Learning Specialist 

Position Specifics

The Learning Skills Program is a comprehensive support program that serves students with mild to moderate learning needs, focusing on the individual as a whole. Our Learning Skills faculty assist students experiencing challenges by providing direct instructional support to grow their understanding of how they learn and develop tools for success. Most typically, this includes skills needed to effectively prioritize and plan work, break down major assignments and utilize systems for written production. Learning Skills coaches also help students and faculty to identify and understand an individual’s learning strengths and needs while promoting self-advocacy skills and independence. This is a full-time, 10-month academic year position and does not support visa sponsorship.

Responsibilities of this position include:

• Work with individual or small groups of students daily or weekly as needed
• Teach up to 3 classes per trimester/semester.
• Communicate and collaborate with faculty around appropriate accommodations and learning needs.
• Closely understand the learning profiles of their students.
• Collaborate with students to create skills goals, track progress, and write Learning Skills Progress reports three times a year
• Participate meaningfully in the annual review and preparation of student Learning Profiles
• Engage with professional organizations to maintain knowledge of learning and learning support practices that are current and relevant.
• Supervise Learning Skills faculty in their work with students

Responsibilities of all Darrow faculty:

• If residential, serve as a dorm parent in our residential program and work within a team to supervise and facilitate weekend activities on occasional weekends
• Advise a small cohort of students

Benefits of this position include:

• On-campus housing, including utilities if participating in the residential program
• Generous paid time off
• Medical and dental insurance
• 403(b) retirement plan (Darrow will match 2% of gross salary after one year of service)
• Health Savings Account
• Health Reimbursement Account
• Basic life and AD&D coverage

Required skills/qualifications:

• A Bachelor’s Degree with skill sets related to English, Math, or mild to moderate learning needs; Master’s Degree preferred.
• Experience in a setting that required instructional practices to address a range of learning needs.
• Demonstrated ability to forge strong relationships with students and colleagues with a mindset of unconditional positive regard
• Adept with technology and a desire to grow skills with technology specific to learning disabilities
• An understanding of the developmental and emotional needs of students
• A desire to be part of a close, diverse, and vibrant boarding school community with roles extending beyond the classroom, strengthening relationships and student learning.

About Darrow School

About Darrow School Darrow School, an independent, co-ed, boarding and day school for grades 9-12 and post-graduates, offers a comprehensive, individually focused college-preparatory curriculum that combines classroom instruction, experiential learning, and environmental consciousness. The School's two campuses are located in the Town of New Lebanon and the Town of Cannan, located on the New York State side of the Berkshires. It comprises many buildings, 16 of which are Shaker-built and designated as Registered National Historic Landmark buildings. Why Work at Darrow? There is something indefinable and remarkable about Darrow School. Perhaps it’s our historic Shaker Heritage, or our location nestled between the Berkshire Mountains and the Hudson Valley. Or maybe it's our community of individuals where everyone feels welcome and celebrated. Darrow is a place that draws people together, connects them, and stays with them forever. Darrow offers a generous benefits package that includes retirement, health, life, disability insurance plans, and holidays and summers off for teaching faculty. There's so much to enjoy about living and working at Darrow, and the community offers ...something for everyone. Our faculty and staff have said that some of the reasons they love working at Darrow include meaningful work, a feeling of inclusion and acceptance, and friendly and familiar faces on campus. Darrow is a small community with a big heart. Living, Breathing History With 300+ students from around the world, Darrow offers faculty, staff, and students a dynamic boarding school experience. Our Mountainside campus was once home to the Mount Lebanon Shaker Society, renowned for its commitment to social and racial justice, community planning, architecture, and entrepreneurship. Our Lakeside campus boasts a Shaker heritage as well, along with a deep history of educating students. Mission and Values Darrow serves diverse backgrounds and abilities, building on individuals' talents and interests to deepen thinking with specialized programs, providing opportunities to explore the creative spaces where ideas intersect, and solutions emerge. Our curriculum, rooted in the liberal arts and sciences, is individually focused and combines innovative classroom instruction with project-based learning to educate future generations of global citizens who understand the wider world and their place in it. Our Guiding Values Growth We prioritize growth over perfection, recognizing that each individual has their own gifts, challenges, and goals to build from. Our students are safe to fail creatively, which is essential for true learning. They routinely revise and reflect on their work on their way toward mastery. Diversity We believe that the opportunity to learn and grow in a small, diverse community during your formative years is irreplaceable. We actively cultivate and celebrate a student body that is diverse along many dimensions, including racial and ethnic diversity, diversity of gender identity, and neurodiversity. Community Like the Mohicans and Shakers who inhabited this place before us, we believe in the power of an intentional community built around shared work and shared values. Darrow is deliberately small, which means that each community member is valued and influential. Compassion We seek to treat each other with compassion, recognizing that we may only know a small part of someone else’s story. Authenticity We aspire to be a place where young people become comfortable in their own skins and empowered to understand and share their authentic selves. Campus Life There's always something exciting and thought-provoking happening at Darrow. Enjoying a lively campus culture, faculty and staff have opportunities to regularly attend and participate in a diverse array of year-round events, including Hands-to-Work, Community Lunches, Community Programming, fitness classes, concerts, performances, talks, lectures, live theater, and art exhibitions. Additionally, there are countless opportunities for collaboration on several campus-wide projects and initiatives for those seeking to serve their community. World-renowned Arts and Culture Darrow is at the center of world-renowned arts and culture. Our location at the edge of the Berkshires is home to music and performing arts venues in the summer, dozens of museums, and various historic sites. Cultural festivals and concerts speak to the region's diversity, while art colonies and craft villages offer inside views of skilled artisans at work. One of America's first art movements started in the Hudson Valley. Today, Modern art is well represented with venues such as MassMoCa, Storm King Arts Center, and Dia: Beacon, all international destinations. Darrow School is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, creed (religion), color, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, military status, age, disability, predisposing genetic characteristic, marital status or domestic violence victim status, and shall also follow the requirements of the Human Rights Law concerning non-discrimination based on prior criminal conviction and prior arrest. Darrow School does not discriminate based on race, creed, color, national or ethnic origin, gender, gender identity or expression, or sexual orientation in the administration of any of its admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, educational, athletic, recreational, and other school-administered programs. The school does not offer visa sponsorship for employees.

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Connections working at Darrow School