K-2 Teacher, Therapeutic Support Program (TSP), Bates Elementary School, Salem Public Schools SY2024-2025

About Salem Public Schools

Salem is a small, diverse city with a proud maritime and immigrant history.  Salem Public School educators are passionate about urban education and understand the urgency of improving student achievement.  We respect and value the racial, cultural, and linguistic diversity of our students and their families, and have a strong commitment to the Salem community.  We seek individuals who are able to serve all of our students, regardless of ability, economic status, gender/gender identity, language, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, or other backgrounds. Salem Public Schools has a clear equity statement and core values that guide and drive our work as an anti-racist organization. Applicants who have experienced working in urban schools and have bilingual skills are strongly encouraged to apply.

What You’ll Do:

As a collaborative member of the Special Education team in Salem, the TSP Teacher will be responsible for teaching, evaluating, and implementing programming for students with emotional disabilities. This person must have working knowledge of effective behaviors, techniques and interventions in consultation with Special Education and General Education teams. The TSP teacher is responsible for continuous caseload management, including parent communication, paraprofessional supervision, and additional professional obligations as determined by the district and site.

Responsibilities:

• Provide specialized instruction that will allow all students to successfully engage in instruction based upon the Common Core standards
• Embed social-emotional learning into instruction across the school day
• Analyze data to drive instruction and improve student performance
• Work collaboratively across school settings, including co-teaching and intensive skills development
• Maintain consistent communication and positive student management skills
• Collaborate with school personnel, parents, and various community agencies for the purpose of improving the quality of student outcomes
• Plan curriculum in accordance with students’ Individual Education Programs (IEPs)
• Demonstrate ability to write an effective IEP with SMART goals and sensible accommodations
• Demonstrate ability to administer, interpret, and report findings from standardized evaluations
• Evaluate students’ abilities in literacy, mathematics, and social development; develop remediation plans and monitor student progress
• Manage student behavior for the purpose of providing a safe and optimal learning environment
• Support classroom paraprofessionals and other school personnel for the purpose of assuring accommodations, modifications, and student goals are consistently addressed
• Complete trimester progress reports, using measurable data
• Develop and implement positive student behavior intervention plans
• Consult with doctoral level consultant and school adjustment counselors to address ongoing and/or changing therapeutic needs
• Use innovative approaches and instructional strategies, including the effective use of technologies, to increase student access, learning, and confidence to learn
• Modify/adapt materials, instructional lessons to meet the specific needs of students across the school day
• Seek out and support inclusion opportunities for students with their grade-level peers
• Provide a consistent and predictable school environment that embeds social-emotional learning 

What You’ll Bring:

We are looking for candidates who have diverse backgrounds and experiences, are inspired by our mission and are highly motivated to change children’s lives through education. You’ll be right at home here if you are a reflective practitioner who values collaboration with colleagues and pushes yourself, your work and the people around you to the next level.  We expect our SPS employees to:

• Hold a deep commitment to students and families and value diversity - The SPS community is vibrant, diverse in background, ethnicity, language, and perspective. You embrace and affirm the backgrounds of all members of the SPS community and view our diversity as a powerful resource that supports us each in learning and doing our best work.
• Hold high expectations for yourself, students, and colleagues – You see potential in all, especially our SPS students, and maintain high expectations for achievement, while providing the support necessary to meet that bar. You hold yourself to high expectations, modeling SPS values and seeking opportunities to continuously improve.
• Build authentic, caring relationships with colleagues, students, and families – You build strong relationships across students, families, and colleagues that are collaborative in nature and contribute to the individual and collective success of SPS.  You partner with families and colleagues to make decisions in the best interest of students and learning.
• Embrace feedback – You are a reflective practitioner who learns from failure, using mistakes and challenges as opportunities for growth. You model persistence and growth mindset and thrive in a culture of feedback. 

Skills and Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree (required); Master’s Degree preferred
• Required Massachusetts teaching certification/licensure in Special Education Moderate Disabilities (required)
• Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) Endorsement (Required within 1-year of start date)
• Ability to meet the expectations of the Massachusetts Standards and Indicators of Effective Teaching Practice
• Ability to write an effective IEPs with SMART goals, functional Transition Plans and sensible accommodations, using district software
• Ability to administer, interpret, and report findings from standardized and informal evaluations and observational data collection
• Maintain professional competence through in-service education activities provided by the District, and/or in self-selected professional growth activities.
• Safety Care Training Certification (District will provide training)
• Minimum of 2 years teaching experience and working in an urban public school or charter school setting preferred.
• Proven track record of raising student achievement scores in an urban/turnaround environment highly desired.
• Proficiency with technology (blended learning, teacher/family communication suites (Remind preferred), Google G-Suite Apps, etc.) desirable.
• Dual certification is a plus
• Second language (Spanish and/or Portuguese) proficiency a plus
• Bilingual candidates and candidates of color strongly encouraged to apply
• Current authorization to work in the United States

Contact Information:        

Jennifer Doucette-Ly, Executive Director

Department of Special Education

Salem Public Schools

29 Highland Avenue

Salem, MA  01970

Phone: 978-740-1249

Fax: 978-740-1137

Work Year: Teachers in Salem Public Schools work a 185 day school year (180 student contact days plus 5 professional development days. Please visit www.salemk12.org to view the 2023-24 district and/or school calendar.

Salary: Teacher salaries in the Salem Public Schools are determined by the Salem Teachers Union collective bargaining agreement. Salary information can be found in Appendix A. Use our new Salem Teacher Salary estimator here. Collins Middle School teachers receive an additional 4% differential on top of their base salary for a slightly longer (7 hour) school day.

Benefits: The City of Salem offers Group Insurance Commission (GIC) benefits to all full-time employees. Click here for more information about our health benefits.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Salem Public School District is committed to maintaining a work and learning environment free from discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, pregnancy, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital/civil union status, ancestry, place of birth, age, citizenship status, veteran status, political affiliation, genetic information or disability, as defined and required by state and federal laws. Additionally, we prohibit retaliation against individuals who oppose such discrimination and harassment or who participate in an equal opportunity investigation.