• Arnprior

• Full Time

The Renfrew County Catholic District School Board (RCCDSB) operates two administration buildings, 18 elementary schools and two secondary schools in 13 communities covering more than 7,800 square kilometers for the welfare of 4,580 pupils. We are an inclusive Catholic learning community.

We are recruiting for a Language Acquisition Support Worker (LASW). This is a permanent, full-time position working at St. John XXIII school in Arnprior.

The Position

The Language Acquisition Support Worker (LASW) is an American Sign Language (ASL) fluent professional who provides essential language modeling services and educational assistance to students who are deaf or hard of hearing. This role is particularly vital for students in the early stages of ASL acquisition or those not yet meeting age-appropriate ASL language milestones, who may lack the necessary language skills to fully participate in the curriculum.

The LASW facilitates healthy ASL language acquisition by bringing educational activities and conversation to the student's current linguistic level, building on their foundation and scaffolding their skills. This position involves providing bilingual and bicultural supports to aid in the development of ASL and English, fostering both linguistic and cultural understanding. The LASW works as an integral part of the educational team, aiming to strengthen students' foundational language and self-sufficiency skills to enable their full participation in the educational environment and, eventually, to successfully work with an ASL interpreter.

Job Duties:

- Provide high-quality ASL language modeling across various educational and school settings
Interact with the student to focus their attention on relevant information, guide appropriate responses, and advise on social expectations related to language
- Provide one-on-one support to help students develop proficiency in ASL and implement strategies to support their language skills
- Offer educational tutorial support in collaboration with the classroom teacher(s) and other support staff personnel when communication facilitation services are not required
- Prepare and adapt materials for students
- Participate in parent-teacher interviews, case conferences, and individual education plan (IEP) meetings

Qualifications
- Minimum ASL proficient score of 3 and above
- Native fluency in ASL (Level 4 or higher on the ASL proficiency interview, as assessed by the Sign Language Institute of Canada) is highly preferred
- Graduate with a minimum three-year college diploma in a related field such as early childhood education, youth care worker, child and youth worker, or ASL instructor
- Post-secondary training in education, special education, or a related helping profession field equivalent to a one-year certificate is also acceptable
- Lived experience within the deaf community is highly valued

Additional Qualifications:

- Knowledge of child and language development
- Knowledge of cross-cultural issues for the deaf and hard of hearing and strong cultural competence
- Knowledge of a variety of visual languages and various modes of communication
- Ability to work collaboratively with teachers, students, staff, and interpreters as a team player
- Ability to implement instruction while ensuring the safety of the student
- Demonstrated ability to respect confidentiality, practice tact and diplomacy

Closing: July 16, 2025 at 12:00pm

All interested applicants are invited to submit an updated resume including details of qualifications, experience and professional references. Applications submitted directly to human resources will not be considered.

It is imperative that all new applicants to the board submit an original, current, satisfactory vulnerable screening criminal background check prior to commencement of employment.

We thank all candidates for their interest; however, only those shortlisted will be contacted.

RCCDSB is committed to barrier-free selection processes and therefore, if contacted for this position, you should advise the human resources department in a timely fashion of the accommodation measures required to enable you to be assessed in a fair and equitable manner.