Special Education Head Teacher
Roles and Responsibilities
Tribeca Prep is growing!
Tribeca Prep seeks creative, passionate, and dedicated teachers to support our highly diverse students — across a variety of grades, subject and clinical support areas.
Tribeca Prep is a 12-month independent special education early childhood and elementary school. Our goal is to prepare our students for a less restrictive environment by developing their academic and social skills. Through our cohesive team of teachers, specialists and therapists, we offer our promising learners in grades PK-8, a rigorous, learner-centered, education with integrated supports that foster independence and self-advocacy.
Job Overview: Head Teachers will provide academic instruction and social-emotional support to students in collaboration with our Director of Education and our related service providers. Our classrooms consist of six to eight students who have similar needs in the areas of communication, academic skills, and social emotional skills.. The classroom consists of one head teacher and a number of instructors based on the students’ instructional needs. The head teacher is responsible for student assessments, creating, implementing and overseeing the delivery of an individualized program of instruction for each student. The Head Teacher is also responsible for working with instructors to ensure that students’ instruction is consistent with the outlined goals of each student’s individualized program and goals while supporting the team in building a positive learning environment for all students.
Expected Hours of Work:
Students attend Tribeca Prep twelve months out of the year according to the academic calendar (July to July). Occasional evening or weekend hours may be required. Generally, hours are Monday-Friday, 8:00 A.M.-4:00 P.M. The school day starts at 8:45am and concludes at 2:45pm.
Successful candidates for the position should possess the following qualities:
- Authentic Connection: They should have a genuine understanding and connection to the school’s mission and the student population. This means they align with the values and goals of the school and can relate to and empathize with the students and help support and educate families.
- Special Needs Experience: They should have prior experience working in special needs learning spaces. They should possess deep knowledge and passion for their area(s) of specialty within special education, allowing them to effectively cater to the diverse needs of the students.
- Strength-Oriented: They should have the desire to teach in a setting that honors the competence, independence, and promise of children. Successful candidates should strive to amplify students’ strengths while working collaboratively to overcome challenges.
- Creative Designers of Learning: They should be creative in designing learning experiences that engage students. They should leverage student interests, real-world problems, and professional tools/experts to create purposeful experiences that drive student learning.
- Tenacious and Adaptive: They should possess a “whatever it takes” attitude to support student learning. This involves being adaptable, flexible, and willing to improvise. Kindness, patience, and perseverance are also important traits for effectively addressing the needs of students.
- Excellent Communicators: They should excel in communication, actively listening, and asking probing questions. They should be able to engage with all members of the school community and strike a balance between candor and empathy. All staff understands the importance of data and report writing as this information is vital to each student’s growth.
- Community and Collaboration Focused: They should prioritize community and collaboration. Successful candidates recognize the value of divergent viewpoints and understand the importance of leveraging them for collective improvement and building positive relationships.
- Accountability: They should hold themselves and their colleagues accountable. They should be receptive and humble when held accountable for their actions, and they should encourage accountability within the student body.
- Comfort with Ambiguity: They should be comfortable with ambiguity and not always having immediate answers. Instead, they should possess an intellectually curious and growth-focused mindset, always willing to learn and adapt to new ideas and approaches.
- Positive Behavior Strategies: They should possess a true understanding of the importance of positive behavior strategies (ABA) and its connection to learning.
Responsibilities and Duties:
- Plan and implement high-quality, engaging lessons that are differentiated to meet the learning needs of the students and adhere to the common core state standards.
- Regularly assess the students and the curriculum to adapt content and instruction as appropriate; communicate assessment results to parents.
- Implement the school’s philosophy of progressive and personalized education for every child.
- Create and maintain an orderly and aesthetic learning environment that accounts for students’ social, emotional, and executive functioning needs.
- Maintain accurate records and carefully managed portfolios of student work to illustrate and record progress and achievement.
- Empower students to take charge of their learning by providing all necessary scaffolding, modeling, materials, and resources, and consistently maintain a high level of expectation for student success.
- Collaborate with other academic staff and related service providers to plan, integrate, and facilitate cross-curricular, inquiry-based projects.
- Communicate with parents and guardians to provide feedback on students academic and social-emotional progress through parent-teacher conferences, written reports, phone calls, and emails (daily emails/phone conferences may be required).
- Mentor and delegate appropriate tasks to the co-teacher, in collaboration with the teacher assistant in the classroom.
- Follow the professional code and policies of the school and conducting oneself in a way that promotes the mission of the school.
- Provide quarterly progress reports for all students.
- Prepare and adapt all individual and group lesson plans, materials, equipment and furniture arrangement and necessary modifications of the environment.
- Provide classroom adaptations, instructional modifications, adaptive equipment, behavior modification plans and other similar instructional interventions to meet the needs of students.
- Attend all faculty meetings and required special events.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
Qualifications:
- Master’s degree in elementary education, special education, Applied Behavior Analysis or a related field.
- Knowledge and skills in working with children with autism, ADHD and other developmental and learning disabilities.
- New York State Certification in Special Education.
- New York State Certification in Early Childhood Education
Compensation: Salaries are competitive and based on experience and training. Tribeca Prep offers a competitive benefits package, including employer-paid health insurance, dental/vision insurance options, 401k matching options, and ample professional development opportunities.
To apply, please send your resume and cover letter to career@tribecapreparatory.com in relation to the specifics of your experience. We will follow up with promising candidates who align with potential openings.
Tribeca Prep is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Prep does not discriminate on the basis of an applicant’s or employee’s race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, unemployment status, or any other status protected by law.
