Teacher Special Education

Teacher - Special Education

Job Title:


Teacher - Special Education (Elementary)


Salary Scale:


Scale 1.0 Teacher


Salary Range:

Work Days:


200


Reports To:


School Principal or Designee


FLSA Status:


Exempt (Professional Staff Position)


Overview:


The Special Education (SPED) teacher cultivates a supportive and inclusive learning environment for students in grades PreK-12, addressing their social, emotional, physical, and intellectual development through individualized education plans tailored to each student's unique needs. Dedicated to collaboration with healthcare professionals, therapists, and families, the SPED teacher creates a safe and responsive space that integrates both educational and medical considerations, ensuring holistic support for every student.


Education Required:

• Bachelor's Degree (Education Major Preferred) or Eligible for an approved VDOE Alternate Teacher Licensure Program (REQUIRED)
• Master's Degree (PREFERRED)
• Current VDOE Teaching License (PREFERRED)
• Special Education (SPED) Endorsement (PREFERRED)
• Classroom Experience (PREFERRED)
• CPR - Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Certification (PREFERRED)
• VDOE Required Training Courses (PREFERRED)
• Strong knowledge of IDEA, Section 504, child development, and inclusive instructional strategies. (PREFERRED)

Essental Job Functions:


Classroom Management:

• Establish and maintain a structured, engaging, and respectful learning environment. Collaborating with colleagues and school administrators to enhance educational programs and the learning environment.

Communication & Collaboration:

• Maintain open communication with parents/guardians, colleagues, and administrators to support student success.

Extracurricular & School Engagement:

• Participate in school events, committees, and activities that contribute to a well-rounded educational experience. Individualized Support: • Offer additional guidance to students who need extra help, making sure that all students have the opportunity to thrive.

Instruction & Curriculum Delivery:

• Develop and implement individualized and engaging lesson plans aligned with IEP goals and state standards.
• Adapt instructional strategies and materials to meet diverse learning styles, abilities, and behavioral needs, ensuring equitable access for all students.
• Incorporate multisensory approaches, assistive technology, and interactive activities to support academic growth and functional skills development.

Moral & Ethical Integrity:

• Maintain a high ethical standard in teaching, grading, and student/parent interactions, ensuring a respectful environment for all parties.

Recordkeeping:

• Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by the district and VDOE.

Student Assessment:

• Evaluate student progress through assignments, tests, and observations, providing feedback and support as needed.

VDOE Compliance:

• Abide by the established guidelines covering all aspects of education, including but not limited to curriculum standards, teacher licensure and certifications, student assessments, and school policies to ensure consistency and quality in instruction.

Other Duties as Assigned


Essential Duties:


Core Competencies

• Adaptability & Accountability: Adapts to changes in the work environment, manages competing demands, open to criticism and feedback, changes approach or method to best fit the situation, and takes responsibility for own actions.
• Analytical Skills: Synthesizes complex or diverse information, prioritizes projects, and determines the best way of meeting deadlines and requirements.
• Attendance & Punctuality: Schedules time off in advance, begins working on time, keeps absences within guidelines, ensures work responsibilities are covered when absent, and arrives at meetings and appointments on time. Coordinate substitute teacher coverage in advance of absence.
• Business Ethics: Works with integrity and ethically, upholds the school district's values, and abides by written school board policies and processes.
• Communication: Ability to communicate clearly and effectively in English and take direction from supervisors. Expresses ideas and thoughts both verbally and in written form, exhibits good listening skills and comprehension, responds well to questions, and writes clearly and informatively. Edits work for spelling and grammar. Presents accurate numerical data effectively.
• Compliance: Within the specified functional area of authority, is personally accountable to understand and ensure regulatory and policy compliance with state and federal requirements in accordance with their respective job duties and responsibilities.
• Confidentiality: Maintains a high degree of confidentiality.
• Culture: Demonstrates and supports a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion through cultivating awareness, continuous development, and modeling inclusive behaviors.
• Customer Service: Provides prompt and high-quality service to parents/guardians, colleagues, and any internal/external customers. Ability to remain calm in stressful situations. Resolves issues in a timely and professional manner.
• Independence of Action: Sets goals and determines how to accomplish defined results with some guidelines. Follows precedents and procedures. Seeks assistance when confronted with difficult and/or unpredictable situations.
• Judgment: Displays willingness to make decisions timely, exhibits sound and accurate judgment, supports and explains reasoning for decisions, includes appropriate people in decision-making process, and takes responsibility for communication, including what is heard.
• Organization: Maintains a clean, safe, and functional classroom. Maintains a continuous workflow to meet daily/weekly/monthly deadlines.
• Safety: Attends required safety trainings, follows any established injury and illness prevention plans, reports unsafe conditions, and keeps the workspace in a safe condition.
• Teamwork / Morale: Treats others with professionalism, gives and welcomes feedback, inspires the trust of others, displays a solution-driven mindset, offers assistance and support to colleagues, consistent with this role, and works cooperatively and collaboratively in group situations. Engages consistently in professional behavior.
• Training: Successfully completes school-required training in a timely manner to maintain compliance and professional growth.
• Other: Demonstrates exceptional interpersonal skills, including empathy, patience, and active observation to build trusting relationships with students and families. Provides clear communication and collaborates effectively with colleagues and support staff to develop individualized learning plans tailored to each student's unique needs. Exhibits sensitivity and adaptability to respond to multi-faceted challenges, while fostering a safe, inclusive, and supportive classroom environment where every student can thrive and feel comfortable.

Other Duties:

• Attendance of Meetings - Actively and consistently participate in staff and committee meetings to collaborate, share insights, and contribute to school initiatives in alignment with the agreed-upon covenants outlined in the RCPS annual employment contract.
• Professional Development - Engage in conferences, workshops, and training sessions while collaborating with peers to continually enhance teaching effectiveness.
• Reporting Obligations - Promptly reports any concerns of child abuse or neglect to the leadership team to ensure student safety and well-being.
• School Bus Duty Obligations - Comply with the bus duty schedule. Supervise students while they board and exit cars and buses to ensure safety.
• Student Teacher Involvement - Support aspiring educators by volunteering to host student teachers in your classroom, providing mentorship and hands-on learning opportunities.
• Student Safety & Supervision - Maintain a safe and structured environment by ensuring students are never left alone and are always under proper supervision, to include time out of the classroom and before and after school.
• Other duties as assigned.

Computer Skills

• Advanced skills with Microsoft/Google Platform applications, which may include GMAIL, Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and/or other web-based applications.
• Use of the internet and online teleconferencing software (e.g., Zoom or Teams).
• Ability to navigate web-based programs such as PowerSchool, Canvas, Infinite Campus, etc.

Supervisory Duties:


Limited supervision over assigned paraprofessionals


Physical Demands:


PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS- Over 2/3


Standing x


Walking x


Sitting x


Using hands to touch, handle, or feel x


Reaching with hands and arms x


Climbing stairs x


Bending, stooping, kneeling, crouching, or crawling x


Computer use x


Phone use x


Talking and hearing- Clear speech and good hearing, both face to face and on the phone; hears well in noisy social environments


Seeing- Clear vision at 20 inches or less with or without corrective lenses; vision sufficient to drive motor vehicles safely with or without corrective lenses


Lifting- Lifts up to 10 pounds routinely, up to 35 pounds occasionally


Job Evaluation:


Performance will be evaluated on the ability and effectiveness in carrying out the above responsibilities by building administrator(s) in accordance with school board policy and administrative regulations on evaluation of personnel.

Rockbridge County Public Schools does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, religion, political affiliation, handicapping conditions, or gender in its educational programs or employment. No person shall be denied employment solely because of any impairment which is unrelated to the ability to engage in activities involved in the position or program for which application is made. The Superintendent is designated as the responsible person regarding assurance of non-discrimination. The Superintendent may be reached at the School Board Office.