Middle School Learning Specialist in San Francisco, California at Children's Day School

At Children’s Day School, what you learn and who you become are equally important.

Children’s Day School (CDS) is a welcoming community in the big city, a farm and garden among urban streets, an advocate for change and uplifting progressive values, an independent school with down-to-earth values, and an institution that is always asking how we can do this better.

We strive for balance, so students become both academically successful and grounded. They leave CDS confident, with the humility to listen and the resolve to speak up for what they see as right.

CDS is a co-educational preschool through eighth-grade school serving over 450 students in the Mission Dolores neighborhood of San Francisco with two campuses, two sheep, and lovely people.

To learn more about CDS, visit our website at www.cds-sf.org.

Job Summary

The Middle School Learning Specialist reports to the Middle School Division Director and collaborates closely with K–8 Learning Specialists to support students experiencing learning challenges. This role partners with teachers, students, and families to design and implement targeted academic and social-emotional supports.

The Learning Specialist brings expertise in assessment, differentiation, and case management, along with strong communication skills and the ability to build trust across stakeholders. The ideal candidate has experience coaching faculty, applying Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and using research-based practices to support students with diagnosed and undiagnosed learning differences.

CDS faculty engage in rigorous diversity, equity and inclusion work and demonstrate a commitment to ongoing learning and reflection. They bring a critical lens to discussions and are equity and justice-oriented, always asking how can we do this better? Communication skills, genuine curiosity, and a strong desire to support children and families with learning differences to achieve and demonstrate agency in their learning process are required.

Primary Responsibilities:

Essential Practices of a CDS Educator

CDS Educators have identified and aligned on these five essential teaching practices to guide instruction and learning in the classroom. Applicants should excel in applying these practices and be able to integrate them into curriculum and unit design across all content areas for which they are responsible.

Direct Student Support

• Academically screening students to determine skill development and to help create support plans as needed
• Provide 1:1 and small-group instruction aligned to student and classroom goals
• Support the development of learner goals and reflections
• Provide academic remediation for students with specific and undiagnosed learning differences
• Partner with teachers to design strategies that improve classroom engagement and learning conditions
• Pedagogical recommendations and support for individual students to deepen personalized learning experiences that aren’t on the student support caseload
• Organize and lead executive function classes and study halls for students

Educator Coaching and Mentoring | Division Professional Growth Support

• Coach educators on Tier 1 and Tier 2 interventions (RTI/MTSS framework), including modeling and co-teaching
• Supporting whole class, small group, or individual student interventions (behavioral and academic)
• Helping teachers design and implement strategies and accommodations to support individual students’ learning styles
• Leading professional development for faculty that supports and enriches teachers’ understanding of different learning styles and best practices for supporting all learners

Case Management/Family Support

• Teaming with teachers, administrators, parents, and students to develop, implement, and monitor effective educational plans that meet individual students’ needs
• Oversee identification, documentation, and progress monitoring for students on the learning support caseload
• Referring families to outside resources for remediation and in-depth testing, and maintaining up-to-date allied professional services banks
• Interpreting and analyzing academic, neuropsychological, occupational therapy, and speech and language assessments, and relating this information simply and efficiently with stakeholders
• Working with the admission team to assess and give feedback about student applicants throughout the spring. Assessments are both group format and individual 1-on-1 evaluations and include at least two Saturday assessment days.

Position Requirements and Preferences

Demonstrated Knowledge and Experience

• Working with students with diverse needs and honoring a child-driven approach to learning
• Effective teaching practices and approaches
• Demonstrates outstanding written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience with personalizing work structures and curriculum, providing a range of modifications and accommodations for learning
• Knowledge of social-emotional, sensory, and academic needs and possible strategies to develop programmatic support for each student
• Successful facilitation of meetings with multiple perspectives
• Good working knowledge of current principles, practices, techniques, and objectives of instructional methods, including differentiated instruction; multisensory evidence-based instruction; current neuro-based instruction (i.e., structuring information for optimal processing and retrieval); knowledge of broad and narrow cognitive abilities and how these overlay with areas of achievement; understanding and application of assessment and educational planning successful for students with mild to moderate disabilities.
• Experience with coaching educators to refine instructional practices
• Ability to organize time and support across multiple projects
• Use student data to inform interventions, monitor progress, and adjust support plans

Demonstrated Mindset

• Belief that all students can learn and achieve
• Deep respect for children as beings that are qualitatively different from adults and have very different needs
• Deep empathy for educators, students, and families - has the ability to see any situation from multiple perspectives
• Value in active listening as a leadership approach
• Solution-oriented and proactive approach
• Dedicated to collaborative problem solving
• Values and incorporates feedback
• Deeply committed to equity and inclusion for all students
• Lifelong learner
• Ability to pivot and demonstrate high amounts of flexibility
• Humility and joyfulness

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree required - in special education or related field preferred.
• Master’s degree preferred.
• Experience working with middle school-aged students [Gr.5-8]
• Experience in working in special education or working with similar cohorts of students in other settings
• Special Education Credential / Certification in educational therapy or equivalent preferred

Schedule

• The new school year begins with planning and development in August, with meetings scheduled to start the week of August 10th.
• The first day of school starts on August 26th.
• Work hours are: Monday to Friday, 7:45 am - 3:45 pm.
• Mandatory Division Meetings take place on Wednesdays from 3:45 pm to 5:00 pm.

Compensation

The annual salary range is $60,552 to $132,905. Salary is based on a salary scale of education and teaching experience. Excellent benefits are offered, including medical, dental, and vision insurance; paid time off; tuition remission; education reimbursement and professional development; and an employer-paid retirement plan.

CDS is an equal opportunity employer. Our community is diverse in many ways, inclusive of race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender spectrum, age, ability, and more. We welcome and value the same in our faculty and staff.

Clearance Requirements

• Live Scan background check
• TB Assessment
• Eligible to work in the U.S.

Contact Information

http://careers.cds-sf.org/