Position: Hearing Interpreter II

Position Summary:

Under general supervision, serves as the translator and facilitator of communication for the hearing impaired students within the classroom using one or more communication modes; does related work as required.  An employee of this class is responsible for performing a range of interpreting duties designed to facilitate the learning process for hearing impaired students in mainstream classes and other instructional settings.  An incumbent is expected to operate under general instructions/guidelines which require the use of considerable judgment and exercise initiative in carrying out program duties and responsibilities. 

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Ensures that hearing impaired students receive the vocabulary and technical terms used by classroom teachers throughout the educational day, through the medium of cued speech, oral (speech reading), or total communication interpretations;
• Interprets all communication which occurs within the classroom, including incidental comments, errors and humorous statements, in order to ensure the hearing impaired student equal access to all interactions heard by his/her hearing peers;
• Interprets all movies, slides, student presentations, and any other audio-visual presentations, unless captioned;
• Provides reverse interpretation for students unable to make themselves adequately understood in regular classrooms;
• Confers with teachers, as needed, to discuss lesson plans, new terminology, use of teaching aids and changes to regular classroom activities to make adjustments to service delivery;
• May attend workshops, and in-service sessions;
• Keeps up-to-date on vocabulary use in specific courses;
• Maintains a professional code of ethics; and
• Performs other duties as assigned by principal, or program specialist.

Qualifications:

• Special training and knowledge of American Sign Language and other manual codes of English;
• Good knowledge of the field of interpreting for the hearing impaired;
• Ability to interpret in forms of manual English and/or cued speech, ability to work with hearing impaired students and with instructional staff; and
• Good expressive and receptive interpreting skills; and good human relations and communication skills.

Education and/or Experience Requirements:

Graduation from high school with completion of Interpreter Training Course preferred; certification from the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID), the National Association of the Deaf and/or Quality Assurance Screening and two (2) years of interpreting experience, preferably in an educational setting; or other combinations of appropriate educational and experience which provides the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to perform effectively in the position.

Certification:

None required.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

No direct supervisory responsibilities.

Physical Demands:

The physical demands are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to stand, talk, hear, walk, sit, and use fingers, tools or controls. The employee is occasionally required to reach with hands and arms and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision such as to read handwritten or typed material, the ability to adjust focus, and depth perception. While performing the duties of this job, the employee may occasionally push or lift up to 25 lbs.

Working Environment:

The work environment characteristics are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of the job.

Additional Information:

None.