Lower Elementary Learning Specialist

SUMMARY: Plans and implements appropriate curriculum and activities designed to promote academic, social, and emotional growth for children with varying needs, successfully communicates with children, parents and colleagues, and demonstrates a professional demeanor as well as an ongoing interest in personal growth and professional development.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

• The Lower Elementary Learning Specialist provides resources and support for classroom teachers, kindergarten through second grade, as they plan programs, set goals, and modify the curriculum for students.
• Assess students in order to establish goals and objectives for students, and regularly review these with teachers, administrators, and parents.
• Provide direct instruction and support for students who have special academic needs. Re-teach, reinforce, consolidate, and/or extend specific learning skills.
• Develop and implement ongoing professional development for the faculty in areas such as assessment, diverse learning styles, and differentiated instruction, as well as parent education.
• Act as liaison between school, parents, and outside support specialists.
• Meet regularly with teams of teachers and administrators to discuss children, programs, and progress and to coordinate learning goals with classroom teachers.
• Meet regularly with the School Counselor and other Learning Specialists.
• Provide support and assistance for students before and after school to address specific classroom goals.
• Provide instruction to small groups during the summer program for additional compensation.
• Review psycho-educational evaluations; translate results into recommendations for teachers by creating testing summaries, which include accommodations and modifications.

INDIVIDUAL PREREQUISITES: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty to the satisfaction of the administration. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or abilities required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: Valid elementary-level state teaching credential, relevant experience in a school setting. Masters degree preferred, special education credential or educational therapy certification also preferred. Training in reading intervention programs preferred.

BEHAVIORAL SKILLS: Demonstrates personal integrity, friendliness, patience, fairness, openness, non-defensiveness, sensitivity, flexibility, and enthusiasm.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: Ability to read, analyze, and interpret written documents, professional literature and material pertinent to elementary education, curriculum and child development. Ability to write reports, academic and developmental evaluations, curricular plans, letters to parents and others. Ability to articulate present information and respond to children, parents, colleagues, and administrators in the areas of curriculum, instruction and child development. Ability to speak and write from a child-specific perspective.

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS: Ability to add, subtract, multiply and divide using whole numbers, fractions and decimals; create and interpret graphs; compute ratio and percent and use a calculator.

TECHNICAL SKILLS: Ability to use simple tools and machines, such as copiers, laminators, telephones. Ability to use a computer, minimum level requiring word processing programs to write reports, compose letters.

REASONING ABILITY: Ability to solve practical problems and apply common sense in dealing with everyday and emergency situations. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram and schedule form.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by a teacher to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions:

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear. The employee is required to stand, walk, sit, climb, use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls, reach with hands and arms, stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl.

The employee must occasionally lift and/or move children of all sizes in the classroom. Specific vision abilities required include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision and ability to adjust focus.

WORK ENVIRONMENT: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those a teacher encounters while performing the essential functions of the job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The noise level in the work environment varies from quiet to moderate to noisy.