Lower School Learning Specialist

Our School

The International School of San Francisco is a bilingual, multicultural learning community where students learn to navigate the complexities of the world with confidence, empathy, and joy. Our vibrant urban campus is situated in the heart of the city and serves nearly 1,100 students beginning at age 2 and continuing through grade 12. 

Mission

Guided by the principles of academic rigor and diversity, The International School of San Francisco offers programs of study in French and English to prepare its graduates for a world in which the ability to think critically and to communicate across cultures is of paramount importance. 

Opportunity

Working at The International School of San Francisco opens up a myriad of opportunities both personal and professional. When minds and cultures from around the world come together, boundless curiosity takes hold; faculty and staff benefit from that deep intellectual engagement and joyful discovery as we live out our values of respect, integrity, inclusion, collaboration, and curiosity. Each employee is both teacher and learner in our vibrant, multicultural, multilingual school community.

Position: 

The Lower School Learning Specialist facilitates an inclusive learning environment by providing direct learning support for students in grades K-5 within the context of a holistic approach to addressing student needs. Reporting to the Director of Student Support and proactively collaborating with the student support team, including learning specialists and counselors from all sections of the school, the Learning Specialist maintains the practices and procedures that ensure a multi-tiered system of support which is coherent and continuous as students move through the school. The Learning Specialist communicates actively with all stakeholders, including leaders, faculty/staff, families and caregivers, and especially students, to foster a joyful and supportive experience for neurotypical and neurodiverse students alike.

Focus and  Responsibilities: 

• Support the Director of Student Support in gathering, updating, and interpreting data on student progress and needs, including internal data and external evaluation reports
• Maintain records of student progress and services in accordance with school policies and practices
• Collaborate with the Director to identify students with emerging or shifting needs; administer initial psycho-educational evaluations for students of concern
• Collaborate with the Director of Student Support, the student support team, and the section team and faculty to create data-informed learning and support plans for students, taking into account both academic and social-emotional needs
• Facilitate student-centered, inclusive processes for regularly updating learning plans, annually at a minimum
• Provide small group, targeted Tier 2 support in push-in and pull-out formats, in alignment with schoolwide progressions and best practices in the field; this work should constitute at least 21 hours of direct student contact 
• Support students in the development of executive functioning skills 
• Through coaching, class visits, and resource sharing, support faculty in providing robust tier 1 classroom accommodations  to enable all students to thrive
• Foster inclusive physical learning environments
• Complete necessary documentation for accommodations on external standardized testing, and ensure full provision of those accommodations
• Act as case manager for individual students as assigned by the Director
• Communicate consistently with classroom teachers to share current strategies and ensure thorough implementation of learning plans internally
• Maintain strong lines of communication with families and caregivers of students in the case load, providing regular progress reports and sharing resources to foster partnership
• Participate in meetings regarding student progress as directed by the Director and the Maternelle and Lower School Principal
• In collaboration with colleagues, design and deliver professional development for faculty on key areas including differentiation, executive functioning, and core literacy
• With the support of the Director, communicate and collaborate as needed with outside evaluators and service providers
• Maintain a strong understanding of current learning support techniques, and collaborate with the Director and student support team to provide a developmentally-appropriate sequence of research-based strategies across the school
• Participate in the life of the school, and perform other duties as assigned

Key qualities:

• Excellent knowledge of best practices in learning support with grades K-5 
• Strong cross-cultural communication skills and the ability to develop trust with all constituencies
• A team-oriented, collaborative approach
• A desire to work in a fast-paced multilingual environment
• Empathy, patience, and a genuine passion for supporting students’ holistic development
• A growth mindset and a practice of keeping current with developments in the field
• Bachelor's degree and/or professional coursework or certification indicating training applicable to the responsibilities of the position; advanced coursework preferred
• Expertise in language and literacy development, particularly in a bilingual setting
• Knowledge of French a plus but not required

This is a full-time, salaried position reporting to the Director of Student Support. Salary range of $65,153 - $110,975 is specified by the collective bargaining agreement, based on education and relevant years of experience.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY POLICY

The International School of San Francisco is committed to providing an open, fair, inclusive, non-discriminatory environment for all individuals across differences of race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, socio-economic status, ethnicity, age, physical ability, or medical condition. We seek to increase the presence, representation, and inclusion of U.S. historically under-represented people of color, international, bilingual, and bicultural students, faculty, and staff; and, to provide an environment that will attract and retain individuals identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning and intersex (LGBTQQI).