Special Education Teacher

BASIC FUNCTIONS: Teach academic, social, and life skills to Charter School students with learning, emotional, or physical disabilities. Includes teachers who specialize and work with students who are blind or have visual impairments; students who are deaf or have hearing impairments; and students with intellectual disabilities.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

Under the direction of the Executive Principal, the Special Education Teacher plans and provides appropriate learning experiences for students with disabilities in a variety of educational settings. The person in this position is responsible for creating a flexible program and learning environment that provides specialized instruction for students with disabilities, such that the students benefit from the general education curriculum to the greatest extent possible when supported with supplemental aids, accommodations, and other needed supports.

Job Responsibilities:

• Provide direct and indirect instructional support to students in a positive environment.
• Employ special educational strategies and techniques during instruction to improve the development of sensory- and perceptual-motor skills, language, cognition, and memory.
• Instruct students in academic subjects using a variety of techniques such as phonetics, multi-sensory learning, and repetition to reinforce learning and to meet students' varying needs and interests.
• Teach socially acceptable behavior, as determined by the students’ individualized education programs (IEPs) by employing techniques in an overall positive behavioral support system.
• Modify the general education curriculum for students with disabilities based upon a variety of instructional techniques and technologies.
• Plan and conduct activities for a balanced program of instruction, demonstration, and work time that provides students with opportunities to observe, question, and investigate.
• Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining an environment conducive to learning for all students.
• Meet with parents to discuss their children's progress and to determine priorities for their children and their individualized educational needs.
• Confer with parents, administrators, testing specialists, social workers, and other professionals to develop individualized education programs (IEPs) designed to promote students' educational, physical, and social/emotional development.
• Maintain accurate and complete student records and prepare reports on children and activities, as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
• Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects and communicate those objectives to students.
• Develop plans for effective communication, monitoring, and follow-up of students in inclusive classroom settings.
• Provide crisis intervention, as needed, for students and those in inclusive classrooms.
• Assist in collection of data for providing appropriate classroom interventions.
• Serve as a member of a multidisciplinary team as appropriate.
• Assist in preparation of data for local, state, and federal reports.
• Maintain professional competence by participating in staff development activities, curriculum development meetings, and other professional opportunities.
• Perform other related duties as assigned by the Executive Principal or CGO.

Job Skills Requirements:

• The special educator also demonstrates the ability to provide positive behavioral support to students in a group and in an individual setting; demonstrates an understanding of the federal, state, and local mandates governing the determination and delivery of special education services; completes observations and reports pertaining to learning behaviors of students; displays the ability to work effectively with administrators, colleagues, central office and school based staff, students, parents and community members.
• The special educator possesses excellent human relations skills and a working knowledge of the English language in written and verbal form.

Licensure Requirements:

• WI DPI license required – Cross Categorical Special Education Teaching License

Desired Characteristics:

• Bilingual English/Spanish
• Previous classroom teacher experience
• Early Childhood best practices and early development continuums
• Non-violent Crisis Intervention - Inclusion as a model for tiered support
• Math and/or literacy interventions
• Social/Emotional curriculum and supports

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

• The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• Must have the use of sensory skills in order to effectively communicate and interact with students, other faculty, staff, and parents as normally defined by the ability to see, read, talk, hear, handle, or feel objects and controls. The position also entails significant walking, bending, standing, stooping, and possible physical interventions in order to maintain a safe learning environment. Assignment may require the ability to physically move students or equipment weighing up to 50 lbs, position students in specialized equipment.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

• The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.
• The employee will have unsupervised access to children that are part of La Casa’s educational programs.
• The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet.
• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $60,000.00 - $80,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Employee assistance program
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Retirement plan
• Tuition reimbursement
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Monday to Friday
• No weekends

Work Location: In person

Contact: Hanan Saint-Hilaire, Sr. Bilingual Human Resources Generalist at Tel. (262) 832-1508 or hsaint-hilaire@lacasadeesperanza.org