Middle School- Exceptional Education Teacher

Reports to: Principal

About the role

Special Education (Ex.Ed) teachers are champions for the cause of equality within the school and make sure that their students’ needs are being met. Our ideal Special Education teacher is passionate about supporting students with IEPs, loves working with and advocating for students who need the most support, is flexible, coachable, and wants to grow as a teacher.

Our Ex.Ed teachers work relentlessly with their teammates to ensure that all students not only enhance their reading abilities by deciphering texts to inquire about historical events while also gaining a broader understanding of the world, but also meet the established Tennessee standards by the year's end. This work is done through coaching and support from administration, implementing regular feedback, collaboration with colleagues, data analysis, and working to ensure students who come in below grade level rise above the challenges they face.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement data-driven lesson plans that help grow and support students who may have cognitive and/or developmental delays
• Develop individualized education programs (IEPs) for students
• Maintain special education files, both paper and electronic, as directed by federal, state, and local practices
• Collect data on individual student skills to determine the effectiveness of programming and measure progress toward IEP goals
• Focus on functional curriculum and daily living skills, as appropriate
• Maximize creating independence across all natural settings
• Work as a team member and advocate for students to gain exposure to general education peers and settings as appropriate
• Plan effective instructional and/or behavioral strategies for adapting and modifying general curriculum to ensure all students access academic content
• Direct and supervise education assistants to provide an effective classroom program and address the needs of individual students
• Support other classroom teachers to assist them in the implementation of established curriculum and/or individual student plans

Requirements

• Minimum of two years teaching experience preferred, but not required
• Previous experience with diverse student populations or in an urban setting preferred
• Bachelor's degree is required
• Candidates must have either:
  • Valid Tennessee teaching license with the appropriate content endorsement to teach SPED, or
  • Valid out-of-state license that can be transferred to Tennessee within 90 days of employment, or
  • Demonstrate you are on track to complete the necessary steps toward certification in Tennessee
• Belief in the LEAD mission that all students are capable of success while preparing them 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, carrying (exerting up to 20 pounds).

Benefits

• Innovative performance-based compensation plan allowing teachers to earn up to 10% on their base salary each year
• Potential for a signing bonus
• Master Teacher program after 3 years, with earnings up to $100,000 and a $1,500 professional development stipend
• Robust and competitive benefits package including:
  • Medical, dental, vision, disability, supplemental insurance, and life insurance policy options
  • Mental health benefits
• Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System pension plan (TCRS) with LEAD matching up to 6%
• 401k and 403b retirement plans with LEAD contributions
• Time off package:
  • School-year employees: 30 paid days during the school year (including holidays, fall break, Thanksgiving break, winter break, and spring break), summer break, and up to 10 PTO days
  • Calendar-year employees: 32 paid days during the school year (including holidays, fall break, Thanksgiving break, winter break, and spring break), and up to 12 PTO days
• Parental leave: 16 weeks of paid maternity leave and 6 weeks of paid parental leave (adoption, foster care)
• Laptop computers with internet and email access provided