Bishop Ireton High School, a Catholic college preparatory school in Alexandria, Virginia, has an immediate opening for a part-time Special Education teacher for the Academic Support Program. The Academic Support Program focuses on providing targeted support for students who need help with executive functioning skills, self-advocacy, and work completion. This part-time position may have the opportunity to move to full-time in future school years given successful collaboration, evaluations, and increased enrollment. This position reports directly to the Director of Special Services.

Quick Overview

We are hiring a teacher for our Academic Support Program for students with and without disabilities who need extra guidance for academic success. The program serves a variety of students including student athletes who need support staying on top of work, 9th grade students who need help transitioning to high school, and students with neurodiversity to include ADHD, Autism, dyslexia, and mental health diagnoses. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience working with students on developing executive functioning skills to include organization, planning, prioritizing tasks, study skills, etc.

The teacher would need to be passionate about supporting inclusion in an academically rigorous environment as well as qualified to teach differentiated, small group instruction to support a variety of content areas. The teacher is also a key member of the larger Special Services team and should be excited to not only teach, but also work collaboratively with a larger team.

Primary Responsibilities

• Teach mixed-grade skills-based mini lessons differentiated for student need. Teach in a variety of formats to include whole group, but focused mainly on small group and one-on-one instruction.
• Work well in a co-teaching environment supporting student needs as well as collaborating effectively with the other teacher in the room
• Widely differentiate support for a variety of students with numerous diagnoses and varied individual needs
• Support general education teachers with best-practices in inclusion and appropriate use of accommodations in the general education classroom
• Foster open, frequent communication with teachers
• Manage an assigned case load of Student Assistance Plans (our versions of 504 Plans/IEPs) from eligibility to implementation to review.
• Weekly communication with parents of students in your classes and/or on your case load
• Post regular reminders and resources to the class pages on the BI student portal
• Support small group testing for students with testing accommodations as well as helping with read aloud testing during midterms and finals
• Mentor students at all grade levels for success in current classes and planning for self-advocacy in college.
• Appropriately respond to any unexpected behavior situations supporting student needs and providing examples for how adults should respond for students who are neurodiverse
• Actively participate in developing an organized curriculum for the Academic Support Program including possible adoption of supplemental resources or texts
• Work to identify potential funding sources and community partnerships to move toward financial independence of the Academic Support Program
• Attend regular Special Services team meetings and on-going team PLC/professional development
• Find and attend on-going professional development opportunities to stay current in the field of special education/executive functioning support
• Continuously brain storm and help implement creative and innovative ways to shift the culture of Bishop Ireton toward mindsets of inclusion for all stakeholders
• Help arrange informational sessions for student and parent orientations at the beginning of the school year.
• Attend at least two recruiting/welcoming/student support events outside of school hours each school year
• Choose and effectively implement a minimum of one major leadership role for the Special Services Team to include Peer Mentor Lead, English Learner Lead, Student Assistance Plan Lead, Inclusion Support Lead, SST Liaison etc.
• Throughout the year, work closely with the Director of Special Services on tasks related to student/teacher support and program development/evaluation

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in education or a related field
• Special Education Teacher Certification or extensive experience working with students who are neurodiverse
• Specific experience supporting students with one or more of the following diagnoses: ADHD, Autism, Anxiety
• Successful experience teaching one or more of the core content areas
• Successful co-teaching experience or a willingness to work side by side another teacher for student success
• Experience managing a special education case load to include IEP/504 Plans/SAPs
• Has specific experience on the latest best practices in developing executive functioning skills in adolescents or willing to learn best practices before the start of the school year
• Exemplifies a deep belief in and commitment to educational excellence for all students
• Track record of working well on a team
• Effective oral and written communication skills

For more information on Special Services programs at Bishop Ireton, please visit the website at https://www.bishopireton.org/academics/special-services

Candidates also must:

• Speak fluent English
• Complete all security background check requirements of the Diocese of Arlington which includes in-person VIRTUS training

If interested, please send a cover letter with three professional references, current resume, and written personal philosophy of education in a Catholic school environment to Tina Becker, Manager of Administrative Services, tina.becker@bishopireton.org

About Bishop Ireton

Bishop Ireton, a Catholic, co-educational, college preparatory high school in historic Alexandria, Virginia, began its proud heritage of academic excellence in 1964. The school offers a challenging environment and outstanding quality of life, both in academics and co-curricular activities, with a three-tiered focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), humanities and fine arts. The spirit of community service and giving back is central to the school’s mission. Bishop Ireton’s quality is reflected in its distinguished faculty and staff, who take great pride in seeing every graduate head to college - often to the most prestigious universities and service academies.