Overview
Join a Team That Changes Lives For more than 170 years, Elwyn has been leading the way in supporting children, teens, and adults with autism, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and behavioral health challenges. As a mission-driven nonprofit, were here to create real change - helping people lead meaningful, fulfilling lives. Now, were looking for passionate team members to join us. Here, your work will change lives - including your own. Youll make an impact every day, find purpose in what you do, and grow in a career that truly matters.
At Elwyn, we take care of you while you care for others. We offer:
Join us and be a part of something bigger. Apply today.
Job Description Elwyn seeks a Special Education Teacher to implement program goals and provide educational instruction to students enrolled in the Davidson School as prescribed in the students Individual Education Program (IEP) and in accordance with the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) regulations.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
IEP Development: Contributes to the IEP, specifically in the areas of academic and behavior goals, objectives, and present levels for each assigned student in coordination with, but not limited to, the IEP team, as well as other designated school personnel by:
Adhering to established timelines.
Conducting academic/curricular based assessments.
Recording and reporting data.
Writing academic and behavioral goals and objectives.
Completing the Present Level of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP) in line with the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) guidelines and those of the Local Education Agency (LEA) to ensure that student IEPs are current and appropriate for the students needs.
Instructional Planning: Develops, delivers, and differentiates instructional/lesson plans and related activities in support of the students IEPs by planning activities that are aligned with the schools curriculum and relevant state standards to ensure that students are being taught skills that are appropriate to their age, grade, and developmental level.
Accommodations and Implementation: Designs and implements academic, behavioral, social, and communicative accommodations for the students for each scheduled task by:
Preparing work materials.
Collaborating with clinical staff (Occupational Therapists (OT), Physical Therapists (PT), School Speech and Language Therapists (SLT)).
Engaging with students 1:1 or in small group.
Instructing and practicing skills with students, to ensure students are being held to appropriate expectations for academic, behavioral, communicative, and social functioning.
Work Skills Development: Assists the students in developing age-appropriate work attitudes and work skills by teaching appropriate communication methods and social skills, exhibiting and encouraging effective work ethic, and instructing and practicing skills with assigned students to prepare students for outside of school experiences.
Behavioral Support: Contributes to any established school-wide behavior plans by:
Completing behavioral documentation.
Requesting and participating in the Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) process.
Completing Behavior Incident Reports (BIR).
Adhering to students Positive Behavior Plans to ensure consistency of behavioral approach to all students in the school.
Staff Oversight: Provides oversight, direction, training, support, and work assignments, including but not limited to implementation of the IEP, to all staff assigned to the classroom by:
Establishing and posting a schedule that identifies the daily responsibility of each classroom staff member.
Verbally reminding staff of assigned responsibilities as needed to ensure clarity in daily assignments.
Professionalism and Problem Solving: Models and demonstrates effective problem-solving and maintains a proactive and professional approach to unexpected changes in the job role by demonstrating a professional and mature approach to all stakeholders to ensure effective and appropriate fulfillment of job responsibilities consistent with Elwyn corporate policy #103.
Confidentiality: Maintains confidentiality in all areas by protecting access to student and company information and records to maintain compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability (HIPAA), and any other applicable federal or commonwealth laws and company policy.
Feedback and Growth:
Responds to supervision, accepts constructive feedback, and welcomes suggestions to improve skills and techniques by engaging appropriately with school administration, working on identified areas for improvement, and demonstrating a mature and professional attitude when interacting with others to maintain a professional and effective work environment.
Establishes appropriate job-related goals through self-assessment and desire for self-improvement by regularly reviewing professional goals, establishing procedures to attain such goals, and revising goals as appropriate to grow professionally within the organization.
Daily Interactions: Demonstrates knowledge to address daily situations involving children, parents, and classroom staff including but limited to staff reassignment, assistance with de-escalation of student behaviors, coordination of classroom activities, and communication with parents.
Flexibility: Demonstrates flexibility in addressing daily situations involving children, parents, and classroom staff including but limited to staff reassignment, assistance with de-escalation of student behaviors, coordination of classroom activities, and communication with parents.
Professional Development: Participates actively in program meetings, workshops, and in-service presentations by attending as scheduled, arriving on time, asking questions, and remaining attentive throughout the assignment to ensure that information being delivered is clearly understood.
Child Development Knowledge: Demonstrates knowledge of child development, educationally relevant disabilities, and learning styles by differentiating assignments and tasks to the appropriate developmental level of the assigned students to ensure comprehensive and effective skill development.
Parent Communication: Supports and maintains an active parent-teacher relationship by:
Contacting parents on a weekly basis after surveying parents to determine their preferred contact method.
Reporting academic, behavioral, and social progress or concerns to parents via telephone or email to encourage active parental participation in the educational process.
Student Supervision: Ensures that all students are supervised throughout the school day by:
Assigning classroom staff to supervise student activities.
Ensuring that a student has the independent skill level for self-supervision.
Maintaining visual, auditory, or physical proximity to students throughout the school day to ensure health, safety, and wellbeing of students.
Record Keeping:
Maintains student attendance records by documenting daily attendance in the program-approved student information system to ensure accurate reports and record keeping.
Supports students healthy eating by documenting daily lunch choices in the program-approved system to ensure accuracy in meal provision.
Maintains student records, including, but not limited to, transcripts, data charts, behavior programming, and assessments by recording data and information in assigned systems of record keeping, completing activities before or by established timelines, and completing quarterly progress reports to support a school-wide system of recordkeeping.
Policy Compliance: Supports all program-specific policies and procedures by reviewing provided policy and procedure manuals on an annual basis and adhering to policies and procedures to maintain an organized and effective system of work.
Safety: Maintains a safe campus environment by following all requested policies and procedures including, but not limited to:
Signing in and out in available program systems.
Informing campus security of any activities wherein students are outside of the school building perimeter.
Securing all entry/exit doors as appropriate after use to provide the safest possible environment for students and staff.
Attendance: Demonstrates professionalism in attendance by:
Arriving at or before scheduled start times.
Remaining engaged in the job responsibilities throughout the scheduled workday outside of scheduled break times.
Adhering to the contractual end time to ensure fiscal and professional responsibilities in job performance consistent with Elwyn corporate policy.
Emergency Response: Performs cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and safe crisis management using agency-trained protocols by engaging in approved practices for CPR and crisis management to ensure the safest possible response to crisis situations.
Other Duties: Performs other duties as assigned.
EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE/SKILLS REQUIREMENTS:
Job ID: 2026-4894
Equal Opportunity Employer Elwyn is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Elwyn does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, ancestry, pregnancy status, medical condition, gender, gender identity or expression, genetic information, sexual orientation or identity, age, national origin, citizenship, handicap status, marital or family status, mental or physical disability, perceived disability, military or veteran status, political activities or affiliations, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state or local law, ordinance, or regulation.
If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please contact us by email at ADArequest@elwyn.org and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information.
Know Your Rights: Workplace discrimination is illegal.
From our beginning as one of the nation's first schools for children with intellectual disabilities in 1852, Elwyn has continued to be at the forefront of developing unique, innovative services for people with disabilities. For over 158 years, our mission and vision have remained steadfast:
Maximizing potential through personal commitment, collective talents and innovation, Elwyn supports individuals with diverse challenges in shaping distinctive, meaningful lives.Through partnerships with families, communities and government, Elwyn will be the provider of choice for people with diverse challenges.