High School - Exceptional Education Teacher

About the Role

Special Education (Exceptional Education) teachers at LEAD Public Schools are champions for equality, ensuring that students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) receive the support they need. Our ideal candidate is passionate about advocating for students who require the most assistance, is flexible, coachable, and committed to professional growth.

The LEAD environment fosters relentless collaboration among teachers to help students enhance their reading abilities, understand historical events, and meet Tennessee state standards. This is achieved through administrative coaching, feedback implementation, colleague collaboration, data analysis, and targeted support for students below grade level.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement data-driven lesson plans to support students with cognitive and/or developmental delays.
• Develop and maintain Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for students.
• Maintain special education files (paper and electronic) in compliance with federal, state, and local practices.
• Collect data on student skills to assess program effectiveness and measure progress toward IEP goals.
• Focus on functional curriculum and daily living skills, as appropriate, to maximize student independence.
• Advocate for students to gain exposure to general education peers and settings.
• Adapt and modify general curriculum to ensure all students access academic content.
• Direct and supervise education assistants to provide an effective classroom program.
• Support other classroom teachers in implementing established curriculum and individual student plans.

Requirements

• Minimum of two years of teaching experience preferred, but not required.
• Previous experience with diverse student populations or in an urban setting preferred.
• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Must hold or be on track to obtain one of the following:
  • A valid Tennessee teaching license with a SPED endorsement.
  • A valid out-of-state license transferable to Tennessee within 90 days of employment.
  • Certification in Tennessee (steps in progress).
• Belief in LEAD’s mission that all students are capable of success and prepared for college and life.
• Evidence of self-motivation and willingness to be a team player.

Physical demands may include light to medium work involving standing, walking, lifting, pushing, or carrying (exerting up to 20 pounds).

Compensation and Benefits

LEAD Public Schools offers an innovative performance-based compensation plan that rewards teachers based on their impact on students and schools, rather than years of service. Teachers receive a competitive base salary with the potential for:

• A signing bonus.
• Up to 10% annual increase on base salary through performance-based compensation (average increase of over 5% annually).
• Eligibility for the Master Teacher program after 3 years, offering salaries up to $100,000 and a $1,500 professional development stipend.

Benefits

• Robust and competitive benefits package, including:
  • Medical, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance options.
  • Mental health benefits.
• Retirement plans:
  • Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System (TCRS) pension plan (mandatory for eligible staff; 5% employee contribution with up to 6% employer match).
  • 401k plan with 5% employer contribution for eligible staff.
  • 403b plan with 50% employer match on the first 6% of employee contributions, plus additional annual contributions after one year based on budget performance.
• Time off:
  • School-year employees (teachers, counselors, paraprofessionals): 30 paid days during the school year (including holidays, breaks) and summer break. Up to 10 accrued PTO days.
  • Calendar-year employees (central office, instructional managers, assistant principals): 32 paid days during the school year (including holidays, breaks). Up to 12 accrued PTO days.
• Parental leave: 16 weeks of paid maternity leave and 6 weeks of paid parental leave (adoption, foster care).
• Provision of a laptop with internet and email access for job responsibilities.