Special Education Instructor

Special Education Instructor – Wright Technical Center 2021-22

The Wright Technical Center – ISD #966 in Buffalo, MN is seeking a qualified applicant for a 1.0 FTE Special Education position for the 2021-2022 academic school year.  WTC is a 7-12 school focusing on career, technical, and alternative education.

Position Responsibilities:

• Applies processes of referral, assessment, curriculum team planning, and program placement intervention for students with disabilities
• Manages a system for developmental services
• Collaborates with teachers, high school personnel, parents, advocacy groups and outside agencies to insure effective communications and success
• Assist teachers by providing indirect student support for students with disabilities
• Assist with the early identification and detection of students at risk
• Facilitate the development of realistic occupational goals for students with disabilities
• Facilitate the development of transitional and lifework plans
• Participate in the development of IEP and 504 plans as requested
• Facilitate the IEP collection process
• Assist with the adaptation and/or modification of curriculum and/or instruction to meet individual learner needs
• Monitors the delivery of services and individual student productivity
• Maintain records consistent with district policies and Minnesota Data Practices Act
• Assist with attendance tracking and reporting
• Provide career information and career options/opportunities
• Assist with the presentation of professional development activities for faculty
• Respond in a timely manner to emergency and crisis situations involving students with disabilities
• Represent the interests of students with disabilities on the Professional Development Committee
• Perform other relevant educational and administrative duties as assigned by the principal or director

Position Purpose 
School psychologists provide direct and/or indirect support and interventions to students, consult with teachers, families, and other school-employed mental health professionals (i.e., school counselors, school social workers) to improve support strategies, work with school administrators to improve school-wide practices and policies, and collaborate with community providers to coordinate needed services. Through their work, school psychologists help SCRED member districts and buildings successfully implement a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) framework in order to: improve academic achievement, promote positive behavior and mental health, support diverse learners, create safe, positive school climates, strengthen family-school partnerships, improve school-wide assessment and accountability, and monitor individual student progress in academics and behavior.

Essential Duties

• MTSS Implementation
  • Promote and assist in effective and efficient school-wide implementation of an MTSS framework for both academics and social emotional learning, in partnership with building administrators and teams
  • Facilitate the problem solving team (PST) in each building, ensuring that each PST is:using standard data for decision making; defining problems in observable and measurable terms; collecting sufficient information for intervention planning; developing detailed intervention plans; evaluating integrity of implementation; supporting classroom teachers or interventionists in data collection activities; graphing intervention effectiveness
  • Participate in various data team meetings within each building
  • Provide consultation to parents and/or teachers regarding social emotional learning and/or academic difficulties, utilizing the SCRED 5-step problem-solving model: Problem Identification, Problem Analysis, Plan Development, Plan Implementation, and Plan Evaluation
  • Assist in conducting needs assessments to support various resource allocation and/or programming decisions

Special Education Leadership

• Facilitate Student Support Team (SST) meetings
• Attend special education department meetings
• Serve as a liaison between SCRED and its member districts, in promotion of a positive, collaborative culture
• Provide consultation on special education due process to staff and parents
• Assist in the improvement of special education services (e.g., program evaluation, evaluation/service process, resource allocation, transitions), under the direction of SCRED Administration and the principal
• Facilitate the child find process by assisting in responding to referrals for initial special education evaluations for students suspected of having disabilities
• Assist in coordinating the reevaluation process for students receiving special education and related services
• Administer and interpret intellectual ability tests, social behavior assessments, and adaptive assessments as part of comprehensive evaluations for current and potential special education students when necessary
• Assist in the planning process for the provision of Extended School Year (ESY) services in building(s)/district of assignment
• Assist with facilitating transition planning, including attending IEP meetings (as needed) for children moving from ECSE programs to kindergarten, elementary to secondary, or between buildings and programs
• Support special education staff in reviewing progress monitoring data on IEP goals and designing appropriate interventions
• Assist with state compliance review activities, including the implementation of any resulting corrective action plans
• Serve as an active member of the SCRED Implementation Team (I-Team)
• Plan and implement professional learning opportunities at SCRED and building(s)/district of assignment?

Academic Assessment and Services

• Support building-wide academic screening processes
• Complete diagnostic assessments in reading, math and written expression, as deemed appropriate by the Problem Solving Team or Student Support Team
• Develop, implement and monitor the fidelity of academic interventions, as requested
• Assist in ensuring compliance with child find requirements related to the implementation of Scientific Research-Based Interventions

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Assessment and Services

• Provide direct SEL services to individuals, small groups, classrooms or school-wide, as requested
• Provide direct counseling services to individuals or groups, as requested
• Complete mental health screenings and assist students,  families, and school staff in determining appropriate mental health supports, both internally and through outside agencies
• Complete function-based behavior assessments (FBAs), when deemed appropriate by the Problem Solving Team or Student Support Team
• Assist in the development of Behavior Support Plans (BSPs), in collaboration with special education staff to write Behavior Support Plans, and track BSPs data with integrity checks
• Gather and organize data to assist teams in making manifestation determination, when needed
• Provide behavior consultation services to general education and special education staff

Crisis Response Services

• Facilitate crisis response procedures and participate in the school’s crisis team at the discretion of the building principal
• Provide consultation in crisis prevention and response
• Complete student risk assessments when necessary
• Assist in completing student threat assessment activities when necessary
• Provide an immediate response to students, families, and school staff in crisis situations and determine when a referral to an outside agency is needed

Other Duties

• Perform other duties as assigned