Special Education Teacher

OUSD is Hiring Certificated Educators for 2024-25

Work in an intentional and caring community.

We are looking for passionate and dedicated educators, classified staff, and leaders to join us in creating joyful, healing and liberatory spaces of learning for Oakland students, families, and communities.

Oakland educators are passionate, equity-focused, and resilient. Oakland Unified is an incredible place to build and develop your career in service of our core values : students first, joy, equity, excellence, integrity, and cultural responsiveness.

Our Mission and Vision

The Oakland Unified School District’s mission is to build a Full Service Community District focused on high academic achievement while serving the whole child, eliminating inequity, and providing each child with excellent teachers, every day.

Our vision is that all OUSD students will find joy in their academic experience while graduating with the skills to ensure they are caring, competent, fully-informed, critical thinkers who are prepared for college, career, and community success.

Our Strategic Plan

The four key initiatives of our current district wide strategic plan are :

• Ensuring Strong Third Grader Readers ( Catalyze citywide effort to guarantee literacy for all third graders )
• Supporting Powerful Graduates ( Develop essential skills to secure post secondary success ),
• Creating Inspiring Schools ( Redesign schools to be places of joy, inclusion and beauty )
• Growing a Diverse and Stable Staff ( Attract and retain staff reflective of Oakland’s rich diversity )

We are seeking educators who believe that :

• Building and maintaining caring relationships with students and families is a key part of the foundation of teaching;
• Maintaining high expectations for all students is best accomplished through a persistent asset-based lens of what students can do;
• Your actions can directly lead to creating more equitable conditions in public schools;
• Your work is most effective in collaboration with colleagues, families, and students;
• Developing as an anti-racist educator requires investing time in self-reflection, listening and incorporating feedback from students, their families, other educators, and school leaders and is critical to your growth as an educator and leader.
• Working for racial justice requires close attention to educational systems and policies, and working to eliminate racism is critical to the educational success of all students.

What we offer teachers :

Oakland Unified has received substantial funding to support pathway programs including tuition and debt relief for selected middle school teachers, Special Education teachers, and for pathway programs, including Classified-to-Teacher, Maestr@s, and the After-School-to-Teacher programs.

We are invested in creating and maintaining affinity spaces for educators that support retention and socio-emotional support.

We provide extensive professional development and training for teachers, innovative curricula, ongoing mentoring and advancement opportunities.

Our teachers are also given abundant opportunities to work together in Professional Learning Communities within and across schools in the District.

In addition to professional development and training, we offer a comprehensive compensation package that includes :

• Competitive salaries determined by experience, education level, and credentials
• We accept up to twelve years of full time teaching experience in other school settings on the salary schedule (please see our salary schedule here : )
• Full medical, dental, and vision benefits, including Flexible Spending Accounts, plus life insurance and long-term disability coverage
• Retirement benefits through the CALSTRS Retirement System
• Read more about benefits here :

Qualifications :

Candidates must have a Bachelor’s degree, must be eligible for employment in the US and pass a criminal background check.

Candidates must possess, or be willing to earn, a California teaching credential authorizing instruction in core curriculum.

Additional requirements :

• Completed online application
• Resume and cover Letter
• Two current professional references, including from a Supervisor
• Upon request, must be able to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination or commitment to weekly testing

You can also learn more about our teaching opportunities and hiring events here :

If you have questions or would like more information, please email [email protected]

To hear about news and events to support you in becoming an OUSD educator, please fill out this form .

NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY

The Oakland Unified School District does not discriminate in any program, activity, or in employment on the basis of actual or perceived race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, veteran status, gender, sex, or sexual orientation.