Teacher - Special Education: STEP - Forest Grove Middle School 2024-2025

Job Description

SUBJECT : TEACHER : SPECIAL EDUCATION - STEP TEACHER

REPORTS TO : BUILDING PRINCIPAL

As a teacher in the Worcester Public Schools you will be expected to provide rigorous instruction to the diverse population of students in your classroom.

You will be expected to align your teaching to the district and state curriculum; to regularly assess students for learning comprehension and to modify your teaching to ensure that students are learning;

to provide a classroom that is conducive to the learning needs of all students, especially students who are learning English and students with disabilities.

The Worcester Public Schools is wonderfully diverse and our successful teachers capitalize on this diversity to provide rich learning environments.

Being an educator in the Worcester Public Schools will require that you have patience, perseverance, creativity, excellent content knowledge, and a true desire to prepare all students for successful lives.

For applicants who are committed to the work of preparing Worcester students to excel in college and beyond, we offer a competitive salary package and participation in federal loan forgiveness programs (more information about these programs is available on our website in the Human Resources section).

ACCOUNTABILITY OBJECTIVE :

This teaching position is accountable for providing services to students who have been identified with a disability through the team evaluation process.

These students are identified as needing systematic instruction throughout their day to address weaknesses across the curriculum.

Students are taught compensatory strategies using multi-sensory techniques to enable them to reach their potential and build self-esteem.

PRINCIPAL RESPONSIBILITIES : (to be included along with other responsibilities)

1. Responsible for serving as a member of the Special Education Team in writing educational plans and progress reports on SAGE-IEP, and completing assessments within the required timelines.

2. Responsible for following the student IEP and ensuring compliance with state and federal SPED regulations including the delivery of high quality services, the provision of accommodations / modifications for instruction and assessment.

3. Responsible for remaining up to date with curriculum content and for modifying the curriculum and instruction for students with learning disabilities as identified on their IEPs.

4. Responsible for providing multi-sensory language curricula on a daily basis and support student development of phonological awareness, decoding, fluency, word recognition and comprehension skills in reading acquisition.

5. Responsible for implementing high quality teaching and learning in inclusion and / or LD classes using appropriate differentiated instructional techniques.

6. Responsible for communicating and collaborating with regular education teachers and other personnel in the educational programming for students with learning disabilities.

7. Responsible for understanding the state required guidelines around standardized testing and for providing appropriate accommodations as identified on student IEPs during the administration of these tests.

8. Responsible for assessing student knowledge and academic progress using formal and informal means to develop measurable IEP goals and to support student learning.

9. Responsible for creating and coordinating a schedule of services for students to ensure all IEP requirements are met.

10 .Responsible for providing individual, small group, and inclusion instruction aligned with the IEP.

11. Responsible for guiding and supervising paraprofessionals in the instruction / support of students.

12. Responsible for implementing appropriate assistive technologies to support and enhance the students’ communication and learning.

13. Responsible for the promotion of equity and appreciation of diversity to ensure equitable opportunities for student learning in the least restrictive environment.

14. Responsible for attending monthly department meetings and building based meetings / two per month.

15. Responsible for assuring equal educational opportunity to all individuals regardless of race, color, gender, age, marital status, religion, gender identity, national origin, sexual orientation, homelessness, or disability.

16. Performance of other job-related duties as assigned.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS :

1. Massachusetts DESE license in Teacher of Students with Moderate Disabilities Pre K-8 or 5-12

2. SEI Endorsement

3. BA degree

4. A minimum of three years’ successful teaching experience in Special Education

5. Evidence of mastery of a wide variety of teacher competencies, curricula and the understanding of a wide variety of effective instructional models, including multi-sensory, structured language techniques.

6. Excellent written and oral communication skills

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS :

1. Massachusetts license in Teacher of Students with Moderate Disabilities Pre K-8 or 5-12

2. Demonstrated experience supporting students with severe special needs.

3. Ability to speak Albanian, Arabic, Nepali, Portuguese, Spanish, Vietnamese, or an African Language

4. Experience teaching students who are English language learners

5. Demonstrated experience with second language acquisition.

WORK YEAR : 184 days

SALARY : Appropriate step on teacher’s salary schedule

TO APPLY : Any person interested in this position must submit a resume, cover letter, licensure, and answer all questions on-line at https : / / worcesterschools.

org / about / employment-opportunities

This deadline does not preclude further advertisement or recruitment. Position Type : Full-time

Positions Available : 1

Job Categories : Classroom Teacher >

Classroom Teacher >

Middle Grades

Special Education >

Autism

Special Education >

Emotionally Disabled

Special Education >

Learning Disabled

Special Education >

Mentally Disabled

Special Education >

Mild / Moderate Disabilities

Special Education >

Multiple Disabilities

Welcome to Forest Grove Middle School

Our Focus Statement The instructional focus of Forest Grove Middle School is to implement an inclusive, school wide program to develop the skills of our students in the area of reading comprehension to the level of proficiency minimally and advancement optimally.

View School Improvement Plan for more details about our school.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The Worcester Public Schools is an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative ActionEmployer / Educational Institution and does not discriminate regardless ofrace, color, ancestry, sex, gender, age, religion, national origin, genderidentity or expression, marital status, sexual orientation, disability,pregnancy or a related condition, veteran status or homelessness.

TheWorcester Public Schools provides equal access to employment and the fullrange of general, occupational and vocational education programs.

For moreinformation relating to Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action contact theHuman Resource Manager, 20 Irving Street, Worcester, MA 01609,508-799-3020.

Job Requirements

To maximize the effectiveness of your application, it is recommended that you provide a cover letter which describes the specific training and experience that you have for the position(s) that you are applying for and that you ensure that the certification information in your SchoolSpring profile is updated.

Your MA DESE certification number will allow us to verify that you possess the correct license. Please ensure that your SchoolSpring resume, specifically, is updated as this will be used to determine your Degree and Step placement on the Teachers salary schedule.

Citizenship, residency or work visa required

Application Questions

The employer requires all applicants to answer the following questions. It is recommended that you type any essays in a word processing program, save them, and then paste them on the proceeding job application page.

1. Have you ever worked for the Worcester Public Schools? When? What capacity?

Brief Response (Answer limited to 200 characters, including spaces)

2. Do you have any relatives employed by the Worcester Public Schools or the School Committee? If yes, please list name, title, and relationship.

Yes / No

3. Have you ever been terminated for cause from a prior position? If so please explain.

Brief Response (Answer limited to 200 characters, including spaces)

4. Do you have experience working in a public school system?

Yes / No

5. Do you have experience with Special Education students?

Yes / No

6. Do you have demonstrated experience supporting students with special needs?

Yes / No