Lower School Co-Teacher

Title: Lower School Co-Teacher

Reports to: Head of Lower School

Employment Type: Administration; Full-time, Exempt

Projected Start Date: August 2026

Work Location: 5 Hanover Square, New York, NY 10004

Mission

The IDEAL School of Manhattan is an inclusion school dedicated to creating a diverse community that affirms and accepts the full identities of all people while inspiring academic excellence, creative leadership, and a desire to build a more just and equitable world.

Position Description 

The IDEAL School of Manhattan is seeking a talented, warm, and creative Lower School Teacher who believes in fostering the potential for excellence in all students, equipping them with the academic and social-emotional skills necessary to lay the foundation for continued success. 

Lower School classes at IDEAL work in an integrated, co-teaching model, which partners a general educator and a special educator to provide a rigorous, student-centered, differentiated, collaborative educational experience within the context of an inclusion classroom. The co-teaching model at IDEAL’s Lower School ensures a low student-teacher ratio and allows teachers to organize flexible groups and to challenge, inspire, and support all learners in the classroom. Most classrooms are also assigned one or two associate teachers who facilitate the inclusion experience for a student in the school’s Dylan program, while also playing a supporting role in the larger classroom.  IDEAL expands the definition of diversity to include learning styles, and thus candidates should demonstrate the ability to teach a range of learners and to scaffold lessons with note-taking guides, visual aids, and other supports to promote the success of a range of learners. 

Lower School is a time of profound growth and change as students master emergent academic skills, become accustomed to classroom and school-wide routines, form a greater understanding of themselves and others, and develop and sustain meaningful friendships. IDEAL educators are tasked with supporting this growth inside and outside the classroom in a consistent, nurturing way; encouraging students to take the healthy risks necessary to learn new things about themselves and the world around them every day.

Responsibilities include:

• Collaborate as a member of a co-teaching partnership in an inclusive classroom, to plan and differentiate curriculum, establish classroom routines, and support all students

• Apply expertise in child development and the pedagogy of early and mid-childhood education for typically developing students as well as those with special needs

• Partner with other educators, therapists, and additional professionals on the implementation of support strategies 

• Research and integrate contemporary and innovative curricula, texts, and technology into instruction

• Create and implement tiered lesson plans incorporating differentiated instructional methods and outcomes to engage and inspire students with varied abilities and learning styles 

• Contribute to CSE meetings and yearly goal reviews

• Communicate regularly, via verbal and written communication,  with all constituencies, including students, faculty, administration, and families

• Attend and participate in weekly faculty meetings, team meetings, committee meetings, school functions, and professional development activities during and after school hours as needed, appropriate, and assigned

• Meet deadlines for progress reports and other administrative tasks within a school setting

• Contribute broadly and fully to the spirit and life of our students, community, and mission

• Uphold the mission, philosophy, principles, policies, and procedures of IDEAL

• Performs other related duties as assigned

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in General Education, Special Education or similar field

• Experience leading whole class instruction

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s Degree in Education or similar field

• Prior experience in an independent school preferred

• Orton-Gillingham-based literacy instruction training and experience preferred

• Minimum of three years of relevant school-based experience preferred

Essential Qualities

• Have a commitment to inclusive education and have the skills and passion to inspire, nurture, and challenge students with a range of interests, experiences, strengths, readiness-levels, and learning styles 

• Have proven skills in classroom management, helping to create a respectful, safe, and nurturing community where all students feel comfortable expressing their full identity and are inspired to celebrate the full identities of their peers

• Work to deeply understand the strengths and challenges of students and ensure that all students are challenged and supported across disciplines 

• A growth mindset and collaborative, flexible spirit

• A willingness to ensure students are nurtured, challenged, and inspired across disciplines

Benefits Include: Paid time off, comprehensive medical, dental and vision insurance, flexible spending program, health reimbursement account, commuter benefits program, income protection via short and long-term disability benefits, paid family leave, discount lunch options, professional development opportunities, 403(b) plan with employer contribution (waiting period applies)

Salary Range: $65,000-78,000 (this represents the expected salary for this position. Salary will be determined based on education, experience, and other job-related factors)

Equal Opportunity Employer 

The IDEAL School of Manhattan is committed to the principles of equal employment opportunities for all qualified employees and job applicants and to making all employment decisions without unlawful discrimination as to race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, citizenship or immigration status, marital status, familial status, actual or perceived status as a victim of domestic violence, caregiver status, gender identity or expression, military status, veteran status, genetic predisposition or carrier status, or any other status or condition protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.This policy of Equal Employment Opportunity applies to all policies and procedures.

This policy of Equal Employment Opportunity applies to all policies and procedures relating to recruitment, hiring, compensation, benefits, training and development, promotion, demotion, discipline, termination and all other terms and conditions of employment.