Background

Libertas School of Memphis is a Montessori, liberal arts public charter elementary school serving a high-need neighborhood in Memphis. Our mission is to be a school for human flourishing: cultivating minds, hands, and hearts for lives of wonder, work, and love. We offer students from preschool through fifth grade a rich, rigorous, and personalized education through Montessori learning, supported with rich liberal arts content through Core Knowledge, and the best practices of high-performing urban schools. This work is done within an attachment village of supports between school, families, and our community.

Role summary and information

• Lead a peaceful, orderly, rich, nurturing classroom that cultivates children’s minds, hearts, and hands for lives of wonder, work, and love.
• Provide direct service to students as indicated on their IEPs in order to meet academic, adaptive, behavioral, motor, and other developmental goals; ensure appropriate identification of and goal-setting for special student needs, help teachers in providing behavioral, social emotional, and academic interventions, and support compliance of overall special education program.
• Foster relationships with families to enable open and responsive communication about student growth and needs.
• Full-time role. Work hours will vary with the published school calendar; instructional hours roughly 7:35 AM - 3:30 PM (faculty meetings until 4:30 on Wednesday). Assist with periodic school events outside of the normal schedule.
• Start date: Professional development begins in late July for most employees.
• Leadership roles available based on interest and capacity.  
• Measures of success for position to include student academic growth, family satisfaction, observation feedback, performance evaluations, and related indicators.
• Meaningful professional development and advancement opportunities.
• Reports to Principal.
• Key relationships: Students and Families; Teachers; support staff.

Key responsibilities

Planning and Instruction

• Teach children with moderate-to-severe disabilities (primarily autism and intellectual disabilities) in a self-contained environment; implement appropriate IEP goals with support from Student Support Team.
• Participate in Child Study process, including presenting data and implementing plans.
• Participate in data-driven instruction work to ensure meeting needs of SWD
• Preparing the environment: Plan and implement high-quality instruction for daily individual student lessons in alignment with the Montessori method, Core Knowledge Language Arts curriculum, and other school plans.
• Regularly observe students to inform instruction. Record daily observation notes and collect assessment data as needed
• Prepare and adapt Montessori works and other materials and organize the classroom.
• Conduct and implement FBA and BIP as needed for students with behavioral support needs and create structures for classroom behavior management.  

Classroom Culture

• Foster habits of excellence, including order and grace & courtesy, through schoolwide and classroom-level practices and rituals, such as connecting before redirecting, using a warm and firm tone, matching children with works in the environment, tending the heart of virtue through presenting beautiful literature, and sharing responsibility for all our children
• Be a model of character and striving toward virtue for students
• Supervise students within the classroom and outside of the classroom: on the playground, during bathroom breaks, at lunch time and on field trips

Family Communication

• Work closely with families to ensure appropriate involvement in special education processes
• Lead service- and special education-related family communication and meetings
• Work with other special education staff to plan workshops for families in mid-year
• Prepare monthly progress reports and quarterly report cards, IEP progress reports, to share what students are doing in class

Special education process management

• Support the resource planning process, including IDEA
• Ensure compliance with all appropriate special education rules and regulations

Professional Development and Relationships

• Observe and provide feedback at least twice per term to peers/assistant teacher
• Lead formal check-in with classroom team at least weekly. Conduct informal conversations and collaborative activities daily.
• Participate in formal check-in with academic support team member at least biweekly
• Engage in teacher meetings, team planning, professional development, and data reviews
• Other duties as assigned

Qualifications and Traits

• Two or more years of effective teaching experience in urban schools in high-need communities and/or Montessori environment.
• Special education certification required. Knowledge of special education law and best practices for serving students with disabilities.
• Experience in a Montessori environment preferred, but not required.
• Willing to serve all children, regardless of background or needs, in an inclusive and supportive setting
• Knowledge of curriculum content and children’s developmental needs
• Skills in instructional practices and classroom management for student achievement
• Interest in and commitment to Montessori and liberal arts
• Strong interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills
• Bachelor’s degree and appropriate teacher credential
• Love of learning
• Flexibility, initiative, and personal responsibility to work in fast-paced, startup environment
• Fortitude for the challenges we will face
• Warm and firm demeanor
• Work collaboratively, with a growth mindset. Give and receive feedback in a spirit of craftsmanship.

Compensation

• Salary/wage competitive with the local school district and nearby charter schools.
• Eligible for increases or stipends for performance or additional duties.
• Investment in faculty professional development and growth. We also offer to eligible applicants our Teacher Residency program, which provides financial sponsorship and additional coaching and support to achieve state licensure and/or Montessori certification. Please contact us for more details.
• Paid sick leave. Deferred pay model distributes salary throughout the year (including breaks and vacations).
• Full time employees are eligible for health insurance benefits, which we sponsor at an above-market rate (approx. 80% covered by employer for all levels of coverage). We also offer dental, vision, and other benefits, and retirement plans similar to local schools.

Application process

Interested candidates should apply online at www.LibertasMemphis.org, where candidates can also learn more about our school. Please submit a resume, at least three references, and a cover letter (required) explaining why you would be a good fit for this position. Please direct any questions to info@LibertasMemphis.org. Libertas does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, handicap, age, religion, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin.