The job of Teacher of the Deaf was established for the purpose/s of providing an appropriate individualized program in the least restrictive environment for each student to support the instructional process by serving as a teacher with specific responsibility for developing hearing impaired students' success in academics, receptive and expressive language, written expression, listening skills, self-advocacy training and coping strategies; supervising students within the classroom and other assigned areas; developing lesson plans and delivering group and individual student instruction within established curriculum guidelines; collaborating with other teachers, other professional staff, and administrators in addressing instructional and/or classroom issues; and responding to a wide range of inquiries from students’ parents or guardians regarding instructional program and student progress.

 

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Advises parents and/or legal guardians of student progress for the purpose of communicating expectations; student's achievements; developing methods for improvement and/or reinforcing goals in the home environment.
• Applies knowledge of listening/speech and language development for the hard of hearing/deaf for the purpose of expanding receptive and expressive language.
• Assesses student progress towards objectives, expectations, for the purpose of monitoring progress on student’s IEP goals.
• Assists academic team members in utilizing and troubleshooting technology (e.g. hearing aids, FM auditory systems, cochlear implants, captioning, etc.) for the purpose of enhancing skills and understanding of children with hearing loss.
• Collaborates with instructional staff, other school personnel, parents and IEP team members for the purpose of improving the overall quality of student outcomes, achieving established classroom objectives in support of the Individual Educational Plan (IEP).
• Counsels students for the purpose of providing support with their hearing loss.
• Demonstrates methods required to support hearing impaired students for the purpose of providing an effective program that addresses individual student requirements.
• Prepares and maintains a variety of written materials adhering to required timelines (e.g. grades, attendance, progress reports, monitoring, student records anecdotal records, IEP’s etc.) for the purpose of documenting student progress and meeting mandated requirements.
• Provides classroom observations for students for the purpose of monitoring students’ ability to access the general education curriculum.
• Provides collaborative services to staff regarding hearing loss and technology for the purpose of determining impact on curriculum and general education.
• Responds to inquiries from a variety of sources for the purpose of resolving issues related to hearing loss.
• Uses various technology for hearing loss for the purpose of supporting listening in the school setting.
• Manages student behavior for the purpose of providing a safe and optimal learning environment.
• Participates in a variety of meetings for the purpose of conveying and/or gathering information required to perform functions.
• Performs other related duties, as assigned, for the purpose of ensuring the efficient and effective functioning of the work unit.
• Reports incidents (e.g. fights, suspected child abuse, suspected substance abuse, etc.) for the purpose of maintaining personal safety of students, providing a positive learning environment and adhering to School Code and school policies.
• Responds to emergency situations for the purpose of resolving immediate safety concerns and/or directing to appropriate personnel for resolution.

Minimum requirements: 

• PA Hearing Impaired certification
• Master’s degree in deaf education preferred
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Experience working in a school setting
• Knowledge of the ER and IEP process
• Knowledgeable about technology for students with hearing loss
• Ability to function as part of an interdisciplinary team
• Experience with communication options for the deaf and hard of hearing 
• Ability to communicate in a positive manner
• Strong organizational skills
• Proficient use of computer and computer programs
• Flexible and reliable