POSITION OVERVIEW: Special Education Ed Tech III, Resource Room - Reiche Elementary
Portland Public Schools is seeking a kind and compassionate Special Education Ed Tech III to support students in the Resource Room at Reiche Elementary School. This position is available immediately and will extend into the 2025-2026 school year.
Under the direction of the Principal, Educational Technician implements academic and positive behavioral support plans, to help ensure a high quality education program and Success for Every Student. Ed Tech also collects and maintains appropriate records and follows required record-keeping procedures and practices. Demonstrates outstanding interpersonal skills as well as conflict management and resolution skills. Ed Tech recognizes and embraces the essential role s/he plays in the experience of students within Portland Public Schools. Finally, is an integral member of Reiche Elementary School that serves as a support to students’ holistic well-being; teachers at Portland Public Schools thrive by having the opportunity to collaborate with students’ families and caregivers and all relevant stakeholders in support of students’ learning and social-emotional needs.
ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES
- Support and provide direct instruction to students individually, in small groups, and in classroom settings to ensure achievement of academic goals
- Demonstrate cultural proficiency and actively foster relationships that respect, embrace and celebrate students’ diverse backgrounds, identities, strengths, and challenges.
- Learn about and leverage students’ strengths and opportunity gaps and adapt learning methods that appropriately guide, engage and challenge student(s)
- Collect, organize, and share data to ensure proactive and ongoing communication with all relevant stakeholders in service of student achievement of academic and behavioral goals
- Foster an engaging and inclusive learning space and relationship that establishes positive student expectations conducive to learners' needs through developmentally appropriate and supportive routines and practices; manages student behavior using prescribed and adapted approaches
- Collaborate and communicate across the students’ teachers and all relevant staff to ensure students receive necessary additional forms of academic assistance and/or relevant social-emotional support
- Collaborate and communicate with the students’ families/caregivers and all relevant stakeholders to ensure necessary stakeholders are engaged in understanding and supporting the students’ learning and social emotional needs
- Performs other related duties as requested by the Principal
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:
+ General - An understanding of the teaching and learning process at the middle school level
- The ability to provide adjustments to instructional approaches and materials that reflect diverse perspectives and trauma-informed practices
- Excellent human relations skills; the ability to work effectively with students, colleagues, school and non-school based service-providers, parents/caregivers and community members
- An understanding of data collection, organizing, and sharing best practices that support student achievement of academic and behavioral goals
- Applicants must be highly qualified either by having a valid teacher certification or an authorization code of "028 NCLB paraprofessional”
- Applicants must be able to lift up to thirty-five pounds
- Must be willing to take Safety Care and/or Behavioral Health Professional training
- Equity Mindset and Approach to Work
- Committed to challenging personal perspectives, examining one’s own biases and a willingness to take feedback, learn and grow around diversity, equity and inclusion related ideas
- Exhibits the necessary mindsets to hold self as well as others accountable for supporting the district’s goal of becoming an equitable, anti-racist organization
+ Effective Collaborator - Ability to collaborate across lines of differences with a diverse student population and staff, as well as community partners, and families/caregivers
- Engages with families/caregivers and builds collaborative, respectful relationships with them in service of student learning
+ Effective Communicator - Highly responsive and oriented towards transparency and proactive, explicit communication
- Communicates ideas in ways that demonstrates respect and is digestible for varied audiences
+ Teamwork Skills - Is effective at collaborating and is open to accepting new ideas
- Is aligned with the Portland Promise and offers a diverse perspective and approach
EDUCATION, TRAINING, AND EXPERIENCE
- Maine State fingerprint (CHRC) authorization (more info)
- Maine State Educational Technician 023 & 028 authorization (more info)
- Additional combinations of applicable education, training, and experience are welcome
- Portland Public Schools values linguistic diversity and believes that candidates who speak another language bring added value to the classroom, school, and district culture and diversity
EMPLOYMENT DETAILS:
- School year position
- Permanent
- Full time, 1.0 FTE
- Overtime eligible
ABOUT REICHE:
Howard C. Reiche Community School, nestled in the urban West End neighborhood of Portland, is ranked the most wonderfully diverse of all elementary schools in Maine, celebrating 16 different home languages and students from 21 different birth countries. Over half our students are multilingual learners, and about a quarter of our students are welcome newcomers, recently arrived in America. Over 83% of our students qualify for free/ reduced lunch and 105 of our students are currently without a fixed residence. We value and nurture our relationships with our amazing, involved families and strive for an inclusive and equitable experience for all. Our dedicated support staff and talented teachers use their impressive skills to provide a quality education for all of our students. Our highly collaborative culture is joyful in the face of our important, challenging work. We have many partners in the West End Arts Community, including the Portland Symphony, Shoestring Theatre, the Portland Museum of Art, and more. We offer Chorus, Band and Strings for older students as well as extra-curricular sports and art classes for all ages. We are sustained by a unique Teacher-Led model that empowers our community of educators with distributed leadership and shared decision making. Every educator is on a committee that makes our school a better place. Get to know us and learn why our motto is: Come Experience the World At Reiche School!
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Portland Public Schools is committed to maintaining a work and learning environment free from discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, pregnancy, gender, sexual orientation, marital/civil union status, ancestry, place of birth, age, citizenship status, veteran status, political affiliation or disability, as defined and required by state and federal laws.