Special Education Coach (SY26-27)

Position: Special Education Coach

Position Type: Full-Time

Department: Student Services

Location: Watertown Public Schools

Reports to: Director of Student Services

Affiliation: WEA Unit A

Salary range: Per the WEA Unit A Salary Scale

General Description:

The Special Education Instructional Coach serves as a key leader in strengthening instructional quality in inclusive and substantially separate settings across the district. This role focuses primarily on supporting elementary special education programming while also leading the induction, mentoring, and development of new special education teachers across all schools.

The Coach works collaboratively with building leaders, coaches and coordinators, general education teachers, special education teachers, related service providers, behavioral and and mental health providers to ensure high-quality, rigorous instruction for students with special needs.

Responsibilities:

• Provide job-embedded coaching to elementary special education teachers, including modeling lessons, co-planning, and co-teaching.
• Support the implementation of inclusive practices, co-teaching models, and differentiated instruction, to include the implementation of behavioral support plans across settings.
• Provide guidance on IEP development, documentation, and service delivery for new teachers.
• Assist the New Educator Mentor Committee with the induction for new special education teachers.
• Partner with school leaders to monitor progress and provide targeted academic, social/emotional, and behavioral supports.
• Collaborate with curriculum leaders, instructional coaches, and administrators.
• Provides consistent, immediate feedback to student learning and asks analytical questions that elicit students’ responses that incorporate prior knowledge, life experience, and interests that are directly related to the content objective.
• Monitors and maintains a positive classroom environment that supports the school-wide behavior expectation in which most students are engaged, incorporates mutual respect, and provides cooperative learning opportunities.
• Uses available technology/instructional media to enhance the students’ learning experiences.
• Establishes and maintains appropriate relationships with students, parents, staff, and community members by communicating in a tactful, courteous, and confidential manner. 
• Appropriately communicates and interacts with other professional staff in academic planning and school committee work.
• Attends and participates in staff meetings and school-related activities and committees. 
• Demonstrates a commitment to continuous professional growth and works with the administrator to formulate and complete professional growth plans.

Core Competencies: Using the Massachusetts Model System for Educators Rubric, priority skills and abilities that all Watertown Public School teachers should possess:

Curriculum, Planning, and Assessment

(Subject Matter Knowledge, Well-Structured Lessons, Curriculum and Planning Indicator, Child and Adolescent Development)

• Demonstrates mastery of and enthusiasm for the content area and the pedagogy it requires
• Can convey a grasp of child development and how students learn
• Designs effective and rigorous standards based units of instruction consisting of well-structured lessons with measurable outcomes.
• Demonstrates mastery of related subject matter, instructional skills, and resource materials for the course(s) taught. 
• Utilizes lesson plans and units of instruction, aligned with current state and district standards, which drives instruction through formative assessment and differentiation. 
• Utilizes a variety of effective instructional and management techniques. 
• Provides a variety of assessments and uses assessments for planning and instruction 
• Provides consistent, immediate feedback to student learning and asks analytical questions that elicit students’ responses that incorporate prior knowledge, life experience, and interests that are directly related to the content objective. 

Teaching All Students

(Meeting Diverse Needs, Student Engagement, Safe Learning Environment)

• Uses instructional practices that are likely to challenge, motivate, and engage all students and facilitate equitable, active student participation
• Builds a productive learning environment where every student participates and is valued as part of the class community
• Cultural Proficiency 

• Actively creates and maintains an environment in which students’ diverse backgrounds, identities, strengths, and challenges are respected
• Monitors and maintains a positive classroom environment that supports the school-wide behavior expectation in which most students are engaged, incorporates mutual respect, and provides cooperative learning opportunities. 
• Uses available technology/instructional media to enhance the students’ learning experiences.
• Maintains a safe, organized classroom, which supports students’ independent learning, collaboration, and choice. 

Family and Community Engagement

(Parent/Family Engagement)

• Engages with families and builds collaborative, respectful relationships with them in service of student learning
• Professional Reflection & Collaboration 
• Establishes and maintains appropriate relationships with students, parents, staff, and community members by communicating in a tactful, courteous, and confidential manner. 
• Appropriately communicates and interacts with other professional staff in academic planning and school committee work. 
• Attends and participates in staff meetings and school-related activities and committees. 

Professional Culture

(Reflective Practice, Professional Collaboration)

• Regularly reflects on practice, seeks and responds to feedback, and demonstrates self-awareness and commitment to continuous learning and development
• Seeks to participate in and contribute to a collaborative adult learning community.
• Demonstrates a commitment to continuous professional growth and works with the administrator to formulate and complete professional growth plans.

Qualifications Required:

• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s in Education strongly preferred. 

• Hold a valid Massachusetts Educator License, dual certification in Moderate Disabilities and Pre-K-8

• Have at least two years of teaching experience
• Meet all state and federal guidelines in order to be fully licensed and Highly Qualified.
• Ability to meet the Standards of Effective Teaching established by the Massachusetts Model System for Educators as outlined above.

Preferred:

• Multilingual candidates are encouraged to apply, with Spanish and Portuguese language skills preferred.

Physical Demands:

• Regularly required to sit, stand, walk, talk, hear, operate a computer, hand-held learning devices and other office equipment, reach with hands and arms, and must occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds.

Equal Opportunity Employer
Watertown Public Schools is committed to maintaining a work and learning environment free from discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, pregnancy, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital/civil union status, ancestry, place of birth, age, citizenship status, veteran status, political affiliation, genetic information or disability, as defined and required by state and federal laws. Additionally, we prohibit retaliation against individuals who oppose such discrimination and harassment or who participate in an equal opportunity investigation.