Job Description

Special Education Teacher 

Reports to: Principal

Classification: Certificated

Job Status: Full Time/Exempt

School Year Employee

Start Date: August 12, 2024

Location: Seattle, WA

ABOUT RAINIER VALLEY LEADERSHIP ACADEMY: 

Rainier Valley Leadership Academy is a public, tuition-free, charter school, providing an anti-racist collaborative community and rigorous education, while providing access to civic leadership and college success for all scholars in Seattle. RVLA will serve grades 6-12 in the Seattle Community. We respect and celebrate the wealth and vitality of the ethnic and cultural traditions that thrive in our neighborhood. Our mission is to put every child on the path to success in college and career, leadership, and life.

We integrate college and career-ready and hands-on instruction to expose all scholars to a variety of authentic experiences. Our teachers use data driven collection to meet scholar needs and differentiation. We use common planning time and collaborative team time to analyze data to inform instruction. We provide a teacher mentor for every scholar, and focus on personalized learning.

RVLA boasts a highly-qualified and diverse faculty and staff that not only have excellent educational credentials, but also bring to the school community many years of dedication to scholar success and passion for our mission. Our small school community allows adults to know each other and every scholar by name, strength and need. We pride ourselves on building and maintaining close relationships with each other, our community, scholars and families.

OPPORTUNITY:

We are seeking a mission aligned Special Education Teacher to join the growing team at Rainier Valley Leadership Academy to serve scholars in grades 6-12. Our ideal candidate is scholar focused and utilizes innovative, data driven, anti-racist instructional practices to engage, connect and build relationships with scholars and their families to foster educational success. We are looking for an individual who is passionate about having a long term commitment to joining the RVLA community and wants to help build a community-centered school driven to dismantle systemic oppression through the unit of the school. 

To learn more about what it’s like to work at RVLA, please visit:

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

Instruction & Direct Services

• Provide support in all academic areas 
• Plan accommodations/modifications necessary to provide access to scholars with disabilities to the core curriculum.
• Progress monitoring of IEP goals, and supporting IAs when applicable.
• Use curriculum to support scholar growth.
• Provide the following consultation services (and others, as they arise): 
  • Utilization of evaluation data for the accommodation and modification of instruction and curriculum
  • Identification and assessment of behavior patterns in scholars
  • Application of effective classroom management technique
  • Identification of resources appropriate to individuals with exceptional needs to regular staff members, parents and guardians
  • Behavior management of scholars who have emotional behavioral disabilities. 
  • Data collection 
  • Managing crisis situations
• Provide additional instruction in transition areas to support Individual Transition Plans. 
• Provide direct support to scholar success teams (SST) and 504 teams by developing intervention plans for at-risk scholars.
• Collaborate with parents, administrators, testing specialists, school psychologists, social workers and other professionals to develop individual education plans designed to promote scholars’ educational, physical, and social development.
• Collaborate with general education teachers to assess and monitor scholars’ progress on a regular basis using informal and formal assessment tools.
• Guide and counsel scholars with adjustment and/or academic problems.
• Serve as internal on-call substitute teacher 
• Special projects and duties outside of primary responsibilities as assigned.

Coordination of IEPs and Services

• Maintain accurate and complete scholar records and prepare IEPs for scholars on caseload, as required by laws, RVLA policies and administrative regulations.
• Participate as a member of the IEP Team in decisions regarding placement and in the development of an IEP for scholars with behavioral disabilities.
• Analyze data when revising IEPs to provide an accurate present level of performance.
• Coordinate the following:
  • Annual IEP calendar and key dates 
  • Referrals and assessment procedures
  • IEP Team meetings
  • Implementation of special education services provided to scholars with exceptional needs
  • Collection of relevant information for scholars referred to the IEP program team
  • Organization and distribution of special education media and materials for resources in general education classrooms and families 
• Serve as compliance point of contact for Special Education, for the purpose of maintaining records, reports, IEPs, assessment information, health plans, etc., according to state and federal requirements.
• Maintain scholar management record system and IEP online system 

Additional Duties & Responsibilities of all RVLA Teachers

• Attend professional meetings, educational conferences, and teacher training workshops to maintain and improve professional competence. Attend staff meetings, and serve on committees as required.
• Work as part of an interdisciplinary team and within content areas planning and aligning curricula to ensure that instruction follows curriculum guidelines or requirements of state and school.
• Set clear short-term and long-term goals to drive compliance 
• Work with other teachers and administrators to address and resolve scholar issues.
• Provide necessary accommodations and modifications for growth and success of all scholars
• Abide by all state and federal mandates in reporting sexual or physical abuse and neglect.
• Special projects and duties outside of primary teaching responsibility as assigned. 

This employer strives for a balanced, productive workforce, which is diverse in terms of age, gender, and cultural identity. We do not base hiring or promotional decisions on factors other than performance and professional growth potential.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s Degree (required) 
• Valid Washington State Teaching Certificate with Special Education Endorsement REQUIRED 
• Experience teaching or working within the Special Education department
• Knowledge of and experience with Common Core State Standards (CCSS)
• Excellent collaborative and organizational skills
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills 
• Growth mindset and love of learning 
• A strong ethical base and self-awareness 
• Relentless commitment to high standards for high quality execution
• Passionate with a strong sense of personal responsibility towards achieving ambitious goals 
• Strong sense of integrity, ethics, and drive to achieve and grow
• Humility, sense of humor, and rock-solid commitment to RVLA’s mission and the Southeast Seattle community
• Commitment to building programs from beginning to end 
• Ability to multi-task and function in a high-energy environment
• Clear fingerprints & background check with Puget Sound Educational Service District
• Official College Transcripts 

RVLA is an Equal Opportunity Employer and strives for a balanced, productive workforce, which is diverse in terms of age, gender, and cultural identity. We do not base hiring or promotional decisions on factors other than performance and professional growth potential. Please note that we are unable to sponsor H-1B Visa applicants. 

ABOUT RAINIER VALLEY LEADERSHIP ACADEMY: Rainier Valley Leadership Academy is a public, tuition-free, charter school, providing an anti-racist collaborative community and rigorous education, while providing access to civic leadership and college success for all scholars in Seattle. RVLA serves grades 6-12 in the Seattle Community. We respect and celebrate the wealth and vitality of the ethnic and cultural traditions that thrive in our neighborhood. Our mission is to put every child on the path to success in college, career, leadership, and life. We integrate college and career-ready and hands-on instruction to expose all scholars to a variety of authentic experiences. Our teachers use data driven collection to meet scholar needs and differentiation. We use common planning time and collaborative team time to analyze data to inform instruction. We provide a teacher mentor for every scholar, and focus on personalized learning. RVLA boasts a highly-qualified and diverse faculty and staff that not only have excellent educational credentials, but also bring to the school community many years of dedication to scholar success and passion for our mission. Our small school community allows adults to know each other and every scholar by name, strength and need. We pride ourselves on building and maintaining close relationships with each other, our community, scholars and families.

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