Special Education Teacher

Applications will be accepted beginning
Monday, July 19, 2021 12:00 AM
(Central Standard Time)

Job Description

Summary

The mission of CWC Kansas City is to provide an excellent public education focused on developing and demonstrating understanding while building connections within a diverse community.

We are seeking an experienced and innovative Special Education Teacher who is excited to work in a unique charter school environment and who has at their core a powerful alignment to our school mission and a deep appreciation for the unique needs of diverse learners. We expect our educators to be leaders and to play an active role in realizing the school's mission by building and shaping our school culture and guiding students to academic achievement and growth into capable citizens in a diverse and complex world.

This is a full-time position located in Kansas City, MO. For more information on Citizens of the World Charter Schools – Kansas City, please visit www.cwckansascity.org.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities will include:

• Developing curriculum maps, lessons and units of study that meet or exceed requirements of Missouri Learning Standards and incorporate constructivist learning strategies.
• Ongoing assessment of student progress and achievement using a variety of means to collect and report on academic data.
• Using data to tailor instruction to meet individual student academic and social needs with a goal of having a vast majority of students performing on-grade level or above in all subject areas.
• Leading the design of comprehensive assessment and individual education plans for students with severe disabilities that require a functional and/or alternative temporary or long-term curriculum.
• Participating in professional development activities, both internal (led by the principal, lead teachers and visiting experts) and external (visiting other schools, attending conferences, and engaging in best practice sharing with others in the charter school community, etc.).
• Participating as an active member of the community to provide stewardship of the school and adherence to its mission and guiding principles.
• Maintaining a high level of professionalism including meeting deadlines, and commitments to self, students, and the community.
• Monitoring and implementing School's compliance with all student Individual Education Plans (IEP's), maintaining active and up-to-date records.
• Assisting the Director of Special Education with monitoring and implementing the School's Special Education Program, which includes compliant timely response to parent inquiries, student assessment, and reporting.
• Assisting the Director of Special Education with supporting and leading the convening of the Student Support (Success) Teams, providing clear agendas, goals, and documentation of each meeting.
• Assisting the Director of Special Education with conferencing with teachers, school leaders, and other instructional personnel, external educational agencies, to aid in the development of robust, appropriate, educational programming and supports to students who are at-risk of failure, not meeting school academic goals, and/or currently being supported by a formal IEP.
• Assisting the Director of Special Education with overseeing and implementing the School's Response to Intervention program and monitoring and documenting school-wide, including classroom progress toward goals.

The ideal teacher will have:

• A bachelor's degree (master's preferred) and appropriate Missouri Special Education Certification.
• Experience (minimum two years preferred) teaching special education in middle school grades.
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills.
• Experience working in a socio-economic, racial and culturally diverse classroom setting.
• An ability to effectively manage and instruct both small and large groups of students.
• An exhibited ability to work with children in a caring and respectful manner in order to create a joyful, caring classroom environment where instructional time includes community building, conflict resolution, skill-building, and empowering students to be peacemakers and agents for positive social change.
• Knowledge of and experience with Special Education related computer programs to document services, notes, write IEP's, and run all necessary reports.
• Knowledge of all compliance-oriented Special Education timelines, procedures, and processes (generally and within MO DESE).
• Maturity, humility, strong work ethic, sense of humor, and a can-do attitude.
• Willingness to explore additional school responsibilities (before/after school care and classes, committee involvement, etc.); stipends may be available for such responsibilities.
• Fluency in Spanish is preferred.

CWC Kansas City offers competitive salaries commensurate with experience and a comprehensive benefits package. CWC Kansas City is an Equal Opportunity Employer. As an organization that values diversity and aims to serve a diverse group of students, we work to reflect this diversity in our staff as well.

Contact

Please apply online through the TalentEd Application Portal on our website at www.cwckansascity.org/employment. No phone calls, please.

About Citizens of the World Charter Schools

Our purpose at Citizens of the World Charter Schools is to realize human potential by strengthening the bonds among us and developing true citizens of the world. In this work, we are guided by our core values of Excellence, Authenticity, Diversity, Community, and Change and our operating norms, which reflect a commitment to personal and professional growth, including operating as learners, and with curiosity, integrity, and humility.

The mission of Citizens of the World Charter Schools is to impact and expand the conversation about what an excellent education contains, requires, and accomplishes. Citizens of the World schools challenge students to realize their full potential and thrive in a diverse society.

We are public schools open to all, committed to serving diverse communities throughout the U.S. with schools currently in Los Angeles and Kansas City. We develop sophisticated thinkers who master content and have a courageous and compassionate sense of responsibility for themselves and all people. Our schools are in strong demand: in 2015, we had ten times more student interest than space available. Our classrooms are challenging and joyful learning environments that engage children through projects tailored to their personal experiences, strengths, and needs.

Our teachers take the time to get to know each child as an individual. We empower children to think critically and learn to engage respectfully and productively with fellow students by developing their capacity to enter into and understand the lives of others. Our goal is for student "success" to include mastery of both content and emotions, so that students can meaningfully connect with each other, be part of any community, and courageously decide who they are in the world and how they want the world to be.

In this work, we:

• Prepare students to become citizens of the world in an ever-changing future.
• Promote academic rigor and experiential learning to support and develop children's natural intellectual curiosity.
• Embrace a constructivist, project-based learning approach to teaching and learning.
• Develop each child's potential to live as a learner, both in school and out.
• Reflect, welcome, and celebrate the community's diversity.
• Strengthen the bonds among members of the school community and beyond.