Sy 23-24 Special Education Adapted Curriculum Specialist

PRIMARY FUNCTION: This position is responsible for providing support to teachers in adapted and autism self-contained settings who teach students participating in alternate curriculum & alternate assessments.
REPORTS TO: Special Education Program Manager
SALARY SCHEDULE: Teacher
WORK DAYS: 190
REQUIREMENTS:
Educational Level:

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university
• Valid State of Georgia certification in Special Education (Adapted Curriculum certification) and all 5 content areas.
• Minimum 5 years' experience teaching Special Education Adapted students.

Preferred:
Experience, Skill and Certification:

• Valid Professional State of Georgia certification in Special Education Adapted Curriculum.
• Excellent interpersonal skills necessary to interact with adapted Program Manager and teachers of students using alternate curriculum.
• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely both in oral and written form using a variety of communication techniques and tools to ensure the appropriate flow of information, collaborative efforts, and feedback.
• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret information.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES:

1. Provide direct teacher support for Unique Learning System (ULS) for set up and implementation for in-person or virtual instruction. Some examples of ULS support provided include:
2. Guide teachers in establishing daily schedules aligned with Georgia Standards of Excellence (GSE)s for rigorous instruction.
3. Assist with establishing and maintaining ULS student login information (passwords, individual schedules, student observational profiles for differentiated level) for use in virtual or in-person instruction.
4. Assist with interpreting the ULS' Suggested Monthly Plan and implementing instructional components tailored to different grade and ability levels.
5. Add News2You (n2y) access for new personnel as needed for all n2y components.

Problem solves on individual basis when issues or concerns arise with implementation of ULS programming (scheduling issues, student access, assessments, interpretation of ULS information for use in PLAAFP);

1. Provide direct and individual ULS training for teachers of students on Georgia's alternate assessment.
2. Creating and helping to implement picture schedules and communication systems using the Symbolstix component of n2y.
3. Monitor and maintain reports on ULS data collection using bi-weekly Checkpoints aligned with monthly content and bi-monthly Benchmarks aligned with individual goals and provide feedback for incomplete or missing ULS data.
4. Observe students in adapted classroom settings (virtual or in person) and suggest adapted, behavioral, academic, or environmental interventions to increase student success.
5. Design and conduct trainings professional development to guide teachers to resources for teaching alternate standards aligned with GAA 2.0 (ULS, News2You, Learning Resource Board, websites).
6. Assist teachers with implementing and explaining alternative grading based on individual student needs and accommodations (interpret and explain grading rubric examples, discern alternate grading methods for students with high needs, etc.).
7. Assist in designing and implementing IEP goals and short-term objectives for adapted students.
8. Assist in designing and implementing data collection tools for timely and effective IEP goal & short-term objectives data collection.
9. Maintain adapted Programs Projections spreadsheet for accurate student placements, GAA participation, transfers between schools/teachers, accurate grade levels, and pertinent notes for HHB students, medical updates, other pertinent information for programming purposes.
10. Complete accuracy checks for all adapted and autism self-contained class lists a minimum of 3 times per year - cross checking student's grade/placement against PowerSchool data and IEP data and making corrections to adapted Programs Projections or reporting irregularities to Program Manager.
11. Meet regularly with Program Manager to discuss student, teacher, and programming concerns and successes. Report potential issues and concerns regarding adapted programming to Program Manager in timely manner.
12. Coordinate and collaborate with schools with long-term teacher absences with continuation of programming. Utilize data collection and ULS resources to maintain classroom schedules and student programming, collecting and entering IEP data, assist long-term sub/paraprofessionals with variety of student and classroom concerns.
13. Conduct classroom observations to assist with appropriate programming for students.
14. Assist with GAA related trainings and disseminate information pertaining to GAA in a timely and accurate manner.
15. Assist Program Manager with student placement decisions for upcoming school year (spring semester). Make adapted projection changes and create parent letters for upcoming school year.
16. Performs other duties as assigned for the effectiveness of the organization and the safety of students.

Terms of Employment
Incumbents will receive an annual contract. The work calendar will be 190 days. Salary will be determined based on level of certification and allowable experience. Rev. 01-2024
Non-Essential Responsibilities
A responsibility is considered to be "non-essential" (for the purposes of compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act) if:

• it is shared between multiple incumbents in the job; or
• it could be performed by an employee in another job within the workgroup.

Note the responsibility number from the list in the "Duties and Responsibilities" section for those responsibilities that could be considered "non-essential" based on this definition.
Physical and Sensory Demands
Most jobs in the District have physical and sensory demands that can be described by one of the two categories noted below. For jobs that require more physical or sensory effort, please list the requirements in this section. The category applicable for this position is listed below.
EXCEPTIONAL PHYSICAL OR SENSORY DEMANDS

• Other: Occasional heavy lifting of up to _15__ pounds of materials, etc.