Almaden Country Day School seeks a full-time (10.5-month) Learning Support Coordinator (LSC). This is an administrative position serving children in kindergarten through grade 8. The LSC provides interventions and helps teachers work effectively with students who need remediation or additional challenge. The LSC also works with students, teachers, administrators, parents, and outside services to provide students with evaluation, guidance, and resources. The LSC observes and interacts firsthand with students, providing one-on-one and small group assistance and collaborating with teachers to help them build their instructional repertoires and ability to differentiate. The LSC helps advance the school’s mission by extending the faculty’s ability to cultivate the gifts in every child.

Instructional Support

• Establish a regular presence in classrooms and maintain awareness of the overall instructional program, teaching styles, and class dynamics in order to build trust with colleagues

• Observe classes and work with teachers to identify students needing additional support or challenge

• Assist teachers in identifying and offering support for children in need of additional scaffolds or extensions

• Help teachers develop activities that meet individual student learning needs and support student learning plans

• Work directly with individual and/or small groups of students to identify and help meet their learning needs

• Assist with new teacher mentoring and coaching during new curriculum adoptions or initiatives

Educational Leadership

• Attend Instructional Leadership meetings and support all aspects of the instructional vision

• Advise the Heads of ECE/Elementary & Middle concerning curriculum revision and serve on curriculum review subcommittees

• Advise the Heads of ECE/Elementary & Middle about professional development needs and improvements to instructional practices school-wide

• Lead professional development about differentiation of instruction.

• Help lead school-wide instructional initiatives

• Help determine and carry out professional development needs for faculty during inservice and other meeting times

Learning Support Administration

• Maintain and share with relevant staff the learning support list of students receiving learning support for their learning challenges or in order for them to be more challenged

• Track information about the students on the learning support list and coordinate with the Heads of ECE/Elementary & Middle, teachers, and parents to recommend outside support as necessary

• Maintain a database of recommended outside evaluators, specialists, and tutors

• Coordinate general meetings between teachers, outside learning specialists and students (as appropriate) to support student learning at the beginning of the school year and throughout the year as needed

• When needed, lead or co-lead Student Success Team (SST) interventions and attend meetings with parents to share observations and recommendations.

• Develop learning support plans for students requiring more extensive accommodations / modification as part of the SST process.

• Other duties as assigned

Specific Abilities Sought:

• Familiar with a range of student learning needs and challenges, sufficient to assist teachers with preliminary identification of learning differences; ability to interpret results of learning assessments and provide relevant referral support for parents

• Skillful at instructional coaching to provide support for teachers

• Adept at facilitating meetings between parents, teachers, learning specialists and students

Overview of Almaden Country Day School

Almaden Country Day School is an independent, pre-K through 8th grade school located in the Almaden Valley of San Jose. The school's mission is to "discover the gifts in every child." ACDS promotes the belief that children learn best in a high-opportunity, low-stress environment, and when instruction is age-appropriate, highly individualized, and joyful.

We serve 360 students with an average of 20 students per class. Our graduates are prepared for a rigorous high school experience. It is not unusual for half of the students in an ACDS graduating class to be accepted into high school with academic distinction or honors placement. Approximately 25 percent of the student body receives tuition aid.

ACDS strives to develop well-rounded children, with all students taking drama, foreign language, physical education, music, and art, and in the middle school, extensive choices for dozens of elective classes. The school’s signature enrichment programs, hands-on science featuring an outdoor classroom, and a robust integrated technology program all contribute to our emphasis on whole-child instruction.

ACDS parents are very committed to the school and follow the progress of their children carefully. Teachers are held to high expectations for meeting the needs of our children and families. 

We seek educators who are well versed in developmental pedagogy and differentiated teaching methods, and who are committed to providing individualized attention to our students and parents. A collaborative work style and a receptive attitude toward cooperative efforts are required in our small school. All positions involve additional required duties, such as playground and lunch supervision, chaperoning field trips, and more. Administrators are occasionally called to serve as temporary substitute teachers.

For more information about Almaden Country Day School, candidates are encouraged to visit our website at www.almadencountrydayschol.org.

To apply:       Send letter of interest, résumé, and 3 or more professional                                        references to:

                        jobs@almadencountryday.org

                        or to

            Dr. Ole Jorgenson, Head of School

            Almaden Country Day School

                        6835 Trinidad Drive

                        San Jose, CA 95120

Interviews are underway and this position remains open until filled.

Contact:         Ole Jorgenson at ojorgenson@almadencountryday.org