Elementary Special Education Teacher

The Special Education Teacher develops and provides specialized instruction to meet the unique needs of students with disabilities, evaluates and assesses student progress against instructional objectives, and employs a variety of developmentally-appropriate learning strategies to meet the students’ needs and interests. Supervision:Works under the supervision of the Principal. The Principal, based on results of an annual performance evaluation, determines consideration for continued employment. Performance Responsibilities: -Knows the subject matter well, has a good grasp of child development and how students learn, and designs effective and rigorous standards-based units of instruction consisting of well-structured lessons with measurable outcomes. -Plans curriculum, lessons, and special education programs/interventions. -Uses a variety of informal and formal methods of assessments to measure student learning, growth, and understanding to develop differentiated and enhanced learning experiences and improve future instruction. -Analyzes data from assessments, draws conclusions, and shares them appropriately. -Uses instructional practices that reflect high expectations regarding content and quality of effort and work; engage all students; and are personalized to accommodate diverse learning styles, needs, interests, and levels of readiness. -Creates and maintains a safe and collaborative learning environment that motivates students to take academic risks, challenge themselves, and claim ownership of their learning. -Demonstrates expected impact on student learning based on multiple measures of student learning, growth, and achievement. For teachers who are responsible for direct instruction, these measures must include student progress on common assessments and, where available, statewide student growth measures. -Plans and implements lessons that set clear and high expectations and also make knowledge accessible for all students. -Welcomes and encourages every family to become active participants in the classroom and school community. -Collaborates with families to create and implement strategies for supporting student learning and development both at home and at school. -Engages in regular, two-way, and culturally proficient communication with families about student learning and performance. -Demonstrates the capacity to reflect on and improve the educator’s own practice, using informal means as well as meetings with teams and work groups to gather information, analyze data, examine issues, set meaningful goals, and develop new approaches in order to improve teaching and learning. -Actively pursues professional development and learning opportunities to improve quality of practice or build the expertise and experience to assume different instructional and leadership roles. -Collaborates effectively with colleagues on a wide range of tasks. -Becomes involved in schoolwide decision making, and takes an active role in school improvement planning. -Shares responsibility for the performance of all students within the school. -Is ethical and reliable, and meets routine responsibilities consistently. -Supports the Principal’s goals, philosophy, and mission of the school. -Performs all other duties assigned by the principal, within contractual guidelines. General Expectations: Maintains strong attendance and punctuality. Maintains the trust and confidence of students. Works independently with general guidance. Maintains cooperative relationships with students and adults. Manages time to accomplish multiple tasks and meet deadlines. Operates standard office equipment including computers, email, and copier. Communicates effectively both orally and in writing.