Special Education Teacher (Life Skills)

Eugene School District 4J • Eugene, OR

1d • Onsite

About The Position

This is a full-time (1.0 FTE) position starting at the beginning of the 2026/27 school year. This teacher will work collaboratively with school personnel in providing, implementing, designing and adapting instructional programs for the special educational needs of identified students in a variety of settings. A primary focus is the establishment of a positive learning environment that promotes a high level of achievement for all students while considering the background and developmental level of the individual student. This teacher is a full member of a building staff and Educational Support Services and will be supervised by the principal in collaboration with Educational Support Services.

Requirements

• Experience with Autism
• Understanding autism spectrum traits and the ability to provide individualized support.
• Math Support
• Ability to work two-on-one with a student to help achieve their math goals.
• Sensory Awareness
• Ability to recognize and respond to sensory needs and sensitivities.
• Routine-Oriented
• Strong commitment to maintaining and following consistent routines.
• Patience and Perseverance
• Willingness to remain calm and persistent in challenging situations.
• Wait Time
• Ability to provide adequate processing time for student responses.
• Collaboration with Education Assistants (EA)
• Strong coordination and teamwork skills to work effectively with an EA.
• People Skills
• Positive interpersonal skills to build trust and effective working relationships.
• Communication with Administrators
• Clear and professional communication with school administrators.
• Data Tracking
• Ability to track and monitor student progress with accurate and organized data collection.
• Calm Demeanor
• Maintaining composure during stressful situations to support students effectively.
• Clear, Consistent Communication
• Demonstrating clarity, consistency, and directness when communicating with students, colleagues, and families.
• Active Listening
• Paying close attention to verbal and nonverbal cues to better understand students’ needs.
• Reading Nonverbal Cues
• Skills in interpreting body language and other nonverbal signals from nonverbal students.
• Eye Contact
• Encouraging appropriate use of eye contact to build connections, when helpful.
• Creating Visual Aids and Graphic Organizers
• Developing tools to support learning and comprehension.
• Positive Reinforcement
• Using encouragement and rewards to promote positive behavior and learning.
• Social Skills Instruction
• Teaching and modeling appropriate social norms and behaviors.
• Modeling Social Norms
• Demonstrating expected behaviors to help students learn by example.
• Clear Boundaries
• Setting and maintaining professional boundaries to foster a respectful environment.
• Being Direct
• Providing clear, straightforward instructions and feedback.
• Valid Oregon teacher's certificate with a Special Education Endorsement.
• ESOL endorsements preferred.
• Evidence of multi-cultural experience and cultural competency.
• Bilingual proficiency and/or multicultural experience strongly preferred.
• Applicant must demonstrate Highly Qualified status per ODE guidelines.

Nice To Haves

• ESOL endorsements preferred.
• Bilingual proficiency and/or multicultural experience strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Meets the standards of Competent and Ethical Performance as outlined in Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR 584-020-000 to 584-020-0045).
• Effectively works with and responds to people from diverse cultures or backgrounds.
• Cultivates and models a respectful working and learning environment.
• Utilizes effective, proactive behavioral management skills in all school settings.
• Collaboratively leads functional assessments and develops Behavior Support Plans with student centered involvement.
• Utilizes effective instructional strategies making data based instructional decisions
• Adapts/modifies regular classroom curriculum
• Implements individual plans (IEP/504/TAG)
• Attends Support Services Team (SST) meetings and also attends Educational Support Services staff meetings.
• Provides, implements, designs and adapts individual/group academic and behavioral programs in all school settings aligning instruction, when possible, with district and state benchmarks.
• Adapts/modifies transition curriculum and activities.
• Works effectively and collaboratively with diverse student, staff and community populations.
• Works collaboratively with other school personnel (e.g., Title I, regular education, school psychologist specialists, classified staff) in meeting the behavioral and academic needs of students.
• Works with team members to accomplish mutually agreed upon goals.
• Is responsive to feedback from colleagues and administrators and is able to apply feedback to improve skills and services to students.
• Assists schools in identification of students with disabilities
• Maintains ongoing communication with parents, other teachers and Educational Support Services in the planning, implementation and monitoring of programs
• Assists the administration in implementing all policies and/or rules governing student conduct, develops reasonable rules of classroom behavior and procedure, and maintains order in the classroom and school in a fair and just manner.
• Establishes and maintains open lines of communication with students and parents/guardians concerning both the academic and behavioral progress of all assigned students.
• Strives to improve professional competence through an ongoing program of reading, workshops, seminars, conferences, classes and other professional development activities.
• At sites with more than one special education teacher, works collaboratively as a team member in meeting the needs of students
• Administers assessments and collect and interpret data to monitor student progress
• Manages time to complete required special education paperwork
• Monitors the progress of students in all school settings
• Designs instruction, trains, monitors and provides feedback for educational assistants and is available for problem solving.
• Manages fiscal components and documentation of the program activities, as appropriate.
• Utilizes technology fluently to manage all the components of student programs
• Anticipates program needs and coordinate implementation of program components.
• Performs other duties as requested by the Educational Support Services Administrator.

Benefits

• The Eugene School District 4J does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, ancestry, color, national origin, gender, age, disability, marital or family status, sexual orientation, gender identity in admission or access to the treatment of employment in its programs and activities as required by state and federal law.
• It is the District's policy to provide qualifying veterans and disabled veterans with preference in employment in accordance with applicable law.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level