Exceptional Children's Teacher (Special Education Teacher)

Exploris is a long-standing and award-winning independent public charter school in downtown Raleigh that uses innovative teaching models such as co-teaching, project-based learning, and standards-based grading. We pride ourselves on our core values of Innovation, Relationships, Social Empowerment, Curiosity, Craftsmanship, Responsibility, Connections to Nature, and Reflection, and we use downtown resources and community partners to help connect our scholars to real-world issues.

Exploris prides itself on the commitment, compassion, talent, and expertise of the people who work here. Parents choose to send their children to Exploris because they know their children will be taught by individuals who go above and beyond for the sake of student learning and who develop strong relationships with their students. We recognize that the teacher is the number one factor in student growth.

Teachers work closely with their colleagues, developing curriculum and helping shape the culture of the school in accordance with the school’s mission and its implementation of challenging, authentic project-based learning.

Exploris teachers must be compassionate, have the ability to develop meaningful connections with students, have strong classroom management skills, and are confident in their ability to create a psychologically safe classroom culture in which individuals are respected and valued for what they bring to the group.

We Seek Candidates with the Following Qualifications:

• Appreciation for the life and mind of the elementary and middle grades scholar.

• Appreciation for a project-based approach to curriculum design — a commitment to developing curriculum that is relevant, student-centered, engaging, and in-depth.

• Teaching experience consistent with Exploris’s progressive, constructivist, exploratory, and project-based educational philosophy

• Engages with our Responsive Classroom techniques for strong classroom management and clear student expectations

• Reader, writer, critical thinker, and attentive to current events that lead to opportunities to create learning experiences that guide students to make sense of the world in meaningful ways

• Skillful at using a variety of assessment methods and data to pinpoint students’ strengths and weaknesses and skillful at applying instructional practices to address diverse learning needs.

• Strong interpersonal skills, commitment to teamwork, willingness to learn, and readiness to reflect and grow.

• Values a highly collaborative approach to working with a diverse population of children and adults.

• Sense of humor and a high level of enthusiasm, flexibility, and spontaneity.

Job Description: Our Exceptional Children teachers serve as co-teachers with regular education teachers as well as provide support in resource room settings. They work with a team of K-8 teachers and generally have a caseload of 12-18 students. Exploris is proud of our relationships with students, families, and staff and provides academic freedom and the ability to be professionally creative while still meeting compliance regulations for delivering EC services.

Applicants must be licensed and eligible to teach in North Carolina.

Specifically, as an Exploris Exceptional Children’s (Special Education) teacher, you will:

• Facilitate Eligibility and IEP meetings, serving on the team to develop IEPs for special education students in accordance with North Carolina’s Policies Governing Services for Children with Disabilities

• Develop and deliver specialized instruction in both inclusion and pull-out settings designed to help students meet grade-level standards and IEP goals that are specific and measurable

• Evaluate progress toward student goals and personal goals.

• Communicate with families, teachers, and service providers regarding service delivery and student progress

• Ensure the records for each identified student are up to date and well-organized and contain necessary progress notes and assessments

• Meet regularly with the grade-level teaching teams to review student progress

• Modify assessments and classwork for students with special needs

• Assess student progress against IEP using data to plan for instruction

• Support students with progress toward their IEP goals

• Meet and plan regularly with a team of teachers and specialists (SLP, OT) who work with the same students

• Collaborate with staff and students to implement consistent structures and develop traditions

• Attend weekly staff meetings, bi-weekly vertical team meetings, and targeted professional development

• Collaborate with Student Support Team to recommend interventions through the MTSS process

• Serve as a resource for teachers to recommend strategies and interventions aimed at meeting the various needs of exceptional children

• Supervise EC TAs and collaborate on a daily basis to ensure high-quality student instructional delivery

• Ensure that all service delivery hours and accommodations are implemented in accordance with student IEPs

• Other duties as assigned

Additional Duties: Attend grade-level/team planning meetings each week, weekly faculty meetings, and regular EC/intervention team meetings; participate in the rotation of extracurricular duties that are shared by the faculty, such as car/bus duty and dance chaperone; attend school-wide after-school functions such as Back to School Night, Open House, PTO Picnics, Family Day, etc.

SCHOOL’S PROFILE

Empowering learners to improve our world is our vision at The Exploris School. We do this through experiential, project-based learning that empowers students to build a connected, just, and sustainable world. Keeping this mission at the forefront, Exploris fosters a collaborative, real-world approach to curriculum design and implementation. Using national and state standards as a jumping-off point, teachers work together to create a compelling lens that drives the acquisition of content and skills.

We believe that, given the right support and a caring and compassionate learning environment, all students can and want to learn. Our standards-based and portfolio assessment systems make explicit the criteria by which success can be measured and document the accomplishment of high academic and character standards. Teachers at Exploris are expected to participate in a community of shared leadership—teaching and caring for students; developing curriculum; leading students in service, travel, and fieldwork; and engaging in professional development.

Physical Requirements: Employee must be able to lift 50 pounds, stand and sit for at least 50% of the work day, and walk up to a mile most days and up to three miles some days as part of teaching responsibilities.

Student Transportation: Occasionally, an employee may be asked to drive students in their personal vehicle to and from field experiences or in unforeseen circumstances. Therefore, the incumbent must possess and maintain a current, valid driver's license in their state of residence.

Benefits: We offer a competitive salary, including payment for Master’s Degrees and National Board Certification when listed on your license, bonuses as determined by the state and annual internal budget, medical benefits, paid time off, retirement match, daily planning, ongoing access to top-notch professional development and conference opportunities, and a vibrant, supportive school community with an innovative, relationship-based approach to teaching the whole child. Exploris has a commitment to diversity, social justice, and environmental justice, and our community strives to live out our core values of Innovation, Relationships, Social Empowerment, Curiosity, Craftsmanship, Responsibility, Connections to Nature, and Reflection daily.