Bryant School District
Special Education Teacher

Department: Pre-K, Elementary, Middle School, Junior High, or High School

Job Status: Full Time
FLSA Status: Exempt

Reports To: Building Administrator and Special Education Director
Grade/Level: Certified

Amount of Travel Required: Varies
Job Type: Regular

Positions Supervised: None
Work Schedule: 190-day contract. Teachers are on-duty for 7 hrs., 40 minutes per day but may periodically be required to attend after-school or evening events as a normal expectation of their position.

POSITION SUMMARY
Teach academic and other subjects to educationally and physically disabled students. Includes teachers who specialize and work with audibly and visually disabled students and those who teach basic academic and life processes skills to the mentally impaired.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Reasonable Accommodations Statement
To accomplish this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform, with or without reasonable accommodation, each essential function satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to help enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Essential Functions Statement(s)
• Teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification and positive reinforcement.
• Modify the general education curriculum for special-needs students, based upon a variety of instructional techniques and technologies.
• Maintain accurate and complete student records, and prepare reports on children and activities, as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
• Meet with other professionals to discuss individual students' needs and progress.
• Confer with parents or guardians, other teachers, counselors, and administrators to resolve students' behavioral and academic problems.
• Teach personal development skills such as goal setting, independence, and self-advocacy.
• Guide and counsel students with adjustment or academic problems, or special academic interests.

• Confer with parents, administrators, testing specialists, social workers, and professionals to develop individual educational plans designed to promote students' educational, physical, and social development.
• Meet with parents and guardians to discuss their children's progress and to determine priorities for their children and their resource needs.
• Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
• Coordinate placement of students with special needs into mainstream classes.
• Monitor teachers and teacher assistants to ensure that they adhere to inclusive special education program requirements.
• Meet with parents and guardians to provide guidance in using community resources and to teach skills for dealing with students' impairments.
• Instruct students in daily living skills required for independent maintenance and self-sufficiency, such as hygiene, safety, and food preparation.
• Prepare objectives and outlines for courses of study, following curriculum guidelines or requirements of states and schools.
• Confer with other staff members to plan and schedule lessons promoting learning, following approved curricula.
• Provide additional instruction in vocational areas.
• Administer standardized ability and achievement tests and interpret results to determine students' strengths and areas of need.
• Attend professional meetings, educational conferences, and teacher training workshops to maintain and improve professional competence.
• Attend staff meetings and serve on committees, as required.
• Collaborate with other teachers and administrators in the development, evaluation, and revision of school programs.
• Design engaging classroom activities and differentiated lessons so that all students may access the curriculum and benefit from the educational experience.
• Work collaboratively with co-teachers and paraprofessionals, grade-level teams and other staff, especially the instructional support team, to plan, share student work and ensure that instruction is aligned with identified curriculum and standards.
• Plan and supervise class projects, field trips, visits by guest speakers, or other experiential activities, and guide students in learning from those activities.
• Perform student supervisory duties as assigned by the Building Administrator or Special Education Director.
• Select, store, order, issue, and inventory classroom equipment, materials, and supplies.
• Instruct and monitor students in the use and care of equipment and materials to prevent injuries and damage.
• Provide assistive devices, supportive technology, and assistance accessing facilities such as restrooms.
• Provide interpretation and transcription of regular classroom materials through Braille and sign language when needed.
• Sponsor extracurricular activities such as clubs, student organizations, and academic contests; conduct fundraising activities consistent with district policies and procedures.
• Exhibit knowledge of content and content-related pedagogy.
• Exhibit knowledge of individual students' knowledge and skills, and special needs.
• Plan and set sequential outcomes with rigor and high expectations.
• Plan and implement appropriate learning activities suitable to all students' needs.
• Respond appropriately to student behavior.
• Provide timely, consistent, and high-quality feedback to students.
• Reflect on practice and make adjustments for professional growth.
• Maintain professionalism with staff members.
• Ensure students are actively engaged in learning.
• Demonstrate care and respect when interacting with students.
• Manage classroom procedures with limited loss of instructional time.
• Exhibit knowledge of child/adolescent development.
• Develop and administer assessments of rigor that match standards of learning.
• Select and use appropriate resources.
• Report to the proper authorities any cases of suspected child endangerment, neglect, or abuse.
• Report suspected bullying to building principal or designee as required by Arkansas law and district policies.
• Adhere to all policies of the District.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Building Administrator and Special Education Director.

POSITION QUALIFICATIONS
Competency Statement(s)
• Accountability - Ability to accept responsibility and account for his/her actions.
• Accuracy - Ability to perform work accurately and thoroughly.
• Adaptability - Ability to adapt to change in the workplace.
• Communication, Oral - Ability to communicate effectively with others using the spoken word.
• Communication, Written - Ability to communicate in writing clearly and concisely.
• Conflict Resolution - Ability to deal with others in an antagonistic situation.
• Creative - Ability to think in such a way as to produce a new concept or idea.
• Decision Making - Ability to make critical decisions while following district procedures.
• Detail Oriented - Ability to pay attention to the minute details of a project or task.
• Diversity Oriented - Ability to work effectively with people regardless of their age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, or job type.
• Empathetic - Ability to appreciate and be sensitive to the feelings of others.
• Enthusiastic - Ability to bring energy to the performance of a task.
• Ethical - Ability to demonstrate conduct conforming to a set of values and accepted standards.
• Friendly - Ability to exhibit a cheerful demeanor toward others.
• Goal Oriented - Ability to focus on a goal and obtain a pre-determined result.
• Honesty / Integrity - Ability to be truthful and be seen as credible in the workplace.
• Initiative - Ability to make decisions or take actions to solve a problem or reach a goal.
• Interpersonal - Ability to get along well with a variety of personalities and individuals.
• Judgment - The ability to formulate a sound decision using the available information.
• Loyal - The trait of feeling a sense of duty to the employer.
• Organized - Possessing the trait of being organized or following a systematic method of performing a task.
• Patience - Ability to act calmly under stress and strain, and of not being hasty or impetuous.
• Presentation Skills - Ability to effectively present information publicly.
• Regular attendance - Exhibiting regular attendance in order to perform duties in a satisfactory manner.
• Reliability - The trait of being dependable and trustworthy.
• Responsible - Ability to be held accountable or answerable for one’s conduct.
• Self Motivated - Ability to be internally inspired to perform a task to the best of one's ability using his or her own drive or initiative.
• Tactful - Ability to show consideration for and maintain good relations with others.
• Team Builder - Ability to convince a group of people to work toward a goal.
• Working Under Pressure - Ability to complete assigned tasks under stressful situations.

SKILLS & ABILITIES

Education: Bachelor's Degree (four year college or technical school) Required, Field of Study: Special Education
Master's Degree Preferred, Field of Study: Special Education

Experience: No prior experience necessary

Computer Skills: Shall be able to demonstrate an acceptable level of proficiency with computers and programs associated with the position.

Certifications & Licenses: Must have current Arkansas teaching license and meet all state and federal requirements for the position.

Other Requirements:

1. Successful completion of pre-employment background checks.
2. Appropriate personal and professional conduct at all times around students and other staff members.

WORK ENVIRONMENT
Most job responsibilities for this position are performed in an indoor school environment that is temperature controlled (heated and cooled) according to the season. Noise levels are mostly low to moderate.

The Human Resources Department has reviewed this job description to ensure that essential functions and basic duties have been included. It is intended to provide guidelines for job expectations and the employee's ability to perform the position described. It is not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all functions, responsibilities, skills and abilities. Additional functions and requirements may be assigned by supervisors as deemed appropriate. This document does not represent a contract of employment, and the Bryant School District reserves the right to change this job description and/or assign tasks for the employee to perform, as the District may deem appropriate.

It is the policy of the Bryant School District not to discriminate on the basis of age, sex, race, color, religion, national origin, or disability in its educational programs, activities, or employment practices.