Sacred Heart Schools

Learning Specialist

Academic Year 2018-2019

Founded in Chicago in 1876, Sacred Heart Schools at Sheridan Road (Hardey Preparatory for Boys and Academy of the Sacred Heart for Girls) are independent, Catholic, single gender elementary schools committed to academic excellence within the context of a Christian, faith-based community.  The educational mission is deeply rooted in the 200-year tradition of the Society of the Sacred Heart and shared with the Network of Sacred Heart Schools located in 32 countries, including 22 schools in the United States and Canada.  The essence of this tradition is the total development of each child: spiritual, intellectual, social, emotional and physical. Our girls and boys are taught in single-gender classrooms, but follow a similar curriculum and share in many activities.  With a total enrollment of approximately 700 students, the schools are organized into three academic divisions each led by a division head.

The Learning Specialist is directly accountable to the Division Heads and works to implement the Goals and Criteria and the philosophy of Sacred Heart education in her/his work with students with learning differences. The Learning Specialist modifies curriculum, lessons and other teaching materials in keeping with the child’s emotional, physical and educational levels of development, while creating learning materials and teaching strategies to improve a child’s sensory motor, perception, memory, language and learning challenges. 

Essential Job Functions:

• Teach students with diagnosed learning differences in small groups.
• Provide teaching strategies in small group or whole class setting (push-in, team-teaching, and coaching).
• Meet the specific needs of each diagnosed student according to the needs and recommendations outlined in the testing results.
• Collaborate with other specialists and teachers in planning curriculum, scheduling and working with students and teachers in the classroom.
• Meet on a regular basis with administrators, classroom teachers, parents and professional diagnosticians to review and assess student progress and make recommendations accordingly.
• Conduct parent/teacher conferences.
• Adapt curriculum to meet students’ special needs.
• Attend school-wide and grade-level meetings to support students and develop community.
• Participate in teacher duties such as lunch, recess, and bus supervision.

A Successful Candidate will:

• Demonstrate good organization and attention to detail
• Have excellent communication skills with service orientation
• Be highly motivated, ethical and eager to learn
• Prioritize and multi-task effectively
• Enjoy working both independently and as member of a team
• Continuously strive for process improvement and quality outcomes
• Have worked teaching small groups of students
• Have coached other teachers with strategies to support student success

Qualifications:

• Masters Degree required
• Degree or Certification in the area of Learning Behavior required
• 3-5 years experience as a learning specialist is required