Alternative Education Teacher
About Maine School Administrative District No. 27
Maine School Administrative District No. 27 serves 840 students in grades PreK-12 from St. Francis, St. John Plantation, Wallagrass, New Canada and Fort Kent, ME, location of America's First Mile. The district has three (3) schools, the Fort Kent Elementary School(PreK-6), Valley Rivers Middle School (7-8), and Fort Kent Community High School (9-12).
To learn more about our schools, we highly encourage all potential applicants to view our Recruitment Brochure.
About the Valley Unified Alternative Schooling Program
At the Valley Unified Alternative Schooling program, we work with students who need an alternative pathway to earn their High School Diploma. We encourage and support them to achieve educational and associated goals even though school hasn't been working well for them, despite everyone's best efforts.
We provide our students an academic pathway to a High School diploma while also putting a clear focus on their unique skills, needs and interests as they continue their education. To accomplish these important goals, we use an approach that blends independent, self-directed learning and daily interaction with their teachers about learning goals, learning activities, assignments, and progress. As a team, we strive to address each student's individual needs while also working with all of our students to develop a learning community built on self-awareness, social awareness, and trusting relationships. Our staff motto is, "We've got their back."
Job Opening:
Maine School Administrative District #27 is seeking applicants for a certified Grades 9-12 Teacher with (an) endorsement(s) and teaching experience in English/Language Arts, Social Studies, Math and/or Science to work with students in the Valley Unified Alternative Schooling Program. We are seeking a compassionate, innovative, and dedicated Alternative Education Teacher to support our students in achieving academic goals in a non-traditional educational setting that provides a flexible, student-centered learning environment founded on personalized instruction, blended learning (i.e., computer-assisted and face-to-face instruction), social-emotional support, and real-world skills.
Position Summary:
The ideal candidate will have experience working with students in grades 9-12 who struggle in the school environment, not only academically, but also socially, emotionally, and behaviorally. The successful candidate will also have skill facilitating an individualized approach to learning, featuring technology-assisted instruction, contextualization, personalization, self-paced learning supported by active instruction and support, and Project-Based Learning. In addition, the candidate will have knowledge of and experience with trauma-informed educational practices, student behavior management, and techniques for motivating reluctant students.
Responsibilities:
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Develop and manage engaging, standards-based lessons in all core subject areas.
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Frame and design individualized learning activities aligned with state standards while fostering a positive, supportive classroom climate and culture.
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Provide a mixture of active, face-to-face, individual and small-group support to nurture students’ ability to make progress through self-paced, independent learning while also nudging and supporting them to remain on pace with their daily and weekly assignments.
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Facilitate blended learning experiences through which students access on-line learning content through custom-designed core and elective courses available on Edmentum and other web-based teaching/learning platforms.
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With students and community-experts/collaborators, design and implement a range of Project-Based Learning activities.
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Support students’ academic, social, and emotional needs within the classroom.
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Collaborate with the program coordinator, families, school counselors and other school staff to ensure student success in the classroom and in the transition to the workplace and/or post-secondary education and/or training.
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Foster a classroom environment that promotes respect, resilience, and trust.
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Adapt teaching methods to meet diverse learning needs and styles.
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Maintain accurate records of student performance, progress, and attendance.
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Design and facilitate engaging, differentiated instructional activities tailored to student needs, interests, goals and learning styles.
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Foster a classroom environment that encourages academic achievement and positive social behavior.
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Utilize data and assessments to monitor student progress and adjust instruction accordingly.
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Participate and actively engage in regularly scheduled staff meetings and on-going professional development and program planning.
Qualifications:
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Bachelor’s degree in English, Math, Science, Social Studies or Education. (Master’s degree desirable).
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Valid teaching license/certification or eligibility for conditional certification in English/Language Arts, Math, Social Studies and/or Science, (Special Education endorsement a plus).
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Experience working with at-potential youth in alternative settings strongly preferred.
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Strong classroom management, organizational and interpersonal skills.
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Ability to build trusting relationships with students, families, and colleagues.
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Flexibility, creativity, and adaptability.
Benefits:
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Competitive salary commensurate experience
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Health insurance (Single and Family)
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MainePers Retirement plan
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Professional development opportunities
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Supportive and mission-driven team environment
Location:
The successful candidate will work either at our Fort Kent-based Alternative Schooling classroom located on the campus of Community High School and serving MSAD #27 students or at our St. John Valley Technology Center-based classroom in Frenchville where we serve students from MSAD #33 and the Madawaska School Department. At the SJVTC location, the candidate will spend half a day in the Alternative Schooling classroom, facilitating learning in all subject areas, and the other half of the day delivering Math intervention services.