Foundations for the Future Charter Academy Looking for Education Assistant (Behaviour) at Calgary, Alberta, Canada Full Time

Located in Calgary, Foundations for the Future Charter Academy (FFCA) is the largest public charter school in Alberta, serving over 4000 students in eight campuses throughout the city. We offer educational programming through a Distinctive Teaching and Learning Framework that has been developed within the Alberta context for students from Kindergarten to Grade 12. Our mission is to provide a safe and caring environment where the four pillars of our charter, academic excellence, character development, parental involvement and staff leadership are valued and fostered. An Education Assistant (Behaviour) is required for a full-time probationary position to begin immediately. This position will be based out of Central Office and will require travel to multiple campuses. The Education Assistant (Behaviour) will work under the direction of the Coordinator of Inclusion, supporting students who may have severe social/emotional and/or behavioural disabilities associated with one or more co-occurring diagnoses including, but not be limited to:

• attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,
• autism spectrum disorder,
• cognitive disabilities,
• fetal alcohol spectrum disorders,
• oppositional defiance disorder,
• sensory processing disorder,
• selective mutism,
• speech / language delays. Students may demonstrate challenging, and often unsafe, behaviours:
• Avoidance behaviour (running, hiding)
• Aggressive behaviour (hitting, biting)
• Destructive behaviour (throwing, breaking)
• Disruptive behaviour (crying, screaming)
• Self-harming behaviours (hitting, cutting) The Education Assistant (Behaviour) will support a specific student or small to large group of students, depending on the scheduled daily activities within the class(es) in which they work. Responsibilities
• Collaborate with internal support team personnel including: classroom teacher(s), campus administrators, parents/guardians, youth development counsellor / family liaison counsellor, and external service providers such as medical professionals, Calgary Health Region, Calgary and Area Child and Family Services, Youth Justice, AADAC, Youth Shelters to assist students with the identification and achievement of personal behavioural and academic learning goals.
• Participate, in collaboration with other support personnel, in the design, implementation, and assessment of a students behaviour support plan by documenting behavioural issues and concerns; recording qualitative and quantitative data related to the students behaviour.
• Design and provide a broad spectrum of activities and experiences by delivering individual and small group instruction such as anger management and social skills development in order to address the personal behavioural and academic learning goals.
• Contribute proactively to the safety and security of the learning environment by identifying and accessing resources, designing and implementing safety plans, and other interventions in order to provide or make available resources/support for students in order achieve their personal behavioural and academic learning goals.
• Contribute proactively to the safety and security of the learning environment by implementing appropriate interventions: o ensuring adherence to safety standards o providing personal care as required, o managing inappropriate behavior, including appropriate implementation of physical restraint techniques when required o administering first aid
• Ensure compliance with FFCA policy and administrative procedures as well as relevant provincial legislation, regulation, and policy requirements.
• Perform responsibilities in a professional manner by acting in ways that are consistent with recognizing and respecting each other, working to earn and sustain trust, communicating with each other in ways that promote mutual understanding, using collaborative approaches to problem-solving, decision-making, and creating and maintaining positive working relationships that lead to quality learning experiences for students.
• Support others, e.g., Supervision Assistants, Education Assistants, Teachers, parents by providing programming recommendations for behaviour support as well as in-service opportunities for others in order to build capacity of others in support of student learning.
• Other duties as assigned. Qualifications
• 2-year diploma in related field (child/youth care, justice, social work) or Education Assistant certificate with demonstrated knowledge/skills/training in behaviour disabilities.
• Standard First Aid.
• Current Therapeutic Crisis Intervention, Non-violent Crisis Intervention or equivalent.
• Additional certification as required for site specific programs.
• Minimum 2 years experience working with diverse learning students or other severe behavioural needs.
• Ability to deal with social/emotional and mental health challenges of working with groups of children who are often active and demanding.
• Knowledge of related support agencies and professionals within community.
• Demonstrated ability to build relationships with emotionally dysregulated students.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to maintain enthusiasm and commitment with students.
• Valid drivers license (travel to multiple campuses required).
• Flexibility with schedule. Closing date for applications : This position will remain open until a suitable candidate is found. Application Details: Interested candidates are asked to e-mail a cover letter, resume and 2 references to chloe.graveline@ffca-calgary.com . While all applicants are thanked for their interest, only those selected for the interview process will be contacted.