Therapeutic SPED Teacher, Grades 8-12 – Urban High School

Salem Public Schools; Salem (MA); On-site; USD 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance benefits

Professional development opportunities

Job summary

A public school district in Salem, MA is seeking a Special Education Teacher to provide specialized instruction for students with disabilities. The ideal candidate possesses a Bachelor's Degree, relevant teaching certifications, and a passion for urban education. You will engage students through innovative teaching methods and collaboration with families and staff. This role includes a commitment to diversity and high expectations to foster student achievement and success.

Qualifications

• Experience in urban public school or charter school preferred.
• Minimum of 2 years teaching experience in Special Education.
• Proven track record of raising student achievement scores.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialized instruction based on Common Core standards.
• Analyze data to drive instruction and improve student performance.
• Collaborate with various community agencies and school personnel.

Skills

High expectations for students

Building authentic relationships

Adapting instructional materials

Using feedback for growth

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Education

Master's Degree in Education

Special Education Licensure

SEI Endorsement

Job description

Anticipated Special Education Teachers, Therapeutic Program (Grades 8-12), Salem Prep High School, Salem Public Schools, Salem, MA [SY 2025-2026]

(1) Special Education History Teacher

(1) Special Education Science Teacher

About Salem Public Schools, where belonging leads to opportunity.

Salem is a small, diverse city with a proud maritime and immigrant history. Salem Public Schools is an urban public school district enrolling nearly 4,000 students in 11 schools. Our vision is to ensure that all students will be locally engaged, globally connected, and fully prepared to thrive in a diverse and changing world. We hold dear our core values of belonging, equity, and opportunity in everything we do. We seek individuals who are passionate about urban education and understand the urgency of improving student achievement for all students, regardless of ability, economic status, gender/gender identity, language, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, or other backgrounds. We invite you to learn more about our strategic plan and core priorities on our website at https://salemk12.org/.

SummaryAs a collaborative member of the Special Education team, this person will be responsible for teaching, evaluating and implementing programming for students with disabilities utilizing the therapeutic model Salem Prep High School. Working knowledge of effective behavior techniques and interventions; performance of continuous caseload management, i.e., parent communication, behavioral interventions, paraprofessional guidance; professional obligations as determined by district and site.

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.
• Interest in connecting students’ worlds to hands-on classroom learning – You are constantly researching and investigating real world experiences to guide student learning. You bring the capacity and desire to partner with external organizations to build integrated, real-world learning for students. A passion for building connections between learning and student lives will be essential.
• Embrace feedback – You view yourself as a coach of students - providing ongoing feedback and support as students explore open-ended problems and probing their learning. 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.

Major Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide specialized instruction that will allow all students to successfully engage in instruction based upon the Common Core standards
• Analyze data to drive instruction and improve student performance
• Work collaboratively across school settings, including community based and vocational 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, developing solutions, planning curriculum, collecting data and creating and implementing Individual Education Programs (IEPs) for students
• 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 basic academics and social development for the purpose of assisting in the diagnosis of learning disorders and developing remediation plans and/or monitoring student progress
• Manage student behavior for the purpose of providing a safe and an optimal learning environment
• Collaboration with other school personnel for the purpose of assisting them in the implementation of classroom goals and IEP accommodations, modification and goals
• Use innovative approaches and instructional strategies, including the effective use of technologies, to increase student access and learning and confidence to learn
• Modify/adapt materials, instructional lessons, etc. to meet the specific needs of students with disabilities across the school day, as identified in the IEPs

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree Required; Master’s Degree preferred
• Required Massachusetts teaching certification/licensure in Special Education; Highly Qualified status under No Child Left Behind
• Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) Endorsement (Required within 1-year of start date)
• Distribute, collect and maintain paperwork and written materials upon request

• Ability to meet the expectations of the Massachusetts Standards and Indicators of Effective Teaching Practice
• Maintain professional competence through in-service education activities provided by the District, and/or in self-selected professional growth activities.
• 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 desired.
• Second language (Spanish and/or Portuguese) proficiency a plus;
• Multilingual candidates and candidates of color are strongly encouraged to apply
• Current authorization to work in the United States

Work Year: Teachers in Salem Public Schools work a 185 day school year (180 student contact days plus 5 professional development days. Please click here to view the 2025-26 district and/or school calendars.

Salary: Teacher salaries in the Salem Public Schools are determined by the Salem Teachers Union collective bargaining agreement (see new 2024-27 language with updated salary information here).

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.

The Special Education Science Teacher reports to the Salem Prep High School Principal and the Executive Director of Special Education

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, housing status, 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.