ElginMathandScienceAcademyHiringaSpecialEducationDirector
TheElginMathandScienceAcademyCharterSchool(EMSA,www.elginmathandscience.org)opensAugust,2018toallstudentsresidingintheU-46attendanceareainkindergartenthroughthirdgradeforourinauguralyear.
EMSAisseekingacompelling,committed,andinnovativeSpecialEducationDirectorthatwillhelptoestablishapositivelearningenvironmentthatpromotesWow&Wonderwhilemodelingandencouragingthehabitsofscholarshipforstudentself-discipline.
ThesuccessfulcandidateinthisrolewilluseELEducation’sCorePracticesastheclassroom’sfoundationtoensureremarkableacademicachievement,characterdevelopment,andcommunityinvolvementforallstudents.AtEMSA,studentsandteacherswillreachtheirhighestpotentialthroughactiveexploratorylearningandsocialresponsibilityinwhich:
• Individualsofallbackgroundsandabilitiesarewelcome• Children’snaturalcuriosityisnurtured• Studentsbecomeleadersoftheirownlearning• Teachersandstudentsholdhighstandards• Criticalthinkingiscentraltomathandscience• Studentsdevelopskillstoberesponsibleindividuals
AnEMSACharterEducatorwill:
• Operatewiththeunderstanding:Diversityisafact,Inclusionisabehavior,Equityistheoutcome• Workcollaborativelywithallmembersofthelearningcommunitytobuildrelationaltrust
andfosteragrowthmindsetforallthroughmodelingbytakingprofessionalrisks,owningmistakes,andbeingmetacognitiveabouttheirowngrowthandrevision.
• ModelEMSA’shabitsofscholarshipinwordandactionandeffectivelybuildapositiveclassroomculturethatpromotesself-discipline
• Assumeprimaryresponsibilityforincreasingstudentachievement(i.e.masteryofknowledgeandskills,character,andhighqualitywork)bydesigningandimplementingcross-curricularunitsofstudentthatintegrateliteracyinstructionandutilizeactivepedagogy
• Createacollaborativestudent-centeredclassroomthatpromotesondifferentiatedinstructiontoincreasestudentgrowthandenhanceschoolculture
• Challenge,engage,inspireandempowerallstudentswiththeWow&WonderofELEducation• Designlessonplansthatallowforflexible,uninterruptedblocksoftimethatfosterdeeper
learning,content-basedliteracy,project-basedlearning,fieldwork,andstudentpresentationsforauthenticaudiences.
• Engageinprofessionallearningandimplementaprogressive,boldeducationalapproachtofosteringELEducation’sCorePracticestoinspirestudentsuccess
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• Practicereflectiveandsynthesizingprofessionalpracticestoallowforadeeperunderstandingtomanifestforimplementationwiththehighestlevelsoffidelity
• Establishclearandconsistentassessmentandprogressmonitoringtechniquesbasedonevidencetomakeinstructionaldecisionstomeetstudent’sneedsandfurthertheirgrowth
• Cultivatestrongpartnershipswithfamilies;allwordsandactionsdemonstrateacommitmenttoinclusion,beliefinallstudents’capacitytosucceedandadesiretocreateanamicablybeneficialsituationforeveryone
• Activelyengagefamiliesandthecommunitythroughcelebrationsandcritiqueofauthenticstudentwork
Anidealcandidateissomeonewho:
• Hasdemonstratedstrongtimemanagementskills• Iscommittedtomeetingtheneedsofeverychildinadiversepopulationand
hasdemonstratedsuccessworkingwithlowincomeandminoritystudents• Believeseverychildcanlearnandreachhighlevelsofacademicachievement• Hasaclearunderstandingofcurriculum,instruction,assessmentchilddevelopment,
andtheintegrationofandadherencetostatestandards• Hasaprovenabilitytoworkasamemberofateamwithacommitmenttohis/her
ownlearningandprofessionaldevelopment• Hasexperiencedesigningandimplementinganeffectiveandengagingliteracycurriculum• Believeschildrencanmakeasignificantcontributiontotheschool,community,andtheworld• Understandsthatfamilyinvolvementisintegraltostudentsuccess• Wantstobepartofanorganized,professionallearningcommunity• Isaself-starterinterestedinworkinginafast-paced,startupenvironmentthatrequires
flexibleroles
TheEMSASpecialEducationDirectorisresponsiblefor,butnotlimitedto:
• Supervising,reviewing,andcoordinatingallspecialeducationprogrammingandrelatedservicesinsuchamannerastomaintainorimproveexistingservicesandassistinplanninganddevelopingnecessaryservices
• Implementingsuggestionsandoutcomesofevaluationtofacilitateinstruction• Assistingintheorientationofallnewspecialeducationstafftopolicyproceduresaligned
withtheschoolphilosophy• Assistingintheplacementandsupervisionofparaprofessionals• Assistinginthehiringandcoordinationofspecialeducationteachersandspecialists
inaccordancewithIEPgoals• Providingtechnicalassistancetostaff(instruction,teachingmethods,behavior/classroom
management,RtI,inclusion,IEPpaperwork,etc.)• Respondingtoallspecialeducationproblemsandissuesastheyoccur
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• FacilitatingimplementationofSpecialEducationProcedures• Assistingintheprofessionaldevelopmentofstaffinregardstospecialservicesandprocedures• AssumingresponsibilityforinsuringthatallchildrenoutlinedinArticle14ofTheSchoolCode
ofIllinoisreceivespecialeducationservicesappropriatefortheirneeds• AssumingresponsibilityforinsuringthatallchildrenqualifyingunderSection504receive
accommodationsappropriatefortheirneeds• Assistingintheorganizationandcoordinationofallservicesnecessarytoprovideforthescreening,
identification,andplacementofeducationalandsupportiveservicesneededbysuchchildren• Participatingincurriculumdevelopment• Communicatingwithparentsasitrelatestotherecommendedprogram• Developingprogramstandards,entrance/exitcriteria,transitionplanning,etc.• Participatinginpupilconferencesorstaffingsandberesponsibleforplacementofpupils
inappropriateSpecialEducationprograms• CoordinatingallservicesandprocedurestobecompliantwithChildFindactivities• Reviewing/processingfilestoassurecompletenessandmaintainahighdegreeofqualitycontrol• Performingotherduties,asnecessary,toprovidecoordination/supervisionasassignedbythe
principalinaccordancewithstateandfederalcompliance• Remainingcurrentinresearchasitappliestobothsubjectmatterandpedagogy/studentdisabilities• Havingknowledgeofappropriatemodificationsandaccommodationstomeettheneedsof
studentsinthegeneraleducationcurriculum
QUALIFICATIONSRequired
• Bachelor’sdegree,threeyearsteaching/supervisoryexperienceandprovensuccessfulinstructionalpractice
• CurrentIllinoisProfessionalEducatorLicensewithanLBS1certification• Communicationandinterpersonalskillstoengageinahighlycollaborativeschoolenvironment• ExtensiveknowledgeofCCSSandNGSSaswellascurricularimplications• Extensiveknowledgeandexperiencewithspecialeducationrules,regulations
andtherequiredreporting• Abilitytodeveloprelationaltrustwithstudents,families,staff,andothercommunitystakeholders
Desired
• BackgroundinELEducationand/orproject-baseddeeperlearningwithcontent-basedliteracy• STEMdegreeand/orprofessionalexperience• Strongtechnologyskills• FluentinSpanish• ExpertiseinworkingwithEnglishLanguageLearners• Expertiseinworkingwithlow-incomepopulations
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HiringTimelineandApplicationProcessWeseektohireaSpecialEducationDirectorforaJuly,2018startwithstudentsarrivinginAugust.AllEMSAleadershipteammemberswillbeaskedtoattendanELEducation’sLeadership3-DayInstitute—ineitherApril(Denver)orlateJuly.
ApplicationswillbeacceptedandreviewedonarollingbasisbeginninginJanuaryof2018.Toconfidentiallyapply,pleasesendaCoverLetterandResume/[email protected].
BeginninginAugust,allcrewmemberswillreceiveextensiveprofessionaldevelopmentinELEducationmodules.Furtherresponsibilitiesincludeactivecollaborationwithotherinstructorsandcoachesforcurriculumdesign,classroomset-up,andteambuildingaspartofouropeningschoolactivities.
Anti-DiscriminationPolicyandCommitmenttoDiversity
EMSAseeksindividualsofallbackgroundstoapplyforthisposition.Wearecommittedtomaximizingthediversityofourorganizationandwanttoengageallthosewhocancontributetothiseffort.EMSAprovidesequalemploymentopportunitiesforallapplicantsandemployeesandprohibitsdiscriminationwithrespecttothehiringorpromotionofindividuals,conditionsofemployment,disciplinaryanddischargepractices,oranyotheraspectofemploymentonthebasisofgender,race,color,ethnicity,disability,oranyotherfactorwhichcannotlawfulbeusedasabasisforanemploymentdecision.
