About this role
Job Title: Teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing - Special Education
Contract Length: 188 Days
FLSA Status: Exempt
Job Summary The position is responsible for providing a program of specialized instruction and/or services for students who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH). Essential Duties In order to perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and/or abilities required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities, who are otherwise qualified, to perform the duties herein described.
• Performs tasks assigned to all teachers.
• Serves as a member of Child Study, Eligibility, Individualized Education Program (IEP), and Section 504 committees.
• Assists in determining if the student's needs can be best met in Special Education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education (IDEA) regulations, or under the provisions of a 504 plan under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
• Communicates regularly with parents or guardians to discuss student progress.
• Provides in-service to classroom teachers, school nurses, and necessary school staff on using hearing assistance technology.
• Collaborates with educational and/or private audiologists to support hearing assistive technology recommendations, equipment repairs, replacements, and purchases in order to provide the student with auditory access in the school setting.
• Interprets audiological information from audiologists, physicians, and school nurses.
• Collaborates with school staff and parents to develop IEPs for students.
• Develops lesson plans and instructional materials to provide individualized and small group instruction in order to adapt the curriculum to the needs of students with disabilities.
• Provides instruction and or support to DHH students in the development and maintenance of skills specified in the student's IEP.
• Develops transition plans.
• Conducts assessments, testing, and diagnostic examinations designed for deaf and hard-of-hearing students in accordance with established procedures.
• Evaluates students' developmental abilities in language, auditory skills, compensatory strategies, accessing auditory information across settings, communication skills, and social language.
• Interprets assessment results and facilitates discussions about how the type and severity of hearing loss can impact the student's ability for language acquisition, social and emotional development, literacy skill development, as well as make recommendations for modifications and accommodations that can help mitigate barriers.
• Evaluates students' progress through data collection; maintain appropriate records; and prepare progress reports according to guidelines.
• Provides direct instruction in language development to include vocabulary development, phonics acquisition, auditory skill development, use and care of amplification equipment, self-advocacy skills, and communication repair strategies.
• Provides in-service/training to students and staff regarding hearing loss and its implications, along with the use of amplification equipment and assistive technology.
• Assists teams in working with educational interpreters regarding assessment procedures, classroom arrangements, and the interpreter's roles and responsibilities.
• Provides families with information about hearing loss; communication options; implications of hearing loss on language, literacy, and social development; and the various roles of professionals (educational audiologist, clinical audiologist, speech-language pathologists, teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing, interpreters, etcetera).
• Monitors the child's acquisition of language (spoken and/or sign) relative to hearing, age, and typical language development expectations.
• Performs other duties as assigned.
Minimum Qualifications
• Possess a Bachelor's or Master's degree in education or a related field.
• Hold or be eligible for a Virginia Collegiate Professional License or Postgraduate Professional License with the appropriate endorsement in Special Education or Special Education Deaf and Hard of Hearing PK –12 (preferred).
• Three (3) years of successful teaching experience working with a wide range of age groups and disabilities preferred.
• Skilled in the language and vocabulary of academics, as well as in abstract thinking
• Possess a working knowledge of the developmental changes in students in PK-12.
• Ability to travel to more than one work location in the course of the day if assigned to an itinerant position.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
• Familiarity with communication options for individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing (i.e., American Sign Language, Bilingual-Bimodal, Cued Speech/Cued Language, Listening and Spoken Language, Manually Coded English, and Total Communication).
• Knowledge of the use of amplification equipment (hearing aids, FM/sound field systems, cochlear implants, etcetera).
• Knowledge of auditory training and speech reading practices.
• Knowledge of providing support across educational environments and systems of service for students who are deaf and hard of hearing.
• Thorough understanding of deaf culture.
• Ability to maintain good working relationships with students who are deaf or hard of hearing and staff.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality.
• Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.
• Ability to develop and maintain required records and written reports.
• Possess high moral standards and integrity.
• Ability to use computer software programs and web-based applications.
• Ability to work with students who have a variety of disability-related needs.
Working Conditions and Physical Requirements The individual must have the ability to sit and stand for extended periods of time; exhibit manual dexterity to dial a telephone and enter data into a computer; see and read a computer screen and printed material with or without vision aids; hear and understand speech at normal classroom levels, outdoors, and on the telephone; speak clearly in audible tones so that others may understand clearly in classrooms, outdoors, and on the telephone; lift up to 25 pounds; and bend, stoop, sit on the floor, climb stairs, walk, and reach overhead. Work Environment The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Duties are normally performed in a school/classroom environment. Duties may be occasionally performed on field trips away from school. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate. Clearance Criminal History Background Check, Fingerprinting, Tuberculosis (TB) Assessment Supervision Exercised None Supervision Received Director of Special Education This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by this employee. The employee will be required to follow any other instructions and to perform any other related duties as assigned by the director of special education or appropriate administrator. Accomack County Public Schools reserves the right to update, revise, or change this job description and related duties at any time. Accomack County Public Schools is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, military status, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy status, political affiliation, creed, marital status, age, or disability in its programs, activities, or employment practices as required by the Title VI, Title VII, Title IX, Section 504, and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations.