Teacher | Secondary Special Education - Middle School

Sylvania; Bernalillo (NM); On-site; USD 42,000 - 54,000; Full time

Job summary

Bernalillo Public Schools is seeking a dedicated Secondary Special Education Teacher for grades 7-8, focused on academic excellence, meaningful relationships, and preparing students for college, career, and civic life.

Teachers act as content experts, mentors, and advocates, delivering rigorous instruction and supporting students to achieve ownership of learning. Collaboration with families and continuous professional growth are essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Valid New Mexico PED Special Education Teaching License in assigned content area (or eligibility to obtain).
• Ability to pass employment verification and background check.

Responsibilities

• Deliver high-quality, standards-based instruction aligned to HQIM.
• Analyze objectives, anticipated misconceptions, and language demands for planning.
• Use assessments to monitor progress and adjust pacing and strategies in real time.
• Collaborate with families, counselors, special education staff, and intervention teams.
• Support students with IEP/504 plans and ensure modifications are implemented.

Skills

Communication

Collaboration

Relationship-building

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Job description

Position

Secondary Special Education Teacher (grades 7-8)

Supervisor

School Principal

General Job Description

Bernalillo Public Schools is seeking dedicated, reflective, and intellectually curious Secondary Special Education Teachers who are committed to academic excellence, meaningful relationships, and preparing students for college, career, and civic life.

Secondary educators in BPS serve as content experts, mentors, and advocates for adolescents. Teachers are responsible for delivering rigorous instruction, fostering critical thinking, and supporting students to develop ownership of their learning. Strong relationships, relevance, and high expectations are central to teaching and learning at the secondary level.

Our Community

Bernalillo Public Schools honors the historic homelands of the Pueblo people and the shared contributions of the Pueblo people and descendants of Spanish settlers to establish vibrant communities now and in the future. We serve a close-knit, rural community with a richly diverse student population, including many Hispanic and Native American students whose families maintain deep ties to culture, language, land, and community life. Many students are bilingual or multilingual, creating opportunities for instruction that integrate language development and content learning. Teaching in Bernalillo means partnering closely with families, honoring students’ identities, and delivering rigorous, engaging instruction that builds on students’ strengths while holding high expectations for learning and growth.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Deliver High-Quality, Standards-Based Instruction

• Internalize and effectively implement the district-adopted high-quality instructional materials (HQIM), including understanding the instructional intent, standards alignment, and learning progressions embedded within the curriculum.
• Prepare intentionally for instruction by analyzing lesson objectives, anticipated student misconceptions, academic language demands, and opportunities for student discourse and engagement.
• Use HQIM as the primary foundation for instruction, making purposeful adjustments to materials as needed to support diverse learners while maintaining alignment to grade-level standards and the integrity of the curriculum.
• Scaffold instruction to ensure access for all students, including English Learners, students with disabilities, and students requiring additional academic or behavioral support, without lowering expectations or diluting rigor.
• Integrate literacy, academic language development, and critical thinking into daily instruction through consistent use of standards-aligned tasks, questions, and assessments.
• Reflect on student learning and instructional outcomes to continuously refine lesson implementation and material use.
• Understand and participate in the development, use, and implementation of individualized education plans (IEP's) and individualized transition plans/504 plans.
• Implement modifications per IEP/504 in the classroom.

Support Adolescent Development and Engagement

• Build strong, respectful relationships with students that promote trust, belonging, and high expectations.
• Create classroom environments that encourage student voice, collaboration, and academic risk-taking.
• Support students’ development of self-advocacy, goal-setting, and responsibility for learning.

Use Data and Assessment to Improve Outcomes

• Design and use formative and summative assessments to monitor student understanding and progress toward grade-level standards.
• Consistently use formative assessment during instruction to adjust pacing, scaffolds, grouping, and instructional strategies in real time, ensuring that high-quality Tier 1 instruction meets the needs of the majority of learners.
• Analyze assessment data to identify patterns in student learning and to refine core instruction before escalating to additional interventions.
• Provide clear, timely, and actionable feedback that supports student reflection, growth, and ownership of learning.
• Collaborate with colleagues to review student data, calibrate expectations, and strengthen instructional practices.

Collaborate with Families and Colleagues

• Communicate clearly and consistently with families regarding student progress, expectations, and support strategies.
• Participate actively in professional learning communities, department teams, and school initiatives.
• Partner with counselors, special education staff, and intervention teams to support student success.

Engage in Continuous Professional Growth

• Reflect regularly on instructional practice and student outcomes.
• Seek feedback and engage in professional learning to strengthen content knowledge and pedagogy.
• Contribute positively to school culture and shared leadership opportunities.

Supervisory Responsibilities

None.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree.
• Valid New Mexico PED Special Education Teaching License in assigned content area (or eligibility to obtain).
• Ability to pass employment verification and background check.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience teaching at the middle or high school level.
• Experience supporting English Learners and/or students with disabilities.
• Bilingual proficiency (Spanish or Indigenous languages) preferred.

Other Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Deep belief that all students can learn and achieve at high levels.
• Strong understanding of child development and secondary pedagogy.
• Demonstrable expertise in applicable content area(s).
• Demonstrated commitment to culturally responsive, inclusive, and asset-based teaching practices.
• Ability to seek, reflect, and act on feedback to improve practice.
• Ability to collaborate and adapt working style to support school culture and student learning; acts with integrity and professionalism in all interactions with students, families, colleagues, and supervisors.
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills; communicates clearly, proactively, and respectfully with students, families, and colleagues, adapting approach to audience and context.
• Demonstrated work ethic, professional judgment, and decision-making; follows through reliably on commitments, meets deadlines, balances multiple priorities without losing sight of student needs, and makes sound, student-centered decisions even in complex or ambiguous situations.
• Superlative time-management and organizational skills.

Physical Requirements

Sitting, standing, walking, lifting (up to 50 pounds), and other physical activity typical of a secondary classroom environment.

Work Environment

Classroom and school-based environment. Occasional evenings for family engagement, student events, or professional learning.

Terms of Employment

As determined by district calendar and collective bargaining agreement.