Special Education Interventionist, Harlem Gems

We are seeking a Special Education Interventionist. The ideal candidate will bring a passion for the mission and core values of HCZ Harlem Gems, an understanding and respect for the culture of all residents of Harlem, and a desire for working in a school setting that fosters a love for children.

Harlem Gems is the final step in our early childhood pipeline. A top-notch, year-round, full-day pre-kindergarten program, Gems works with 240 children across four sites to ensure that each and every one enters kindergarten school-ready. With five staff in each classroom, classes have a 4:1 child-to-adult ratio, allowing for more one-on-one work and ensuring that students receive the individualized attention they need. Gems staff also encourage strong family involvement, engaging parents and caregivers in classroom activities and creating consistency between home and school.

Early literacy skills are a primary focus of the Gems curriculum. Students are immersed in language-and not just English. They also learn basic vocabulary in French and Spanish, and get to know and explore the world around them through exposure to a range of disciplines-from math, science, and technology to social studies and the arts. They participate in fun fitness activities, playing sports such as golf and tennis, and even learn the basics of health and nutrition, including how to differentiate "go," "slow," and "whoa" foods to foster healthy eating habits. From recreation to reading, our goal is to turn our Gems into lifelong learners. And we reinforce the ultimate goal-college graduation-early and often. Each Gems classroom is named after a prestigious college or university, at once setting a high bar for the future and fostering a culture of academic excellence.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• • Coordinate outside observers or evaluators if they need to come to the school.
    • Provide consistent intervention to students on caseload
    • Create differentiated lesson plans- must be submitted weekly
    • Conference notes must be kept on all students receiving intervention
    • Collaborate with other teachers for the purpose of increasing student achievement by ensuring core instructional best practices are implemented with fidelity and staff are differentiating instruction to meet the needs of students.
    • Utilize protocols to ensure that interventions have been implemented with fidelity
    • Serve as part of a team that assists classroom teachers in understanding and completing more in-depth assessments in order to identify specific deficits/needs of a specific student or a group of students.
    • Use systematic and valid data collection procedures to measure the effectiveness of their own services in order to evaluate the impact on student achievement
    • Support parents in initial IEP process - consent letter, meeting reminders, collecting reports, following up on status.
    • Review IEP documents with parents at least one week prior to the meeting
    • Keeping the Managing Director and Director of Special Education informed throughout the entire process
    • Participate in IEP meetings
      • Alert parents to ensure participation - letter and phone
      • Participate in person
      • Provide timely follow-up/next steps based on meeting and discussions with parents and staff
      • Discuss and email IEP meeting outcomes with teams
    
    
    
  • Upload IEP and place in students' files at individual sites
    • Keeping files and documentation up to date and in a locked, secure area
  • Conduct Family workshops in reference to Special Education (for example Turning Five Process)
  • Complete and submit paperwork
  • Any further requests as needed

Qualification, Skills and Knowledge Requirements

• Master's Degree in Early Childhood Special Education
• A minimum of three years of classroom teaching experience
• Proficient technology skills
• Exemplary history of increasing student achievement
• Excellent leadership and collaboration skills
• Promote and maintain positive pupil-teacher-family relationships