Middle School Learning Specialist

Mission

Saint Andrew’s Episcopal School – A wholehearted education in the heart of Silicon Valley.

The mission of Saint Andrew’s Episcopal School is to offer an enriched curriculum within the tradition and values of the Episcopal Church. We aim to educate the whole student, developing as fully as possible the intellectual, spiritual, physical, and social capacities of each student.

The School

Located in Saratoga, CA, Saint Andrew’s Episcopal School is an independent school for Pre-K (4 years old) through 8th grade students. Saint Andrew’s is a wholehearted community of learners with a wholehearted commitment to cultivating student happiness, academic achievement, and character. The school’s complete, balanced, and inspiring approach to education ensures that graduates are exceptionally good people who are exceptionally well-prepared to thrive in high school, college, and life. Founded by Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church in September 1961, the school opened with single sections of Kindergarten and First Grade, then subsequent grades were added each year to Grade 8. Today, the school has 398 students from over 15 San Jose/South Bay and Peninsula communities.

Saint Andrew’s sits alongside Big Basin Road, which leads in and out of Saratoga, CA. The view from the road belies the depth of the campus, which stretches back many acres and well along the path of the Saratoga Creek. More information about our campus can be found here.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

By embracing diversity, we are a stronger community.

Saint Andrew’s Episcopal School is a community rooted in kindness. We believe that learning happens best when we bring our whole self to school. We support every person’s right to define, express, and live comfortably within their own evolving identity. We are committed to cultivating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment that recognizes the worth of each individual.

Our Episcopal faith is anchored in inclusivity and love as guided by the National Association of Episcopal Schools. One of its hallmarks is to celebrate the diversity of beliefs and perspectives around life’s questions, no matter one’s traditions. Human reason and critical thinking in the pursuit of knowledge are valued as a means to grow deeper in our spiritual journey. Episcopal schools cultivate a strong sense of ethics and develop agents of change through all aspects of the student experience.

The Position

Saint Andrew’s Episcopal School seeks a resourceful and highly collaborative Learning Specialist with an understanding of and passion for meeting the needs of the diverse student profiles in our care. Founded in 1961, SAES is a diverse and inclusive PK-8 school with a strong tradition of whole-child, whole-hearted education in the heart of the vibrant Silicon Valley. The successful candidate will join a community of dedicated, compassionate, energetic, and experienced adults – faculty and parents alike – who are committed to the mission to develop “ the intellectual, spiritual, physical, and social capacities of each student.” We aim to build a joyful, inclusive, and respectful learning community.

The learning specialist will provide academic learning support to middle school students. They will work closely with the current learning specialist team, teachers, administrators, and parents to develop differentiation strategies tailored to each student’s particular learning profile to support their academic progress. To be successful in this position, you should have an insightful understanding of effective teaching methods for different learning profiles and aptitudes. The learning specialist must have excellent listening and observational skills and an empathetic mindset.

Major Responsibilities

1) Student Relationships

-Build supportive, trusting relationships with students

-Be attuned to students specific learning profile

-Help students develop self-advocacy skills and learning strategies that promote academic success.

2) Learning

-Actively pursue new developments in teaching methods, educational psychology, differentiation in the classroom, and co-teaching methods.

-Develop student support plans that will articulate supports and accommodations that guide parents and teachers with valuable resources to benefit students’ learning experience.

-Support teachers in the classroom through co-teaching or targeted mini-lessons for student success.

-Attend in-service training

– Use technology creatively and effectively in a one-to-one (iPad) environment to address specific student needs.

– Teach Academic Lab class to a small group of middle school students with identified learning needs, designed to develop and foster executive functioning skills.

– Provide support for students outside of class time in executive functions skills development, which may occur after school

3) Community

-Actively collaborate with the grade level teams to stay informed of and support student success.

-Participate in the Student Support Team process and Parent-Teacher Conferences for students directly on their caseload

-Create student learning plans and communicate with parents and teachers how a student’s unique learning profile presents itself in the classroom.

-Support teachers and administrators to conduct screenings or assessments for educational planning and intervention

-Supervise students in other roles, such as recess

-Other duties as assigned
Requirements
Desired Qualifications & Characteristics:

 

The ideal candidate will have:

-a Bachelor’s degree (Master’s degree is desirable)

-a teaching credential (education specialist desirable)

-a minimum of three years of classroom teaching experience

-a love for working with middle school children,

-compassion for all learners and an eagerness to understand all kinds of minds.

-extensive knowledge of learning differences and differentiation strategies.

-strong interpersonal skills with the ability to work effectively with students, teachers, parents, and school administration.

-specialized training in executive function skills, SEL, reading, math, or writing intervention strategies is a plus

-satisfactory completion of a nationwide criminal background check

Interviews, including demonstration lessons, will take place until the position is filled.
Salary Description
$75,000-$118,000

Tagged as: Middle School