Teacher assistants must be certified
teachers or teacher assistants from the New York State Education
Department. Teacher assistants are not teacher aides; they
are responsible for the co-development and implementation of instructional
lesson plans.
Several years ago, the NYSED clarified the
responsibilities for aides and teacher assistants. The link to the
left will provide you with direct information from New York State.
Since teacher assistants are certified instructors,
there are specific requirements for professional development. All
teacher assistants who possess teacher assistant certification are
required to complete 75 hours of professional development over five years.
However, if a teacher assistant holds teacher certification, they are
required to complete 175 hours of certification to maintain valid teacher
certification. Sachem teacher assistants are required to document
their hours of professional development and to submit the log form to the
Personnel Office each June. It is important to constantly
communicate with the building principal about professional development;
they are required to verify that teacher assistants have participated in
professional development.
Anyone interested in becoming a teacher assistant must
possess valid teacher and/or teacher assistant certification and must
apply on-line. It is important for you to remember your user name
and password once you create your account using the link to the left.
The Personnel Office can not remember this for you. In addition,
please be advised that the Personnel Office does not accept paper resumes,
emails or faxes due to the volume of interest in this position.