Teacher Gifted - Enrichment Specialist - Desert Canyon MS

POSITION OBJECTIVE:

The job of the Middle School Enrichment Specialist is done for the purpose/s of serving as as consultants, collaborators, coaches and mentors of best practice in gifted pedagogy and advanced differentiation. They provide leadership and expertise to ensure consistent and effective differentiation of daily instruction and academic growth of diverse advanced learners.  Enrichment/Differentiation Specialists spend at least seventy percent of their time working collaboratively with school staff by co-teaching, coaching, collaboratively planning or developing resources for students and teachers. During this time they may also be working alone or with others designing and implementing independent projects for specific students, by facilitating mentorship opportunities, by pushing into classrooms and teaching small groups of advanced learners.  Thirty percent or less of their time will be spent working with site administrators, grade level teams and other site resource coaches to coordinate the enrichment component of the enrichment block.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES: (These duties are a representative sample; position assignments may vary.)

General

1. Be a strong advocate for students, their parents, and teachers.
2. Provide direct services to identified advanced learners (i.e. through collaborative teaching, by designing and implementing independent projects for specific students, by facilitating mentorship opportunities, etc.)
3. When necessary, advocate for appropriate accelerated learning opportunities, both within the school and outside the school
4. Coach and collaborate with classroom teachers to improve the differentiation of curriculum and instruction for diverse high ability learners
5. Utilize data and student interest to coordinate school-wide enrichment
6. Promote equity regarding talent development and gifted education services for students within school

Curriculum Design and Delivery

1. Collaborate with classroom teachers and school staff to include enrichment and differentiation for diverse high ability learners in daily ELA instruction.
2. Support affective needs of high ability learners through appropriate curriculum design
3. Screen and select necessary supplemental curriculum materials and resources to ensure learner outcomes are met

Professional Development

1. Lead professional development about best instructional practices and assessment for students and ground all staff development in a research base from the field of gifted education
2. Provide work-embedded coaching to classroom teachers by collaboratively plan and teach differentiated lessons and units of study that assess, address, and evaluated the needs of diverse advanced learners.
3. Provide parent education opportunities to help parents understand standards and instructional materials, differentiation for advanced learners and the opportunities for interest based learning for students through school-wide enrichment

Assessment

1. Support the use a comprehensive assessment system to inform instruction and enrichment opportunities for students
2. Support ongoing assessment/identification of high ability, high talent and high potential following district guidelines. Make particular effort to recruit and retain students from populations often underrepresented in gifted programs and who may be underachieving

• Other duties as assigned

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE (positions in this class typically require):

Education

1. Advanced degree or endorsement in Gifted Education  (must currently hold or be working to obtain)
2. Appropriately certified in Arizona

Experience         

1. Experience in gifted teaching strategies
2. Experience with qualitative differentiation of the core curriculum for varied learners
3. Demonstrated effective collaboration, consultation and coaching skills in working with adults

LICENSING REQUIREMENTS (positions in this class typically require):

1. Advanced degree or endorsement in Gifted Education  (must currently hold or be working to obtain)
2. Appropriately certified in Arizona

KNOWLEDGE (position requirements at entry):

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities

1. Strong knowledge of gifted education, current educational research, instructional strategies and differentiation of curriculum and instruction specifically for diverse high ability learners
2. Strong knowledge of the content and pedagogy needed for gifted education; knowledge of assessment strategies; knowledge of resources and appropriately differentiated materials

SKILLS (position requirements at entry):

1. Excellent interpersonal skills; excellent oral and written communication skills
2. Ability to facilitate professional development experiences for staff using exemplary pedagogy from gifted education
3. A passion for student achievement, the conviction that all students will learn, and a drive to close the achievement gap between student groups

ABILITY (position requirements at entry):

1. Ability to differentiate instruction for diverse groups of learners
2. Ability to work creatively and collaboratively with teams

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

Positions in this class typically require: stooping, kneeling, crouching, reaching, standing, walking, pushing, pulling, lifting, finger dexterity, grasping, talking, hearing, seeing, and repetitive motions.

Medium Work: Exerting up to 50 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 20 pounds of force frequently, and/or up to 10 pounds of force constantly to move objects.

Incumbents may be subjected to moving mechanical parts, odors, chemicals, extreme temperatures, inadequate lighting, workspace restrictions, and intense noises.

NOTE:

The above job description is intended to represent only the key areas of responsibilities; specific position assignments will vary depending on the business needs of the department.