Special Education Teacher - CRC

Description:

Summary: Teaches early childhood, elementary school, middle school,or high school subjects and functional skills to students with physical or intellectual disabilities.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

• Plans curriculum and prepares lessons and other instructional materials to meet individual needs of students, considering state and school requirements, and educational, functional, physical, and emotional levels of development.
• Instructs students, using special education strategies and techniques, to improve sensory-motor and perceptual-motor development, perception, memory, language/communication, cognition, and social and emotional development.
• Uses lessons that incorporate best practices, accommodations, and equipment that best meet individual needs of students, including the use of age-appropriate and functional curriculums.
• Creates learning materials and bulletin boards that foster motivation and learning.
• Works with students to increase motivation, provide consistent reinforcement to learning, continuous assessment of level of functioning, and continuous feedback to students for all learning activities.
• Confers with parents, administrators, therapists, psychological examiners, and others to develop individual educational program for each student.
• Incorporates and helps to provide consistency in the implementation of a student's behavior program.
• Directs and maintains well-organized classroom routines and schedules.
• Completes required paperwork including evaluations, weekly/monthly data sheets (per program requirements), reports, quarterly evaluations, attendance, lesson plans, classroom schedules.
• Administers and scores standardized testing to evaluate and/or assess assigned students’ needs.
• Develops appropriate education objectives and goals for individualized program, treatment, or education plans (IPP, ITP or IEP) depending on age of individual served and specific program requirements.
• Plans and directs classroom duties of teaching assistants (TAs)/paraprofessionals and direct support professionals (DSP) assigned to classroom. Communicates and problem solves with department manager on areas for growth or performance and attendance concerns. Provides feedback for annual evaluation of TAs/ paraprofessionals and DSPs.
• Coordinates, plans, and completes required paperwork for fieldtrips including reserving and driving vans.
• Coordinates and plans special activities such as classroom celebrations, guest speakers, and special events.
• Assists with planning for and carrying out summer programming including material preparation, schedules, field trips, etc.
• Assists with feeding and changing of students and other personal care needs.
• Keeps monthly progress data to show student's progress towards goals and objectives. Turns in data on a regular basis as defined by program.
• Communicates with guardians and other staff about student's progress through quarterly reports.
• Attends team meetings as requested and other meetings held to discuss student needs.
• Conducts monthly observations for students attending public school as applicable.
• Arrives before students and is prepared for the instructional day.
• Dresses appropriately and professionally for the responsibilities of a teacher/leader.
• Completes annual training hours as required by Easterseals Arkansas as well as all regulatory or licensing agencies including, but not limited to Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) Division of Disability Services (DDS), Child Care Licensing, Office of Long Term Care (OLTC), and Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF).

Compliance/HIPAA:

While performing the duties of this job, employee will comply with all federal, state and local laws and regulations pertaining to Easterseals Arkansas.

Employee has access to all client protected health information of the individuals directly served by this person, except psychotherapy notes. Employee will not attempt to access any other protected health information unless otherwise approved by Supervisor or Privacy Officer.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

Supervises one to three teaching assistants/DSPs in the classroom. Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization's policies and applicable laws. Supervisory responsibilities will vary by program, but may include interviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints and resolving problems.

Requirements:

Qualifications:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Education and/or Experience:

Bachelor's degree (B. A.) from four-year College or university with major in Special Education. Arkansas teaching license required. Certification in special education preferred. Individuals completing an alternate licensure plan will be considered. Three or more years’ experience as a classroom teacher preferred.

Language Skills:

Ability to read, analyze, and interpret common scientific and technical journals, financial reports, and legal documents. Ability to respond to common inquiries or complaints from customers, regulatory agencies, or members of the business community. Ability to write speeches and articles for publication that conform to prescribed style and format. Ability to effectively present information to top management, public groups, and/or boards of directors.

Mathematical Skills:

Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent and to draw and interpret bar graphs.

Reasoning Ability:

Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.

Certificates, Licenses, Registrations:

• Valid Arkansas Driver's License
• Arkansas Teaching Certificate
• FBI Criminal Check

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this Job, the employee is regularly required to stand; walk; use hands to finger, handle, or feel and talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to reach with hands and arms; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl and taste or smell. The employee is occasionally required to sit and climb or balance. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 100 pounds with assistance. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.

Work Environment:

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this Job, the employee is occasionally exposed to wet and/or humid conditions, moving mechanical parts and outside weather conditions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Easterseals Arkansas has designated this position as a “non-safety sensitive” position under the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment.,