Elementary Special Education Teacher - K-6th Grade - 2026/2027 School Year

Job Description

Job Description

About Mastery:

Founded in 2001, Mastery Schools is a public charter network of 23 K-12 schools in Philadelphia and Camden, serving more than 14,000 students. 

At Mastery, we’re on a mission to provide all students with the academic and personal skills they need to succeed after graduation and pursue their dreams. Student achievement is not just a goal for our organization; it's the reason we exist, and every member of our team is dedicated to securing student success. We are also committed to pursuing equity, actively disrupting systemic racism, and addressing the disparities that limit our students' choices. 

Our culture is built on respect, service, and the belief that the success of our students, their families, and the communities we serve will help us achieve our mission. We foster a positive, open, and inclusive environment where honesty, humor, and continuous improvement are celebrated. 

Join us in creating a model urban school district that serves all students with excellence. Together, we can make a lasting impact.

The Opportunity:

At Mastery, all means all. Nearly one quarter of Mastery students have individualized education plans (IEPs) to ensure they receive appropriate, just-right, educational opportunities. At Mastery, we believe the IEP creates an opportunity for teachers, parents, school administrators, case managers, related services personnel, central office staff and students (when appropriate) to work together to improve educational results for children with disabilities. We believe we can push the boundaries of what’s possible for our students. To accomplish this, special education teachers at Mastery deliver robust research-based interventions, frequently monitor progress and make logical adjustments to produce the best possible outcomes for students.

Across Mastery our Specialized Services Programming spans from itinerant to supplemental levels of support. Our highest priority is for our diverse learners to spend as much time as possible within the general education setting and the minimum amount of time in self-contained classrooms. We strive to maximize our teacher-to-student ratio in our Special Education programs. To accomplish this, we have multiple classrooms across our network tailored towards Autism Support, Emotional Support, Life Skills and Multiple Disability Support as well as Multi-Lingual Learner Support.

At Mastery, we have a robust Response to Intervention program and are excited for you to bring your enthusiasm, skills and experiences to the team. We have a wide variety of Common Foundation research-based curriculums to support our diverse learners across grades K-12 in Reading, Math and Writing. Our Reading intervention programs include Fundations, Just Words, Wilson, Heggerty, Waggle, Read180/Code, i-Ready and IXL. Our Common Foundation research-based Math intervention programs include TouchMath, Number Worlds, Math180, i-Ready and IXL. Our Common Foundation research-based Writing intervention programs include Quill, Adventures in Language and Writing for Success.

At Mastery, we highly value Continuous Improvement and want to ensure you accelerate your professional growth as a special educator, so we have frequent embedded opportunities for Professional Development, teacher coaching, skill building and data driven-instruction meetings throughout the school year.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Drive student achievement and set high expectations for all students
• Commit to professional growth, self-reflection, a receptiveness to feedback, and a desire to continuously improve
• Implement rigorous and appropriate lesson plans, assignments, and assessments in cooperation with Mastery school-based leadership and curricular resources developed by Mastery’s central office Academic Team
• Work closely with school leaders to analyze student assessment data to measure progress and use data to inform instruction
• Collaborate in grade level teams to discuss student work, share best practices, plan events for joy and humor, and ensure student mastery of standards
• Engage families in their children’s education by building relationships and maintaining regular communication
• Demonstrate genuine interest, belief, and care for students’ personal and academic success
• Respond positively and effectively to challenges with a solutions-oriented resiliency

Education, Experience, and Skills:

• Bachelor’s degree required with a record of personal, professional, and/or academic achievement
• Teacher certification - completed or in process
• Demonstrated expertise in subject area
• Outstanding instructional skills driven by data and delivered through rigorous and engaging strategies

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to physically perform the essential duties of the role, and to work in the environmental conditions required, such as: traveling to network campuses; maneuvering in office spaces (including standing, walking, sitting for long periods of time, speaking loudly and clearly, seeing and hearing things both near and far away); stooping, kneeling, reaching file cabinets/shelves; fine finger and hand manipulation in use of computer, chalkboard, dry erase, &/or projectors; filing, faxing, scanning, coping, typing, mailing, and making phone calls; sitting for up to two (2) hours looking at a computer monitor, using a keyboard/mouse, and typing.

Salary and Bonus Information:

• This role is eligible for a $5,000 bonus as well as up to $5,000 for relocation expenses!
• New teachers start at $60,000, with Mastery offering up to $82,850 based on experience and education. Salaries range from $60,000 to $111,000, with growth opportunities as your career progresses.

Mastery's Benefits Package:

We offer a full benefits program and opportunities for professional growth. Some of our most popular benefits include our 403(b) retirement plan for PA employees (with a 5% match from Mastery for full-time employees), enrollment in the State of New Jersey Pension Plan for NJ employees, a robust Employee Assistance Program, mental health and counseling programs, an annual Professional Development Fund, and discounts and perks at a myriad of retailers, travel organizations, insurance providers, and so much more, as well as access to the HealthAdvocate Helpdesk to help you navigate various benefits-related topics. Please go here to see all of our Benefits offerings!

Annual Calendar:

As you plan to make Mastery your new work home, please feel free to review our  calendar here . We like to think our calendar is a benefit of working here too!

Why You Should Apply:

Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they can perform every job description task. We are most interested in finding the best candidate for the job, and that candidate may come from a less traditional background. Mastery may consider an equivalent combination of knowledge, skills, education, and experience to meet minimum qualifications. If you are interested in applying, we encourage you to think broadly about your background and skill set for the role.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist Mastery's Talent Acquisition Team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.