Upper School Special Education Language Literature Co-Teacher, School Year 2024-2025

Lakes International Language Academy (LILA) is an award-winning language immersion public charter school in Forest Lake, Minnesota. LILA prepares tomorrow’s critical thinkers and global citizens through language acquisition and inquiry-driven study. Convenient to both Minneapolis and Saint Paul, LILA is located close to the 35W-35E split in the North Metro.

Job Summary:  The Special Education Language & Literature Co-Teacher will coordinate with content co-teacher, other grade-level teachers, program specialists, coordinator, director and other staff to create a more inclusive classroom. Work involves teaching subjects for students with educational, behavioral, hard of hearing, and/or physical impairments. The Special Education Language & Literature Co-Teacher will work under the guidance of the Director of Student Services.

Essential Functions:   

• Able to perceive and address individual and small group behavioral concerns.

• Take initiative to join in small group discussions and ask students guiding questions to lead to possible solutions.

• Willing to split workload with co-teacher including planning, contacting home, correcting, and teaching.

• Provide differentiated instruction in Language Arts.

• Develop appropriate methods for meeting and documenting educational objectives for each child.

• Complete Special Education due process paperwork as needed, such as IEPs, PWN, and Progress Reports.

• Develop curriculum materials using engaging and age-appropriate instructional strategies.

• Create a safe and welcoming classroom environment.

• Incorporate hands-on learning activities into daily instruction.

• Oversee paraprofessionals.

• Evaluate student performance through data collection.

• Communicate closely and encourage parental involvement regarding program goals, classroom activities, homework, school functions and student progress.

• Infuse international-mindedness into the curriculum on a continual basis.

• Participate in regular planning and staff development activities.

• Maintain knowledge of current and emerging trends, procedures and evaluation processes in special education.

• Participate in professional development for language immersion, Developmental Designs, and the International Baccalaureate Program.

Required Qualifications:

• Valid Minnesota Special Education and/or Language Arts, grades 6-12 teaching license.

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in education or related field.

Preferences:

• Experience teaching Language Arts and/or Special Education preferred.

• International Baccalaureate experience preferred.

• Spanish and/or Mandarin Chinese language proficiency is preferred, but not a must.

Opportunities:

• Travel: Teachers are provided opportunities to participate in training provided in the Twin Cities, across the U.S., and sometimes internationally in the areas of Language Immersion, International Baccalaureate, and Responsive Classroom or Developmental Designs. Occasional travel is required.

• Work in a diverse culture: Many of our teachers were born in Mandarin and Spanish speaking countries.  Nearly all have traveled extensively, with the large majority having lived in a Mandarin or Spanish speaking country for at least a semester.

• Social functions: We usually start the school year with an overnight staff retreat in August, and have a January staff party with guests as well.  Each Friday, various staff members offer well-attended gatherings around sports or exercise, including volleyball, football (soccer), kettlebells, or Zumba.  Other social activities abound.

• Professional Development: Lakes International provides professional development for new staff depending on needs and interest, but always including best practices of teachers in the International Baccalaureate programs and building a safe and inviting classroom climate for learning.

• Career Track and Advancement: Many leadership positions are available to Lakes International teachers, depending on their interests, efforts, and expertise.

• Grants to Teachers: The LILA Foundation frequently offers “Inquiry 360” grants to teachers to pursue enriching experiences that they can bring back to share in the classroom.  Teachers are encouraged to pursue these experiences abroad.  Inquiry 360 grants are competitive and are awarded in April for use the following summer.

Physical Requirements: This work requires the occasional exertion of up to 10 pounds of force; work regularly requires speaking or hearing, frequently requires sitting and occasionally requires standing, walking, using hands to finger, handle or feel, stooping, kneeling, crouching or crawling, reaching with hands and arms, pushing or pulling, lifting and repetitive motions; work has standard vision requirements; vocal communication is required for expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word and conveying detailed or important instructions to others accurately, loudly or quickly; hearing is required to perceive information at normal spoken word levels and to receive detailed information through oral communications and/or to make fine distinctions in sound; work requires preparing and analyzing written or computer data, operating machines and observing general surroundings and activities; work has no exposure to environmental conditions; work is generally in a quiet location (e.g. library, private office, conference room). Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.