Description
LOCATION: New Westminster, BC
POSITION STATUS: Full Time (year-round school with 6 weeks of breaks)
SALARY: Commensurate with qualifications and experience
BENEFITS: Extended health and medical coverage; Annual raise; Professional development budget
HOURS OF WORK: 8:00am - 4:30pm
CLOSING DATE: June 28th, 2024
START DATE: Immediately
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PALS Autism School is a year-round Ministry of Education designated special education school providing individualized programming for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. To learn more, visit www.palsautismschool.ca
WHY TEACH AT PALS AUTISM SCHOOL?
PALS Autism School - a K-12 independent special education school in New Westminster - was started in 2007 by a group of parents who felt their children's needs were not able to be met in traditional school programs. Families choose to send their children to PALS because of our proven track record for providing an individualized and inclusive education.
Our school provides abundant resources in the classroom. With a strong fundraising base, staff are able to purchase appropriate technologies (i.e., Smartboards, iPads, etc.), curriculums and teaching materials for each classroom.
PALS has a high ratio of staff to student support so there are many highly trained staff available to help when challenging behaviours occur, allowing the teacher to continue working with the other students in the classroom. PALS also provides multiple therapies (i.e., ABA, OT, SLP, Music Therapy) to each student, helping to address learning deficits and strengthen emerging skills, thus seeing consistent progress through the school year.
We offer hands-on support to the staff with full-time behaviour consultants on staff and regular professional development opportunities. We have a robust professional development budget and provide opportunities for teachers to receive additional training and support in areas of their choosing. We provide 24/7 access to an online learning portal called Relias Learning that has hundreds of hours in Applied Behaviour Analysis modules available.
Salaries for classroom teachers is based on years of experience and level of education. We provide ten paid sick days a year. We give annual raises and provide extended health and medical benefits.
With the school following a year-round calendar, PALS is closed for two weeks at Christmas, two weeks for spring break, two weeks at the beginning of July and two weeks at the end of August. We provide teachers with 3-5 extra paid days during the last week off in August, on top of your salary, to come in and set up your classroom for the new year.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
Reporting to the Head of School for operational issues and academic matters, the Special Education Classroom Teacher is responsible for creating and updating Individualized Education Plans, providing small group and one-to-one academic instruction, assessing and evaluating student progress each term, and preparing and organizing the classroom environment. Classrooms have approximately 7-10 diverse students with moderate to severe autism, and the ages can range from 5-11 or 12-21 years of age. The Special Education Classroom Teacher will work collaboratively with the ABA Program team to support the Intensive Behaviour Intervention program of each student, and they will also work collaboratively with the school’s SLP and OT Consultants on relative goals. The Special Education Classroom Teacher will communicate regularly with families and caregivers in-person and via the mobile school app, as well as participate in parent meetings as needed. The Special Education Classroom Teacher will work together with ABA Program Team to supervise and support Educational Instructors who are in the classroom to assist students with group learning and behaviour management.
QUALIFICATIONS:
The successful applicant will have strong verbal and written communication skills, experience with literacy and numeracy assessments, experience making modifications and adaptations to curriculum for individualized needs in a special education setting, and a working knowledge of classroom behaviour management strategies based on the principles of Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA).
The ideal candidate is physically strong, energetic, enthusiastic, and capable of working with a diverse range of learners with moderate to severe autism. Must have a valid BC Ministry of Education teaching certificate, or equivalent with the ability to qualify for a Letter of Permission from the BC Teacher Regulation Branch.
Feel free to learn more about PALS by watching our virtual tour: https://youtu.be/ir_IPRsavVw as well as checking out our other videos on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@palsautismsociety7463
We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.
