Teacher, Special Education Learning Specialist (Arvada Senior & Oberon Middle School)

Jeffco Public Schools (Jeffco) is located in Jefferson County, Colorado. It is the second largest school district in Colorado serving 69,000 students across 155 schools. With 14,000 employees, the district is the largest employer in Jefferson County and has provided educational excellence for more than 70 years.

Jeffco embraces the spirit of the West and the natural beauty of the Rocky Mountain region with the county spanning more than 770 square miles running the length of the western edge of the Denver metropolitan area. The district is diverse in both population and geography, from urban to rural, including the mountain communities in the foothills west of Denver.

Overall, Jeffco has 31% of students that qualify for free and reduced lunch, an indicator of poverty, and 34% minority (25% Hispanic) student population. The district is implementing a new strategic plan, Jeffco Thrives 2025 that is focused on providing a world-class education that prepares all Jeffco students for bright and successful futures as local and global citizens. Come join us!

Jeffco Public Schools is a Single-State Employer. All candidates hired by Jeffco Public Schools must reside within the state of Colorado.

Arvada High School is proud to be a tight-knit, comprehensive high school of 900 students offering a variety of programs including a GT Center School, athletics and the fine arts. We have a strong school culture that is based in Restorative Practices, empowering students to live out the principle the "Power of US". Our mission is to "Empower Students To Be Leaders of Their Own Learning", grounded in our core values: Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Learning and Be Kind.

Starting with the 2019-2020 school year all 9th and 10th grade students will be part of the New Tech Network. 11th and 12th grade students will join with the 2020-2021 school year. The New Tech Network (NTN) is a leading design partner for comprehensive school change. NTN works closely with districts and schools to create innovative learning environments through a proven school model, a project-based learning platform, and powerful professional development. New Tech schools make lasting changes to student achievement, foster continuous improvement and prepare students for 21st century careers. They consistently outperform national comparison groups on measures of higher order thinking skills, high school graduation rates and college enrollments. NT students show a 61% greater growth in higher order thinking skills between freshmen and senior years than comparison groups.

Arvada High School is implementing three pathways for students including STEM, Sports Professions, and Arts and Humanities. Sports Professions will include sports marketing, journalism/broadcasting, sports management, and sports medicine which will culminate in an internship. Our STEM pathway utilizes a newly-built Creative Learning System SmartLab where students participate in project-based STEM learning applications. Students utilize a wide range of applied technology to develop and document project work in a multidisciplinary context. Along with its hands-on, engaging approach to academic content, SMARTLabs emphasize 21st century skills such as critical thinking and problem solving, collaboration and communication, and project and time management. Our Humanities and Arts pathway includes Pathways2Teaching, where students begin the process of becoming a teacher, and ProStart, where students receive culinary arts training with credit from a university. In addition, a Warren Tech program for Building Trades and a Career Explore program for our seniors that include paid internships provide real-world career options. As part of our graduation requirements, all students will be required to do a 20-hour community service project, 60 internship hours and present a capstone.

Jeffco is a learning organization in which all staff must grow in their capacity to support and educate all students including those with special needs. Special Education professionals are committed to providing equal educational opportunities for students with disabilities who have the right, and deserve the opportunity, to meet the challenging expectations that have been established for their non-disabled peers. Highly efficacious educators understand that their knowledge and skills can assist students in overcoming educational barriers. Maintaining a strong academic focus with quality instruction including frequent progress monitoring produces more successful outcomes for all students. A robust continuum of services driven by student needs is essential.

This is a 1.0 position split between Arvada Senior and Oberon Middle School.

Tchr SPED Learning Specialist
Annual Position
FLSA: Exempt
FTE: 1.00000 , Hours/Day: 8.000 , Days/Year: 185
Salary Plan, Grade, Step: JCE - Professional - 185 days , L01, 1
Min-Mid Annual Salary Range: $56,085.00 - $75,142.00 Effective as of: 08-16-2025

Compensation schedules for Jeffco Schools can be found here. Starting salary for non-licensed roles is based on the candidate's relevant work experience and education. Additional considerations may be given for job-specific certifications and skills. Applicants should submit all relevant and verifiable education, training and work experiences at the time of application. Starting Salary for licensed educators is based on the step and lane schedule found here.

SUMMARY Develop, implement, and support individualized practices for achieving learning outcomes for students with communication, cognitive, physical, and/or social/behavioral needs, based on the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA). This teacher will utilize evidence-based best practice and rely on frequent progress monitoring for programming adjustments. The Learning Specialist teacher will take a leadership role in collaboratively problem solving interventions for students.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES may include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

Design and implement specialized instruction in one-on-one, small group and large classroom settings.

Work collaboratively to plan and modify curriculum, team teach with general educators and to communicate the abilities and needs of special education students.

Develop, implement and review for appropriateness the behavioral plans for designated students.

Work in conjunction with a multidisciplinary team to conduct IEP and referral meetings, conferences, and to develop a multidisciplinary approach to the educational enhancement of the student.

Maintain ongoing communication with regular educators, school staff, students and parents.

Create a safe supportive and understanding environment for disabled students.

Other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS Hold valid Colorado teaching license with Special Education Generalist endorsement. If teacher is the teacher of record for a specific content area, they must meet content-area qualification, which could include the appropriate content endorsement, degree in the content area, Colorado State Board of Education-approved content exam, or 36 credit hours as determined by the district. Training emphasis in Learning Disabled/Perceptual Communicative preferred.

EXPERIENCE Experience/supervised internship in working with educationally disabled children. Training in understanding/interpreting educational assessments and prescriptive teaching. Demonstrated ability to collaboratively work with a multidisciplinary team in developing appropriate materials, facilitating inclusion, creating educational plans, and designing and implementing behavioral plans. Training and experience in working with students with a variety of, disabling conditions. Complies with the Special Education Department and district policies and procedures (e.g., Medicaid billing, accident reporting).

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS Normal routine levels of activity related to bending, carrying, climbing, hearing, reaching, sitting, standing, vision and walking, and may also involve above-average levels of activity at times that can not always be anticipated. Ability to meet physical needs of students.

Important Notice Regarding Licensed Positions

Job Status: Ongoing
A successful external applicant will be issued a probationary contract. A successful internal applicant that currently holds a probationary or non-probationary contract with Jeffco Public Schools will maintain that contract status.

Jeffco Salary Schedules

Jeffco Benefits

The Jefferson County School District does not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, color, creed, religion, national origin, age, sexual orientation, marital status, political affiliation, pregnancy, or gender.