnel must possess the ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with students, staff, parents and the public.

Working Conditions & Physical Requirements

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.  The work involves physical effort encountered in normal, everyday activities including sitting, walking, standing, bending, reaching and/or carrying light items (no more than 10 pounds).  Responsibilities are normally performed in a school / classroom environment.  Responsibilities may be occasionally performed on field trips away from school. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.  Must be skilled in American Sign Language or an appropriate form of manually coded English; may be required to sign for extended periods of time.  Applicant must be prepared to sign under various environmental conditions

Work 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 usually low to moderate.

This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by this employee. The Employee will be required to follow any other instructions and to perform any other related duties as assigned by the Principal, Director for Special Services or appropriate administrator. Bedford County Public Schools reserves the right to update, revise or change this job description and related duties at any time.