Job Description

Early Childhood Special Educator / Float

The person in this position is responsible for providing a safe, developmentally appropriate early childhood program and is highly qualified to provide instruction and coordinate services for children 3 to 5 years old with special needs in classroom settings; work in partnership with parents, students, teachers, therapists, paraprofessionals, and administrators in accordance with district, federal, and state regulations. Support Child Find Coordination, screening, and evaluation services in collaboration with the RFSD ECSE team. This position will be responsible for managing Special Education student caseloads, providing consultation and coaching to early childhood classroom teachers, working in partnership with early childhood program directors, and related providers. The position will float between programs at Basalt, Crystal River, Riverview, Sopris, and Glenwood Springs Elementary Schools as needed. This position is for school year 26/27.

Receives direct supervision from the Early Childhood Instructional Facilitator

Core Duties

Early Childhood Special Educator

• Manage evaluations of 3-to-5-year-olds referred for Special Education services; may conduct evaluation process, including reviewing input from parents, therapists, teachers, ECE school nurse, and outside professionals (e.g., hearing/vision) to ensure all developmental areas are assessed.
• Collaborate with the early childhood program director to ensure the program meets the needs of all students.
• Assist in developing children's IEPs, including formulating appropriate goals, objectives, strategies, and a transition plan; consult with therapists, other specialists, the children's classroom teacher, and EC Program Director regarding IEP goals and objectives; maintain up to date and accurate record keeping; monitor IEP plan and provide ongoing communication to parents, teachers and therapists regarding progress.
• Co-plan and facilitate appropriate transitions into the early childhood environment and when a child is moving on to kindergarten.
• Train, coach, model, and co-teach specialized and differentiation techniques to classroom early childhood teachers in order to assure children's individual needs are addressed so that goals are met.
• As IEP case manager, collaborate with the EC Program Directors, in scheduling annual and triennial staffings and notify appropriate IEP team members.
• Become proficient in the district's early childhood curriculum, Creative Curriculum, KickStart Curriculum, Second Step Curriculum, and assessment instrument, TS GOLD.
• Plan/consult with therapists, and classroom staff to implement curriculum; adapt curriculum to meet the needs of individual children.
• Provide direct services to children as written in their IEPs and progress monitor all IEP goals.
• Use ongoing formal and informal assessments to monitor the progress of students; utilize TS GOLD data to help teachers plan appropriate activities and to input data when appropriate.
• Assure that developmentally appropriate materials are available for children; assist in creating child-specific materials such as daily picture schedules.
• Participate in community, regional and state early childhood meetings and discussions regarding school-based services for young children.
• When present in classrooms, manage students to assure a conducive learning environment that is safe and secure for all students and comply with all state and local rules that are required for children age 5 and younger.
• Perform all required duties such as, but not limited to, direct services for children and support with classroom supervision (not as a substitute) teacher-parent conferences, home visits, school site-based and EC/ SPED department meetings, and other teacher related duties.
• Follow rules and regulations of district, county, state and federal programs
• Participate on district teams (i.e. ECE leadership team, SpEd, ECSE team) to develop, plan and implement strategic plans
• Support ECE teams in classroom coverage (guest teaching) to enable professional development, coaching cycles, and feedback loops related to special education services.
• Participate in ECE staff meetings, school-based classroom talks and MTSS meetings, and professional development activities.
• Child Find Program Coordination and Implementation
• Support the Child Find Coordinator with the coordination and implementation of a community child identification process that includes: Interagency collaboration through the RFSD Early Childhood Council Public awareness Referral Screening Hearing and vision screenings Coordination of services Evaluation Follow up with referral source Maintain Child Find databases for Part C and Part B Support the Child Find Coordinator to ensure the formulation and implementation of a process to inform families of service and support options Support the Child Find Coordinator to coordinate staff and resources needed for implementation Program Evaluation Using Colorado Child Identification Effectiveness Indicators ensure the development and implementation of a process for evaluating the effectiveness of the entire child identification process including: Determination of meaningful data to be collected Collection and analysis of data Identification of strategies to make changes as evaluation outcomes indicate

Qualifications

Knowledge of: Effective early childhood education instruction Content and teaching methods in special education and early childhood education Early childhood developmental continuum and specific age trajectories as well as Colorado's 2020 Early Learning and Development Guidelines (ELDG) Pertinent federal, state and local laws, codes and regulation regarding early childhood education and special education Planning and implementing staffings and other team meetings Curriculum development, instruction, and lesson planning Positive discipline and classroom management techniques Effective public speaking and presentation techniques English usage, spelling, grammar and punctuation Principles of business letter writing and basic report preparation Technology used to complete data collection, monitoring and evaluation tools Knowledge of typical child development and conditions associated with developmental delays Experience with children from birth to five years of age Competence related to family systems and cultures Leadership skills Strong verbal and written communication skills in both English and Spanish preferred Ability and desire to function as a team member with families and other professionals. Skills in screening and assisting with evaluation of children Ability to establish and maintain effective, cooperative relationships with community members, school district personnel, students, and parents Ability to: Identify development delays, prescribe remediation and evaluate child progress Participate in the development and administration of goals, objectives and procedures for children's IEPs Effectively train and coach other teachers and staff Attend in-service trainings, conferences and meetings (including evenings and weekends) Operate and use modern office tools including Google programming Communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing Work in multiple sites and conduct evaluations during the summer when available Establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work

Experience & Training Guidelines

Experience: Experience working with early childhood special education students in a public preschool school is preferred. Training: Bachelor's degree from an accredited college in Early Childhood Special Education or a related field. License or Certificate: Possession of or enrollment in a program to obtain appropriate Early Childhood Special Education endorsement; possession of or the ability to obtain a Colorado Teaching License. Possession of or ability to obtain a valid Colorado Driver's License.

Working Conditions

Requires driving from site to site. While performing the duties of this job, the employee regularly works inside. The noise level is usually moderate. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit, walk and stand. Occasional lifting of 50 pounds or less. Lifts of 50 pounds or more will be a 2 person lift. May be required to lift, move or have the ability to position students as needed to provide services. Physical Conditions: Primary functions may require maintaining physical conditions necessary for traveling, sitting (including sitting on the floor), getting up and down from the floor, and standing for prolonged periods of time; use of a computer keyboard; light lifting; and carrying.

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