Teacher Student Support Teacher (SPED)
Job Description
Intrepid College Prep is a growing network of public “no-excuses” college preparatory charter schools founded to address two interrelated achievement gaps – the academic achievement gap and intergenerational wealth gaps in the communities we serve.
Intrepid College Prep operates two schools, Opportunity Academy Middle School, and Independence Academy High School. We serve nearly 500 students across both campuses.
Intrepid College Prep was recently named a 2015 Tennessee Reward School for Progress and we have received local recognition from Metro Nashville Public Schools as an Excelling School in every year we’ve had the honor and responsibility to educate students.
We make three commitments to every student – admission to selective colleges, preparedness to engage the world as a financially literate young professional, and the cultivation of positive leadership skills.
The work is demanding – it is a tremendous investment of time, energy and smarts but the return on investment is extraordinarily high.
Support Inclusive Education at an Intrepid College Prep school.
At the core of Intrepid College Prep’s vision is the unwavering belief that all students, regardless of their socioeconomic status or educational background, deserve a high-quality, college preparatory education. With this core belief, we are targeting a student population that faces academic adversity based on factors such as income level or home language. Intrepid College Prep has approached development of the educational program very deliberately to meet students where they are instructionally and accelerate them to achieve mastery at and above grade level. The Student Support Teacher works with Blue Chip Teachers and the Campus Leader to ensure all students with identified special needs and students performing below or above grade level have the academic supports necessary to excel. We support student to be successful in the least restrictive environment. As a result, the majority of supports provided are in the general education classroom setting.
Eligibility Requirements
• Tennessee Certification for Special Education (K-12), with track record of data-driven achievement.
Student Support Teacher Duties and Responsibilities
• Assess overall progress of Special Education instruction at Intrepid College Prep and improve instruction as needed
• Draft IEPs, monitor progress toward academic and behavior goals, issue parent communication about IEP meetings
• Ensure teachers are utilizing best practices and implementing effective and appropriate curricula
• Use RtI framework to conduct data-driven progress monitoring and Tier I, Tier II and Tier III interventions as needed.
• Accommodate student work packets to ensure students have the right amount of scaffolding to reach common learning objectives.
• Collaborate with Student Support Team weekly to develop a plan to meet the needs of all learners
• Serve as an advisor to 10-12 students, including developing relationships with families, monitoring each student’s academic progress and fulfillment of requirements in the Pre-Collegiate Training program
• Availability to participate in after school and Saturday tutoring programs.
• Availability and willingness to engage in a limited number of evening/weekend student recruitment and parent outreach events
• Have structured planning time (minimum of 100 minutes) built into the school day to plan the highest quality lessons
Successful Student Support teacher candidates possess the following characteristics:
• Intelligent, committed, gritty educators ready for challenge and the dogged pursuit of academic excellence.
• Dedication to educational success for students of color and low-income youth
• Demonstrated evidence of the ability to reflect and articulate the lessons learned from past experience
• Demonstrated evidence of strong content knowledge across , high school content areas and ability to articulate the importance of meeting the needs of all learners in a well-rounded high school education
• Experience with or demonstrated desire in leading Socratic Seminars and utilizing the Harkness Method
• Demonstrated ability to formulate higher-order, open-ended questions to lead students in scholarly conversation
• Demonstrated ability to articulate the criteria for exemplary student work
• Demonstrated ability to help students overcome conceptual difficulties in a specific content area
• Demonstrated evidence of excellent classroom management skills and ability to cultivate a rigorous classroom climate
• Minimum of two years teaching experience in an urban public school or charter school setting preferred, but not required.
• Highest commitment to improving curriculum and instruction through collaboration, best practices, regular assessment and data analysis
• Effective communication skills with students, parents, and colleagues
• Holds a B.A./B.S. degree with a minimum G.P.A. of 3.0
• Degree in subject area intended to teach (preferred)
• Speaks Spanish or has experience working with bilingual students (preferred)
• Belief in and alignment with Intrepid College Prep’s core beliefs and educational philosophy are nonnegotiable.
The position will begin in July 2017.
Compensation
We offer a generous compensation package. All staff members are equipped with the tools needed to succeed,
including a dedicated work space, laptop computer, email, high-speed internet access, and all necessary supplies. Compensation is highly competitive; teachers are eligible to participate in the MNPS Retirement System.
Commitment to Diversity
Intrepid College Prep is an equal opportunity employer. As an equal opportunity employer, we hire without consideration to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status or disability.
