WHAT DOES AN INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANT DO?
Published: Sep 25, 2025 - The Instructional Assistant supports classroom instruction by implementing lesson plans, managing student behavior, and facilitating a positive learning environment aligned with California State Standards and Aspire guidelines. This role involves collaborating with teachers and staff to deliver differentiated instruction, assess student progress, and communicate regularly with families. The assistant also participates in professional development, contributes to college readiness efforts, and gains experience toward a future career in education.
A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Instructional Assistant
1. Kindergarten Instructional Assistant Tasks
- Instructional Support: Provide instructional support across different subject areas.
- Classroom Instruction: Responsible for the overall instruction of the class and communication with parents.
- Lesson Preparation: Assist the classroom teacher with preparing the physical environment and materials for daily lessons and activities.
- Classroom Supervision: Supervise, instruct, and provide basic needs in maintaining a creative, attractive, organized, safe, clean, and child-centered room.
- Activity Planning: Prepare for (with classroom teacher approval) and use a developmentally appropriate approach/strategies for individual, small-group, and/or large-group activities.
- Progress Communication: Communicate student progress with the classroom teacher.
- Parent Liaison: Direct parents to the classroom teacher for student progress or learning/behavior concerns and expectations.
- Team Collaboration: Work collaboratively with the classroom teacher and grade level team members.
- Policy Adherence: Adhere to policies and precepts of King’s Schools and CRISTA Ministries.
- Workplace Collaboration: Work collaboratively with supervisor, coworkers, and customers.
- Professional Development: Attend and participate in Kindergarten team meetings, additional trainings, in-services, workshops, and classes for professional development and as determined by the school administrator and classroom teacher.
2. Instructional Assistant Overview
- Activity Assistance: Assist the teacher in planning and implementing the activities/work assignments for individual students, e.g., individuals and small groups.
- Lesson Support: Follow a lesson plan, chart, or guide created by teachers and/or instructional assistants.
- Student Assistance: Move about the classroom to help students and provide support.
- Progress Evaluation: Assist the teacher in evaluating the progress of students.
- Behavior Management: Assist the teacher in maintaining positive behavior and control to ensure student safety.
- Record Maintenance: Maintain adequate and legible records concerning students whom they support.
- Idea Responsiveness: Respond to new ideas, methods and suggestions from teachers and aides.
- Teacher Consultation: Consult frequently with the teacher about the needs, suggestions, questions, problems and progress of students.
- Professional Attitude: Demonstrate a professional and flexible attitude/rapport with other staff members.
- Student Interaction: Demonstrate appropriate interaction with the students in the learning environment.
- Material Preparation: Assist the teachers with the preparation of instructional materials.
- Confidentiality Compliance: Maintain all aspects and provisions of confidentiality related to Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
- Rapport Building: Establish and maintain good rapport with students, employees and community members.
- Ethical Conduct: Maintain a high level of ethical behavior and confidentiality.
- Technology Proficiency: Remain current in existing and emerging technology and software.
3. Online Instructional Assistant Responsibilities and Key Tasks
- Participant Admission: Admit participants from the waiting room and monitor continued access to the group.
- List Collection: Collect the participant list from operations or the client.
- Attendance Tracking: Take attendance at the beginning of the class and throughout to ensure 70% attendance.
- Name Management: Change the participant list names for simplicity and accuracy.
- Technical Support: Address technical issues and questions.
- Assessment Distribution: Send out student assessments.
- Audio Control: Responsible for controlling mutes.
- Chat Facilitation: Facilitate chat questions, provide additional detail in chat to facilitate understanding.
- Material Distribution: Provide attachments and handouts.
4. Instructional Assistant Roles and Details
- Classroom Support: Adapt classroom work under the direction of the teacher for the purpose of providing a method to support and/or reinforce classroom objectives.
- Student Evaluation: Administer evaluations for the purpose of assisting the teacher in evaluating students’ progress and/or recognizing the individual needs of the student.
- First Aid Assistance: Administer first-aid and assistance to medically fragile and/or injured students, under supervision (e.g., tube feeding to students, toileting, etc.) for the purpose of providing appropriate care for ill children.
- Lesson Implementation: Assist teachers and parents for the purpose of implementing lesson plans and/or developing students’ adaptive and behavioral skills.
- Progress Conferencing: Confer with teachers, parents and/or appropriate personnel for the purpose of assisting in the evaluation of students’ progress and/or implementing students’ objectives.
- Behavioral Support: Implement behavioral plans for the purpose of meeting students’ social and daily living skills.
- Instructional Assistance: Implement instructional programs and lesson plans under the supervision of the teacher for the purpose of assisting the teacher and student academically.
- Record Maintenance: Maintain students’ files/records as pertains to special education files/records for the purpose of ensuring a safe and appropriate learning environment.
- Student Monitoring: Monitor individual students, classroom and/or playground activities for the purpose of maintaining a safe and positive learning environment.
- Clerical Support: Perform record keeping and basic clerical functions, scheduling, copying, etc., for the purpose of supporting the teacher in maintaining student files and providing classroom materials.
- Cash Handling: Process cash receipts for field trip activities for the purpose of ensuring the receipt of funds for special events.
- Emergency Response: Respond to emergency situations (e.g., injured students, fights, etc.) for the purpose of resolving immediate safety concerns.
- Team Assistance: Assist other personnel as may be required for the purpose of supporting them in the completion of their work activities.
- Meeting Participation: Participate in various meetings for the purpose of sharing information and/or improving one’s skills/knowledge.
- Additional Duties: Perform such other duties and assume such other responsibilities as may be assigned by the Superintendent/Designee.
5. Instructional Assistant Key Accountabilities
- Instructional Support: Work as an Instructional Assistant in a state-mandated physical education program.
- Material Development: Develop learning materials for students (independently or as directed by the PE teacher).
- Student Supervision: Supervise students during school time, lunch time, recess time, and before and after school hours.
- Incident Reporting: Write and submit student occurrence reports to the assistant principal on significant occurrences.
- Substitute Teaching: Substitute and maintain the instructional momentum of the program in the absence of the teacher.
- Program Evaluation: Assist in providing continuous and systematic evaluation of students and programs.
- Safety Supervision: Assist in providing structure and supervision that will ensure the safety of all students with consideration to readiness, progression of skills, and care of facilities.
- Student Escorting: Accompany students on scheduled appointments and medical trips.
- Boarding Supervision: Schedule may change to include boarding duties, such as supervising and instructing students in self-care skills and activities of daily living.
- Residential Reporting: Write and submit written reports to the Director of Student Life on significant happenings during the residential period.
- Program Liaison: Serve as a liaison between the boarding and classroom programs.
- PE Assistance: Assist the PE teacher with instruction, redirection of students who are off-task, behavior management, role playing, planning and preparation for field trips and special events, recordkeeping, and attendance.
6. Instructional Assistant Role Purpose
- Material Preparation: Assist instructors in assembling and preparing materials and handouts for classroom use.
- Technology Setup: Ready media equipment, software applications, and distance learning equipment for classroom use.
- Equipment Maintenance: Ensure equipment is in sound working order or arrange for repairs by Information Technology staff.
- Student Scheduling: Schedule students by telephone or in person for testing appointments, following guidelines and procedures.
- Room Coordination: Schedule the use of rooms to meet individual student accommodation requirements.
- Test Coordination: Coordinate with instructors to obtain tests to be administered.
- Database Access: Access the DSP&S student database to identify accommodations approved for individual students.
- Accommodation Support: Reserve specialized equipment, arrange for readers or writers, or make other accommodation provisions.
- Test Proctoring: Proctor tests and monitor students during testing to ensure the integrity of the testing process.
- Student Support: Provide calm and reassurance to minimize students' testing anxiety utilizing established approaches.
7. Instructional Assistant Essential Functions
- Incident Reporting: Prepare incident reports in the event a student fails to follow testing procedures.
- Test Scoring: Score tests using computer tools or Scantron equipment.
- Record Management: Record test results and forward them to instructors.
- Aide Training: Provide input in selecting and training student aides.
- Aide Scheduling: Schedule and monitor the work of aides.
- Timesheet Review: Review student aide timesheets.
- Cultural Competency: Understand historically minoritized groups and participate in professional development activities to increase cultural competency to enhance equity-minded practices within the District.
- Administrative Support: Provide backup for other college administrative staff.
- Student Assistance: Assist students by answering questions about the application process, orientation, and other matters.
8. Instructional Assistant Job Summary
- Assignment Monitoring: Visually and audibly monitors student assignments, providing individual guidance and assistance, or as directed by the Teacher, for completion of assignments.
- Assignment Grading: Grade student assignments as outlined by the Teacher.
- Group Supervision: Visually and audibly supervises small groups of students in a variety of learning environments.
- PE Supervision: Visually and manually supervises physical education activities.
- Progress Meetings: Meet with school personnel and facility clinical staff to discuss the educational and behavioral progress of the student daily and as the need arises.
- Curriculum Assistance: Assist the Teacher with completing forms, preparing curriculum and other assignments.
- Behavior Monitoring: Visually and audibly monitors classroom behavior and participates in crisis intervention.
- Behavior Observation: Visually and audibly observes and reports on students' verbal and non-verbal behavior in conjunction with the I.E.P., reporting any significant changes in the medical or psychiatric condition to the Charge Nurse of the unit and the Teacher.
- Behavior Management: Follow behavior management techniques practiced in the facility and enforce the point and level system.
- Crisis Intervention: Assist other facility staff with crisis intervention, including physical containment, escort, and restraint/seclusion procedures as the need arises.
- Field Trip Supervision: Visually and audibly monitors and supervises students on educational field trips.
- Equipment Monitoring: Visually monitors the use of all school equipment and supplies.
9. Instructional Assistant Accountabilities
- Classroom Management: Support classroom systems/procedures and help manage student behavior to ensure all students are fully engaged in learning.
- Lesson Planning: Develop and implement lesson plans and classroom activities consistent with California State Standards and Aspire Instructional Guidelines.
- Student Assessment: Assess students regularly in accordance with Aspire guidelines and analyze assessment data.
- Team Collaboration: Collaborate with Aspire team members to improve one's own and others’ instructional practices, share best practices.
- Family Communication: Help classroom teachers provide students and their families with regular and timely information on classroom activities and student progress.
- Record Keeping: Help track critical student information and maintain accurate student records, including attendance, in accordance with Aspire procedures.
- Student Support: Identify unique student needs and collaborate with other team members and outside service providers to diagnose and address learning challenges.
- Differentiated Instruction: Assist with planning and executing differentiated instruction for students with a variety of needs, including parallel teaching, small group and/or one-on-one instruction.
- After-School Teaching: Teach students in the after-school program, especially intervention and acceleration for students below grade level.
- School Culture: Support a school-wide culture of high expectations that includes college preparation for all students.
- College Support: Work with the College and Academic Counselor to support students with academic progress and college application processes.
- Advisory Teaching: Teach or co-teach the Advisory class with the objective of developing students’ character and habits.
- Professional Development: Actively participate in professional development activities, including training sessions and working with the lead teacher, principal, and instructional coaches.
- Career Preparation: Work towards a career as an educator, which may include enrolling in a teacher credential program.
10. Instructional Assistant Details
- Course Instruction: Teach three Biology, Biochemistry, or Honors courses each semester, including the first-year Honors Biology sequence.
- Experiential Teaching: Prepare to teach sustainability courses, including experiential learning components such as service learning and learning abroad and teach science communication and/or undergraduate research courses, including experiential learning components.
- Program Leadership: Serve as the Associate Director of the Energy and Sustainability program in the Honors College.
- Curriculum Development: Responsible for including curriculum development and assisting with the administration of the program.
- Scholar Recruitment: Recruit and retain a diverse community of scholars.
- Supervised Coordination: Work under direct supervision using standardized routines, leading, guiding, and/or coordinating others, and operating within a defined budget, with the opportunity to significantly impact the Organization's services.
- Safety Compliance: Use reasonable precautions in the performance of duties and adhere to all applicable safety rules and practices.
- Safety Assurance: Act in such a manner as to assure at all times maximum safety to oneself, children, clients, and other employees.