Special Education Teacher

To be responsible for developing, implementing and monitoring the educational program to improve all areas of functioning for students with severe/profound developmental challenges. The position includes working with all children in all age ranges including those with and those without disabilities where inclusive settings exist. Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Assess within the students' environment their specific functioning levels through observations, formal and/or informal testing, discussions with teacher assistants and other professional staff.

• Train teacher assistants to perform all academic tasks and supervise their performance in the physical aspects of their jobs.

• Develop appropriate educational goals and/or benchmarks for students based upon R. I. frameworks or New Standards using portfolio, electronic record, observation, formal and informal testing, and discussion with colleagues necessary to complete the alternate assessment.

• Develop and implement weekly individual lesson plans based upon IEP's goals and objectives and submit on a weekly basis to the Special Education coordinator.

• Participate as a member of the IEP team for Annual Reviews, and six-month reviews meetings and other pertinent meetings involving their students.

• Complete all the required paper work, i.e. IEP's, quarterly progress reports, six-month reviews, three-year reevaluations and any other report requested for the benefit of the student.

• Carry out and integrate recommended physical therapy, occupational therapy, nutrition, speech/language therapy, behavior plans, activities of daily living, feeding, etc. as needed to create a functional classroom setting and to meet individual benchmarks or goals.

• Provide inclusive settings such as community based vocational programming and/or community activities for students in order to provide an opportunity to use skills learned in school over various settings while developing social skills.

• Where the opportunity is provided, work in a collaborative and inclusive setting with children without disabilities, either on site or within the public schools or on a job site.

• Provide information to parents about progress on IEP goals on a continual basis through daily communication, individual meetings, telephone conversations and brief reports as appropriate.

• Provide access to a communication system for each child in the classroom at all times.

Peripheral Duties and Responsibilities:

• Provide on-going training, encouragement and support to teacher assistants in the classroom to make them a part of the educational team.

• Develop meaningful family contact through notes, phone calls, school visits or home visits in order to maintain consistency of programming in the home.

• Possess knowledge of the functioning of suctioning, trachs, oxygen usage, G-tubes, J-tubes, physical therapy equipment used in the classroom, and other relevant apparatus used by students.

• Develop an understanding of children's health issues in the classroom and work closely with nursing staff to inform them of any health concerns.

• Establish a standard of cleanliness and orderliness for the classroom and train assistants to maintain this standard on a daily basis.

• Maintain the classroom as an educational setting as opposed to rehabilitation or hospital setting, taking into consideration the needs of all students.

• Demonstrate and model at all times the expected professional behavior of teachers.

• Set a professional standard within the classroom and community to which teacher assistants can model.

• Assist in the toileting, changing, feeding and care of children in the classroom.

• Demonstrate the ability to work as a member of the educational team.

• Monitor staff in universal precaution, proper lifting and feeding techniques on an on-going basis.

• Provide a harmonious, respectful, professional and stimulating classroom environment for children and staff.

• Encourage students to participate in all activities rather than relying on staff to complete the entire task or activities.

• Maintain a practice that supports all work of the student is focused on process rather than product.

• Provide choice making opportunities to children throughout the day, including lunch.

• Other duties as assigned.