Occupational Therapist

Title: Occupational Therapist FY2526_26

Reports to: Director of Student Achievement Special Services

Status: FTE 1.0 Certified Pay Matrix

Location: District Wide

Start Date: August 15, 2025

Certified/TRS

Belgrade School District Benefits

Health, Dental, Vision plans and District contribution

Life Insurance, and Long-Term Disability Insurance District Paid

State retirement package becomes fully vested after five years

403B matching funds up to 1.25% of Annual Salary

Eligibility for Public Service Student Loan Forgiveness

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs)

Paid Leave

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Purpose:

Evaluate students to determine their functional levels and identify special needs. Plan and implement therapeutic activities to assist special education students to benefit from their education experiences.

Essential Job Duties

• Screen, observe, evaluate, re-evaluate, monitor, interpret, document, and report students functional physical status in the school setting, including determining recommendations and implications for education; to include the identification of disability and the determination of need for special education services.
• Develop motor skills to enable the student to more readily perform required pre-academic, academic, communication, self-care, prevocational and vocational readiness tasks.
• Improve self-care skills in order to maximize the students independence in eating, dressing, toileting, and grooming.
• Increase prevocational and vocational readiness skills to prepare the student to function as independently as possible in an independent living situation, vocational program or work setting.
• Improve and/or maintain muscle strength, endurance, and range of motion through the use of physical activities so the student is better able to perform required educational tasks such as writing or using a computer.
• Provide or recommend adaptive aids and equipment to enable the student to participate more effectively in the educational environment.
• Facilitate the students ability to effectively process and respond to basic sensory and motor information as a foundation for learning.
• Enhance social/emotional adjustment in the school setting by providing opportunities for success and independence in skill development.

Responsibilities

• Develop and adhere to a daily schedule for treatment, consultation and meetings.
• Evaluate and determine the need for occupational therapy services for students referred to occupational therapy.
• Write reports based on the OT assessments and provide copies as per district policy.
• Participate, plan, and assist in the completion of the IEP team process including collaborating for goal and objective development, for placement decisions, and for the need for related services.
• Provide occupational therapy services for student who have been determined to need therapy with educational implications.
• Maintain measurements of students progress in therapy and report the progress in accordance with district policy.
• When appropriate, communicate with clinics, physicians and other therapists.
• Communicate with parents to assure their understanding and participation in the childs therapy program.
• When appropriate, design and construct adaptive equipment splints, positioning, writing, eating, and dressing devices
• When appropriate, provide consultation for school staff regarding individual students program, disabilities, positioning and handling activities of daily living and other therapy modalities, and general precautions.
• Supervise certified occupational therapy assistants.
• Participate in ongoing continuing education to ensure professional competence, and meet state licensing requirement.
• Maintain confidentiality.
• Carry out other duties as required by Special Education Services.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Supervises certified occupational therapy assistants and students.

Required Qualifications:

1. Montana Drivers license or the ability to obtain license within three months of hire date.

2. Graduation from a Baccalaureate or Masters Level Occupational Therapy Program accredited by the American

Occupational Therapy Association.

3.Pass the AOTA registration requirement.

4.Possess knowledge of child development, school-related therapeutic interventions, behavior and management and

assistive technology

5.Demonstrate an understanding of the role of the occupational therapist in a school setting (educational relevancy).

Necesary special requirements:

1.Maintain a current Montana Occupational Therapy License.

Preferred Qualifications

• Successful experience in public school setting and/or related experiences in pediatrics (preferable).

Knowledge and Skills

Language Skills:

• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations.
• Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals.
• Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, clients, customers, and the general public.

Mathematical Skills:

• Ability to work with mathematical concepts such as probability and statistical inference, and fundamentals of plane and solid geometry and trigonometry.
• Ability to apply concepts such as fractions, percentages, ratios, and proportions to practical situations.

Reasoning Ability:

• Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situat