Special Education Teacher

About the Job

Assabet Valley Collaborative is seeking a

Special Education Teacher for our Therapeutic Day School, Orchard Street Academy

NOTE : Before you read on, please read the Commitments to Educational Equity that AVC strives to adopt across our organization. We seek to add employees to our team who can help us make these commitments a reality and influence how we lead, learn, innovate, design, collaborate, and serve our students, families, partners, and communities. Within this role, examples of how we strive for Educational Equity includes ongoing, in depth examination of individual and interpersonal beliefs and how they impact our work within micro and macro systems. Still interested? See below:

Who We Are:

Assabet Valley Collaborative (AVC) is an educational service agency in Metrowest/Central Massachusetts. Our services include school programs, wraparound services, transportation services, professional development, cooperative purchasing and consulting.

AVC's Orchard Street Academy (OSA) is a small public therapeutic school serving grades 5th- 12th.

We are looking for a teacher who serves as a leader and as a learner; a team member who is flexible, resourceful, and thrives in a fast-paced, non-traditional, collaborative environment and who understands educational and human service institutions. This person demonstrates a learning mindset and ability to receive feedback, self-reflect, and adapt, as well as an ability to effectively facilitate the learning of others by pushing their thinking, building their skills, and sparking their self-reflection and curiosity.

The ideal candidate would possess or demonstrate the following:

• Ability to engage with conflict and core tensions
• Bilingual or multilingual is a plus
• Ability to thrive within a team while also being able to work independently
• Encourages and fosters passion and enthusiasm for teaching and learning
• Adhere to established federal, state, and local laws and regulations (FERPA, HIPAA, and IDEA)
• Experience working in schools, nonprofits, human service organizations
• Bachelor's Degree required
• Massachusetts DESE licensure in Moderate Special Needs, 5th - 12th
• Candidates with dual licensure in Moderate Special Needs and at least one additional core content area are highly desired

Job-specific Details: AVC is seeking to hire a teacher who:

• Believes students are successful when they are given positive reinforcement and behavioral supports
• Prioritizes an instructional focus with a blend of the following:
  • Social emotional learning, culturally relevant teaching, Universal Design for Learning, and the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks
• Empowers and fosters the skills for students to become problem solvers and independent decision makers
• Is skilled at co-designing and adapting a comprehensive curriculum to best meet the daily and personalized learning needs of students through individual, small and whole group activities
• Balances high academic and behavioral expectations with necessary accommodations and modifications
• Co-designs and collaborates with families/guardians, sending districts and providers
• Experience working within and across diverse public education environments
• Partners with students and all those invested in their success to develop, present, and implement team drafted IEPs
• Partners with paraeducators towards effective curriculum development and implementation of IEP accommodations
• Works with team members to establish and implement student centered assessments and sustainable data systems that will inform instruction and generate progress reports
• Complete necessary documentation
• Demonstrates an ability to be flexible and adapt to the evolving needs of students and the school environment
• Participate and engage in professional development and community events
• Comply with collaborative wide policies and procedures
• Perform all other duties and responsibilities as assigned

Evaluation:

Evaluation to be performed annually in accordance with Assabet Valley Collaborative's personnel handbook and pertinent regulations and statutes.

Schedule:

185 day schedule. Operating hours of the program, 8:00am-3:00pm. Summer hours are also available, but not required.

Physical Demands:

This is an active position that requires frequent physical movement to meet the needs of our students. Staff will receive training to physically intervene as needed per AVC Physical Restraint protocol, policy and applicable regulations.

Competitive Benefits include:

• Compensation competitive within public school employees sector (salary schedule with steps and lanes)
• School year (185 days) with additional summer hours available at additional compensation
• 3 personal days, 10 sick days
• 75% health insurance premiums covered by AVC
• High deductible Health Insurance Plan + Health Savings Account (AVC contributes 50% of deductible into your HSA)
• Participation in MA state pension systems (MTRS or MSERS)
• Voluntary benefits: Flex Spending, Life, Short-term, Long-term Insurance; Dental