Interim 5th & 6th Grade Learning Specialist
Job Summary
The Learning Specialist plays a pivotal role in ensuring that all students, regardless of their learning styles and backgrounds, can access the support and resources they need to succeed. This position calls for an advocate to ensure philosophical and pedagogical alignment, to help teachers design and support students' daily experiences to achieve their potential, and to work directly with students and their families in order to develop the strategies and approaches necessary to access the curriculum.
The 5th & 6th Grade Learning specialist operates at multiple levels within the middle school. They develop learning plans, coordinate student support, and oversee student support across two grade levels. They work directly with families as they navigate educational assessments and understand their student's needs, and they communicate regularly with families throughout the year. They work directly with students, both individually and in small groups, sometimes within the classroom environment and also during open times throughout the week. The learning specialist also works closely with teachers to ensure that the teachers understand the student learning needs within their classroom and have the tools to support all learners. Additionally, the learning specialist collaborates with the entire SLS team (including another MS specialist), cultivates community connections and coordinates with outside specialists and programs.
Rooted in Quaker values, San Francisco Friends School honors the uniqueness of each student, and the learning specialist position requires someone who is deeply student-centered, mission-aligned, and committed to creating a meaningful and impactful student experience in and out of the classroom for every student. The Learning Specialist is a vocal and steady advocate for current trends in research, learning differences, and the inclusion of all students. They will commit to modeling cultural humility by mining resources, centering interventions that recognize the unique experiences of each child and family, and providing equitable access to resources.
Duties and Responsibilities
- Case manages students with learning profiles for two specific grades; relays relevant information to teachers, regularly communicates with families, and collaborates to support those students in the classroom.
- Works individually with students and in small groups, both in the classroom and in separate meetings
- Introduces and facilitates established accommodations for students in the classroom and during testing
- Works with faculty to understand best practices in student support
- Provides educational screenings as needed for students; makes referrals for outside evaluations and supports parents and teachers in understanding outside learning evaluations.
- Coordinates with SLS team and Counseling and Wellness department to assess best support for individual students
- Meets regularly with other learning specialists, the school counselor, teachers, parents, grade levels (twice weekly), MS Dean of Student Life and Head of Middle School
- Maintains confidential electronic student learning profiles and intervention lists for students.
- Supports scheduling and teacher-tutor communication with independent tutors for students in the case load
- Participates in parent education program and provides community learning resources to parents
- Attends weekly all-faculty and divisional meetings
- Reviews quarterly reports for all students who are receiving support
- Coordinates with outside specialists and programs
- Supports MAP testing, analyzing and sharing relevant data at the assigned grade level
Qualifications
Required Skills & Experience
- B.A. and a Teaching Credential (or equivalent)
- Learning Specialist degree (or equivalent professional credentials) and/or Education Specialist degree required
- Middle school teaching experience
- Experience working with language-based learning differences
- Demonstrated deep knowledge of learning differences, assessment techniques, and resources for supporting a wide range of learners both in and outside the classroom
- Excellent communication and organizational/case management skills
- Ability to communicate with teachers about learning differences
- Ability to work with multiple constituencies with professionalism, empathy, humility, calm, and strategic direction--parents, teachers, students, outside specialists, and the administrative leadership team
- Excellent interpersonal, communication, and presentation skills, including patience, discretion, clarity, follow-through, a sense of humor, good judgment, and a desire to find the light in each student
- Personable, flexible, and adaptable; a learner and an expert teachers can count on, who is a motivated and collaborative team player
- Understanding of the intersection between learning and behavior support and diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging
Preferred Skills & Experience:
- Specialized knowledge in other areas of academic instruction, innovation, and learning differences-- Brain Frames, multi-sensory-based teaching approaches, gifted education, mathematics, sensory integration, executive function/attention, neurodivergence
- Experience with public speaking, parent education, and professional development presentations
- Database management, Google Suite experience
Compensation and Benefit Summary
Competitive, exempt salary based on experience and qualifications. Excellent benefits are offered, including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and matching 403(b).
$2,916.67 to $6,407.50 semi-monthly pay period for 24 pay periods per year ($70,000 to $153,780 if annualized). Placement on the step scale based on relevant teaching experience.
