English/Social Sciences Teacher

WE'RE GROWING! And we seek a English/Social Science Teacher to be a big part of our growth! Here are the details: English/Social Sciences Teacher – The Mill School Who We Are. What We Do. Our approach to education is simple. We are committed to providing flexible, caring and proactive educational and vocational opportunities to young people who often struggle with the day-to-day necessities of life. Every student who attends our program is treated with dignity and respect. We listen to them and behave in ways that let them know that they’ve been heard and we collaborate with them to make plans to achieve outcomes that are important to them. We have very real and very frank conversations that can sometimes be difficult, but we believe that these conversations are necessary to the identification of meaningful outcomes and the development of academic and personal success. We care. The population we serve has been historically unsuccessful in public school settings. Our students are often identified as behavior problems, at risk for failure, emotionally disturbed, or worse. They arrive at our door cynical, combative, with minimal interest in school and little hope for a positive future. Their educational experiences have been negative, difficult, and rife with broken relationships and conflict, and the services that they have received are typically provided in a reactive and controlling manner. Our methods are different, and based on years of research that we’ve published in the professional literature and that we’ve successfully applied in schools around the world. We teach students how to manage themselves, to work on projects and activities that they find useful and interesting and to integrate these projects in the daily school routines. We are proactive. Our students have long histories of making poor decisions and we respond with understanding and support. We help them to learn how to make plans and follow their plans, and to honestly evaluate the results of their plans once they’re completed (or not). We realize that each student is an individual with unique needs so we encourage them to be themselves and explore multiple options to create an educational program that will work best. We are collaborative. Our place is a safe haven for our students. A place that they can use our kitchen to make or get a hot meal and as get much as they can eat (and bring home for their families if they need to). Access to a caring ear to listen whenever it’s needed. The comfort of knowing that no matter how they are feeling or behaving, they are accepted for who they are. We don’t restrain kids, we don’t call the police when things get difficult. We work it out together. We understand that everyone has bad days and that no one is at his or her best when having a bad day, so we adjust and adapt and teach the students to do so as well. We help our students to learn how to judge “big deals and little deals” in a reasonable way, to recognize when they are “ready” or “not ready” to take on a task or interaction with another person, and we support them to learn how to respond to life in a positive and pro-social way. We are positive. We are committed to a small program – no more than twenty-five students supported by 10 clinical and educational staff – so that we are able to focus on each student’s interests and ideas in a very personal way. We are a safe haven to try things out, to fail without feeling like a failure, to learn how to be resilient and successful in ways they never experienced in school before. We believe in our students. We prepare students for life after school by helping them to develop the ability to regulate themselves. We help students learn to be successful in school and in life. As a result, we provide a flexibly integrated school day that includes formal classroom activities, individual projects that are undertaken in the school setting and in the community, vocational activities, and weekly community activities designed to create opportunities to establish positive connections with others. We are relentlessly optimistic. Join our journey! It will be hard. It will be fun! JOB REQUIREMENTS: •Deliver English-Language Arts and Social Sciences oriented instruction (English, Social Studies, History) through Project-Based Learning methods. •A WELL DEVELOPED SENSE OF HUMOR •Licensure as Middle School/High School Teacher •Interest in working with a diverse student population with difficult behaviors •Valid Driver’s license and reliable transportation for on the job travel •Minimum of Bachelor’s Degree (Masters Preferred) in English, Reading, History, or related fields •Experience in the implementation of positive behavior supports and proactive engagement with difficult students •Teach approved curriculum while creating a classroom and total school environment that is conducive to learning and is appropriate to the maturity and interests of the students. •Assist school leaders in implementing all policies and rules governing student life and conduct and develops and informs students of reasonable rules concerning classroom procedures and behavior and maintains a safe and orderly classroom environment. •Meet and instruct assigned classes in the locations and at the times designated. •Employ a variety of instructional techniques, instructional media, and performance assessments, which guide the learning process toward academic achievement and curriculum goals. •Establish clear objectives for all lessons, curricular units, and projects and communicates these objectives to the students. •Assess the accomplishments of students in a variety of ways on a regular basis and provides progress reports as required. •Maintain accurate, complete, and correct records as required by law, corporation policy, and administrative regulations. •Administer and analyze standardized testing data and adjust instructional strategies, as needed, to maximize probability of student success. •Understand and accommodate the special needs of students, seek the assistance of colleagues, as needed and/or required, and makes appropriate individualized physical and instructional accommodations within the classroom. •Serve on internal school and external community committees as needed. •Build effective relationships with parents and students through regular communication and is available to students and parents for education-related purposes, e.g., open house, conferences, extra-curricular activities. •Participate in professional growth and development and stays abreast of current research through continuing education, educational seminars, workshops, conferences, membership in professional organizations of the subject taught, and attendance at in-services. •Teach students to work collaboratively to solve problems and to think logically and creatively. •Complete other duties as assigned. •Maintain a strong, regular personal attendance record. •A WELL DEVELOPED SENSE OF HUMOR JOB REQUIREMENTS: •A WELL DEVELOPED SENSE OF HUMOR •Demonstrated ability to work flexibly and effectively with a diverse student population, with community school partners, and with the families of students •Work positively in collaborative teams •Implement age appropriate teaching methods utilizing a curriculum framework, understand education and special education law, and teach appropriate instructional subjects across a spectrum of traditional and non-traditional courses •Co-teach with peers in a diversity of classroom and community settings •Develop positive relationships with community services in the effort to develop meaningful practicum and internship opportunities for students •Develop and implement Behavioral and Functional Assessments for students •Implement IEPs for students with a variety of special education classifications •Develop and implement an objective system for assessment and development of individualized goals and objectives •Intervene when students demonstrate behavioral challenges •Ability to read, analyze, and interpret professional journals, technical procedures, textbooks, and government regulations. •Ability to write reports and general correspondence. Ability, both orally and in writing, to present information effectively and respond appropriately to questions and concerns from individuals and groups of educators, administrators, parents, students, and the general public. •Ability to communicate using correct grammar. •Ability to work with English and Social Science concepts •Ability to integrate multiple facets of technology to enhance learning and instruction. •Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of variables in situations where only limited information exists. •Ability to define problems, collect and analyze data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions. •Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form and to understand abstract and concrete variables. •Ability to use available information and develop valid long-term and short-term plans for curricular goals. •Facilitate team processes including problem solving, pre-referral intervention, and IEP development for special needs students •Use approved methodology to provide for the health and safety of students •Collect appropriate student performance data for determining the extent to which student IEP goals and objectives are achieved •Excellent interpersonal skills to consult effectively with teachers, local school staff, social service agencies and parents •Excellent command of oral and written English language and ability to present effectively to large groups •Maintain integrity of confidential information relating to students, families, and staff •A WELL DEVELOPED SENSE OF HUMOR! IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS POSITION OR ANYTHING RELATED TO OUR ORGANIZATION PLEASE CONTACT: Tim Feeney Phone: 518-573-3875 or by EMail: tfeeney@belvedereservices.com If you are interested in applying for the position please send your resume and a letter of interest to: Tim Feeney. Ph.D. Chief Knowledge Officer Phone: 518-573-3875 or by EMail: tfeeney@belvedereservices.com