POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT:
LOWER SCHOOL LEARNING SPECIALIST GRADES 1-3 (ONE YEAR LEAVE REPLACEMENT)

Saint Ann’s School, an independent, non-sectarian day school enrolling 1085 students in prekindergarten through high school, is seeking a Lower School (Grades 1-3) Learning Specialist to fill a full-year leave of absence for the 2023-24 school year. 

ABOUT SAINT ANN’S SCHOOL

Saint Ann’s is among the largest and most selective independent schools in New York City, known for the breadth and depth of its curriculum in academic disciplines and the visual and performing arts. Since its founding in 1965, Saint Ann’s has embraced a commitment to education for its own sake, oriented to the capacities of each individual student, free of the encumbrances of formal grading, prizes, and rankings. The lives of our graduates speak powerfully to the potential of an education based on these principles to ignite a love of learning and sustain creative energy in every field of endeavor. We accomplish this by bringing together talented teachers with creative and motivated students. Seeking to create a community rooted in trust and equity, we invite each other to take risks, pursue knowledge, and celebrate growth. Saint Ann’s is committed to centering anti-racism in the life of the school.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Read, Write, Inc. (RWI)  instruction for struggling emergent readers in the first grade who require extra literacy support; some of whom may eventually be identified as having learning differences.

Reading instruction for students from any of the second and third grade classes; for students whose current reading level differs to such an extent that they do not fit into a standing group within their classroom cohort.  Each group meets (ideally) four times weekly for at least 30 minutes.  

Reading intervention (Literacy Support): These sessions focus uniquely on specific and targeted intervention based on data gleaned from assessments, (typically–though not limited to—instruction in phonics or fluency training).

Administration of RWI ongoing assessments grade wide in first grade: every six to eight weeks for purposes of grouping and tracking progress over the course of the school year. 

Administration of assessment tools to individual students (grades 1-3) to determine areas of particular weakness or struggle, such as the RWI assessments in the second grade, the Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System, the Institute for Multisensory Education’s diagnostic tool when there are concerns that a student may have a learning difference, placement in Read Naturally Program, etc. 

Data-gathering and presentation: Excel sheets, ongoing RWI grouping and tracking grids, BAS, beginning of the year Gates’ results (from previous year) by classroom cohort to aid teachers in devising appropriate grouping for reading instruction.

Attendance at parent meetings upon request of the classroom teachers and administrators for students about whom we have concerns, to debrief after a student has received a neuropsychological report, to monitor student progress, etc.   

Classroom observations of individual students by request of classroom teacher and Head of Lower School.

Consultations with classroom teachers to discuss concerns they have about a particular student, to provide suggestions for differentiating instruction, in general to support their work with students who have learning differences. 

Ongoing communication with parents and other third party support personnel including psychologists, speech language pathologists, occupational therapists, outside tutors, etc. 

Weekly meeting with Lower School Support Services staff for on-going monitoring of students already identified with specific learning differences or any students about whom we have concerns (academic, behavioral, social-emotional, etc.).

Preparation of supplementary instructional materials: preparation and management of home practice packets* for struggling learners. 

*Individualized folders or binders that include workbooks, sight word lists, sight word cards with high frequency words, instructions for parents, etc.  

Report writing: Writing separate mid and end-of-year reading reports participating in a reading group or literacy support. Approximately 25-30 per semester.

Preparation of accommodation forms for all Lower School students who have been formally evaluated and for whom we have a neuropsychological evaluation on file. Approximately 10 per semester.

PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL REQUIREMENTS

• Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education, Literacy, or Special Education

   

• Minimum three years teaching structured literacy to emergent readers

   

• Experience supporting the teaching of literacy with 1st-3rd grade teachers

   

• Training in a structured literacy approach such as Read, Write, Inc., Orton-Gillingham, Wilson, or PAF

   

Please note that the School has a mandatory Covid-19 vaccination policy, which requires that all employees be fully vaccinated and provide proof of vaccination. Additional information about this requirement may be found on the Employment page of the School’s website.

COMPENSATION

This is a full-time administrative position with a base salary range of $80,000-$90,000, commensurate with education and experience.

TO APPLY

Interested applicants should send a cover letter that speaks directly to the school’s mission (you can learn more about us at https://saintannsny.org/) and a resume to [email protected] Candidates who identify as members of historically underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply. Deadline to apply is March 20, 2023. Anticipated start date of August 28, 2023.

NOTICE OF NONDISCRIMINATORY POLICY

Saint Ann’s School admits students of any race, color, religion, creed, gender, disability, national or ethnic origin, sexual orientation or any other category protected by applicable federal, state or local law, to all the rights privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. The School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, gender (which includes a person’s actual or perceived sex, as well as gender identity and expression), age, marital status, disability, national or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, familial status, predisposing genetic characteristics, actual or perceived domestic violence victim status, unemployment status, caregiver status or any other category protected by applicable federal, state or local law, in carrying on its educational activities or in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, employment policies, financial aid programs, and athletic and other school administered programs.