Whittier Elementary - Special Education Teacher; Resource - FTE

Special Education Classroom Teacher

This position is assigned to the Resource service pathway. A special education classroom teacher performs under the general direction of the building principal or program manager and with assistance from appropriate staff personnel. A classroom teacher fosters and enhances an effective learning environment; establishes and adapts learning objectives and standards for special education students based upon general District guidelines and the rules and regulations governing special education;

provides instruction, counsels, disciplines, and supervises to meet the individual needs of assigned students; and, evaluates student performance and progress.

Teachers at Whittier work collaboratively across grade levels to align curriculum and instructional practices. Inclusion is central to our school's approach — all students, including those with special education needs or multilingual learners, participate in the general education classroom every day.

Teachers are expected to:

• Attend grade-level PLC and IEP meetings
• Follow Seattle Public Schools' approved curriculum and pacing guides
• Differentiate instruction to meet diverse learning needs
• Collaborate closely with colleagues to support every student's academic success

Essential functions include fostering an educational environment conducive to the learning and maturation process of assigned special education students; using necessary and appropriate instructional methods and materials; establishing and implementing classroom policies and procedures governing student behavior and conduct; conferring with students, parents or guardians, specialists and other staff; establishing classroom goals and objectives appropriate to the special education student population and their individual education programs;

directing the activities of assigned non-certificated personnel; collecting and interpreting a variety of data; attending or participating in all required staff meetings and other activities deemed necessary by the District and/or building principal.

Other functions include serving on staff committees as required, participating in a variety of activities to enhance personal and professional skills, performing related tasks consistent with the scope and responsibilities of the position, and attending at least one of two annual Special Education Compliance Professional Development days.

Reporting relationships include reporting to the building Principal. Required knowledge, skills, and abilities include knowledge of subject areas appropriate to assignment, effective behavior management techniques, effective instructional techniques, rules and procedures for student safety, and rules and regulations governing special education. Skills include proficiency in reading, writing, and oral communications, effective communication with parents or guardians in a culturally, racially and economically diverse community, designing and implementing lesson plans for students having a wide range of achievement, and adapting curricula and programs to meet the intellectual, social, physical and emotional needs of a population of special education students.

Abilities include dealing with students in a positive and confident manner, being fair and consistent when working with a culturally, racially and economically diverse student population, adapting to change and remaining flexible, organizing activities, managing student behavior, using good judgment to maintain a safe learning environment, providing instruction and demonstrating techniques, using necessary equipment, computers, machinery, tools, or software, directing assistants, administering first aid and CPR, using non-a mal or non-verbal means of communication such as sign language, using non-visual instructional techniques such as Braille, dealing with specific physical or emotional disabilities and associated conditions, attending to various physical and hygienic needs, and establishing and maintaining effective, positive working relationships with students, parents or guardians, specialists, staff and administrators.

Working conditions include dealing with a wide range of student achievement and behavior, dealing with a range of student disabilities, handling multiple tasks simultaneously and prioritizing, experiencing frequent interruptions, dealing with distraught or difficult students, being potentially exposed to ordinary infectious diseases carried by students, being potentially exposed to student bodily fluids and serious infectious diseases carried by students, demonstrating techniques properly for student safety, taking precautions to prevent or lessen exposure of self and/or students to various materials, fumes, equipment, cutting edges or hot surfaces, moving, positioning, or lifting students or their special equipment, attending to the personal hygiene of students, accompanying students outdoors in inclement weather, and teaching in a classroom without telephone communication.

Typical…