Middle School Special Education Teacher (2023-2024)

Location: Nashville, Tennessee

Employment Type: Full-time, in-person lead teaching position for the upcoming 2024-2025 school year. Currently, we are hiring for a 5th, 7th, and 8th Grade Special Education Teacher.

Salary: Valor’s certificated teacher salary scale is from $53,000 to $77,000+ and placement is determined based on years of lead teaching experience in a K-12 school.

About Valor: Founded in 2014, Valor Collegiate Academies is a top-performing, public charter school network in Nashville, Tennessee, serving 1900 students in Grades 5-12. We operate two middle schools, Valor Flagship and Valor Voyager, that feed into our high school, Valor College Prep. Our mission is to create a community where diverse students of all backgrounds have equitable access to a high-quality education that prepares them to live inspired and purposeful lives. This mission is made possible through an innovative school model that balances rigorous academics and whole-child education in an intentionally diverse environment. Learn more about Valor here: https://valorcollegiate.org/our-model/

Key Responsibilities Include:

Planning & Instruction (50%):

Prepare, internalize, and plan daily lessons for intervention spaces based on individual learners’ needs
Partner and collaborate with EL teachers and general education teachers to ensure all students are receiving appropriately scaffolded  grade-level content and academic support across class settings
Prepare materials for resource class activities, do nows, and exit tickets
Use scholar work and data to inform instruction and intervention strategies in both general education and intervention settings
Collect, enter, and analyze academic data to provide targeted instruction and interventions that promote a culture of learning
Engage in weekly 1:1 coaching meetings to deepen content and case management expertise
Submit lesson plans weekly for feedback and review by instructional coach
Engage in weekly collaborative curriculum meetings (known as Intellectual Preparation) with a planning partner and instructional leader (for one cotaught content area)
Proactively communicate academic progress with parents/guardians, other teachers, administrators, and/or school counselors
Co-teach in 3-4 core content classes daily (including content knowledge to efficiently co-teach and support caseload students)
Case Management Responsibilities (30%):

Develop and manage individualized education programs (IEPs) for students on your caseload
Collaborate with school psychologist and related service providers to plan and conduct reevaluation meetings for your caseload
Collect and track data on individual student skills to determine the effectiveness of programming and measure progress toward IEP goals
Maintain special education reports to be in compliance with federal, state, and local district requirements
Collaborate and co-teach with general education/core content teachers to ensure the successful implementation of established curriculum and/or individual student plans
Collaborate with paraprofessionals to serve the needs of individual students
School-Based Responsibilities & Faculty Engagement (12.5%)

Enforce, uphold, and exhibit school’s values, student management policies, and culture
Willingly, kindly, and actively uphold Valor’s organizational commitments
Own an arrival, recess or lunch, transition, or dismissal duty daily
Participate in and prepare for school events that occur outside of normal school hours, such as parent-teacher conferences, field trips, IEP meetings, report card conferences, and new student orientation. The estimated time commitment per school year is approximately 25 hours.
Engage in ongoing professional development, which includes attending 3 weeks of faculty training in July 2024 and participating in weekly professional learning sessions throughout the school year (i.e. weekly academic PL, culture PL, State of School meetings)
Participate in faculty Circle once a week; complete and present 2-3 pieces of faculty Badge Work per school year
Student Mentorship & Culture Building (7.5%)

Respond to students’ behavior in real-time using school-wide intervention systems and classroom management practices
Track and input student behavior feedback and data through Kickboard by the daily school deadline to share with families, school leaders, and the Compass Team
Maintain a 4:1 positivity ratio to strengthen school culture and student relationships
Serve as the main point-of-contact for case load’s families to communicate any student-specific/IEP related information
Certification Requirements:

In compliance with Tennessee Department of Education’s requirements for certification, candidates applying for this position must:

Have an active Tennessee teaching license with endorsements for special education K-8 or K-12, or
Have an out-of-state license for special education K-8 or K-12 that can be transferred to Tennessee by July 2024, or
Be eligible and willing to enroll in an approved job-embedded educator licensing program to obtain your certification during the 2024-25 school year
Additional Requirement for Gifted Endorsement:

In addition to the Special Education license, candidates who possess or are willing to obtain a Gifted Education endorsement are highly preferred. To become certified for Gifted Education, teachers must either (1) engage in coursework for gifted education through an approved Educator Preparation Program, or (2) work to obtain a gifted Employment Standard waiver through completing a number of courses in gifted education.
Qualifications and Experience:

We believe diversity is what makes us strong and we are committed to building a team of educators with diverse skills and experiences. We invite you to apply if you:

Have authorization to work in the United States without requiring sponsorship
Have an active teaching license or have a clear plan in place to pursue licensure via a job-embedded program
Have strong content knowledge and instructional pedagogy
Have a proven track record of success and student achievement in the classroom
Have an unwavering belief that all students can succeed in school and beyond
Have a relentless drive to develop your practice to sharpen your skills as an educator
Set ambitious goals for yourself and others and are not afraid of putting in the hard work it takes to achieve them
Have the passion and commitment to serve a culturally and socioeconomically diverse community of students and families
Have experience or willingness to quickly learn and adopt school-wide tech platforms, i.e. Kickboard, Infinite Campus, Google Suite, Google Classroom
Enjoy cultivating meaningful relationships with students, families, and staff
Are able to model, live, and reinforce our school’s core values, commitments, and policies
Teacher Interview Process:

Resume Review
Phone Interview
Teacher Performance Task
Virtual Sample Lesson & Leadership Interview
Reference Checks
Offer Extension
Compensation and Benefits:

Valor’s teacher salary schedule is from $53,000 to $77,000+ and is determined based on years of lead teaching experience in a K-12 school
Opportunities to earn additional stipends for taking on projects that are outside of your core teaching role, or for teacher-leader and athletic coaching responsibilities
Years of Service Bonus
Comprehensive health (medical, dental, and vision) and retirement benefits, with a pension plan and 401K with 5% company contribution
8 days of PTO annually (prorated based on start date for anyone onboarding after July 1, 2024), plus access to an org-wide PTO Sharing program
8 weeks of fully-paid parental leave
Access to unlimited classroom supplies, with an annual discretionary course budget
100 professional development hours each year and individualized coaching
Free access to an on-campus strength & conditioning facility, Vanderbilt Health Clinic, retirement counseling, and Modern Health resources
Full-time employees wishing to enroll their child at Valor in grades 5-12 will be placed at the top of the new student waitlist
Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion:

Valor believes in the importance of being a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization that enables students and staff to thrive. As an equal opportunity employer, we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We actively seek applications from people of all backgrounds to strengthen our community and the perspectives needed to thrive in a diverse world.