Jobs

Special Education Teacher (Anticipated)

Our mission at Touchstone is to cultivate a joyful learning community committed to creating a more innovative, just, and sustainable world. Touchstone seeks a special education teacher for the 2025-2026 school year. This individual is a reflective, life-long learner passionate about play-based, place-based, and thematic or project-based learning. This person deeply respects young learners and is committed to progressive education, eco-literacy, emergent and integrated curriculum, and nature-based education.

Touchstone Community School is a co-educational independent day school that enrolls approximately 75 students, ages 2.9 through 8th grade. It is located in Grafton, MA, with a five-acre island campus in Upton. Touchstone offers a progressive, hands-on environment, where a natural pace of development is respected and play, community, integrated curriculum, and social justice activism are emphasized.

We know that many talented people, particularly those from marginalized communities, including women, trans and non-binary folks, BIPOC, and people with disabilities, may hesitate to apply for a job unless they meet every qualification listed. If this role excites you, we encourage you to apply. We are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace where different perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds are valued and celebrated. Your unique skills and lived experiences will strengthen our team and we look forward to learning more about what you can bring to this role.

An exemplary Touchstone teacher is one who is:

• Dedicated to collaborating with colleagues and partnering with parents
• Willing to learn and utilize Responsive Classroom and/or Collaborative Problem Solving strategies/pedagogy
• Experienced with a multi-sensory approach to reading, writing, and spelling, such as Orton-Gillingham and/or Wilson Reading System
• Passionate about outdoor-based education and eco-literacy
• Able to develop integrated and thematic learning experiences
• Familiar with using design thinking strategies for building empathy

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Teach small-group classes in mathematics and/or phonics, adapting instruction to meet a range of learning needs
• Provide targeted 1:1 and 2:1 intervention for students with IEPs, including those with language-based learning differences
• Deliver explicit, research-based instruction in decoding, encoding, fluency, reading comprehension, and written expression
• Attend IEP meetings and collaborate with parents, teachers, and Director of Special Education
• Communicate with families about student progress, strategies, accommodations, and recommendations
• Maintain documentation of intervention and student progress and write progress reports twice/year
• Assist in fostering an inclusive, supportive, and equity-centered learning environment
• Anticipated part-time role with the possibility of growing to full-time depending on candidate and enrollment

Minimum Requirements:

• Possession of an undergraduate degree, at minimum; previous teaching experience, preferred, with a preference for special education or Orton-Gillingham training
• Experience in or understanding of progressive education
• Commitment to anti-bias, anti-racist, and anti-homophobic education
• Knowledgeable and appreciative of the developmental needs of elementary and middle school aged children and dedicated to supporting students’ individual academic, social, and emotional development

Touchstone Community School is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate based on race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, sex, disabilities, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, family composition, or any other status protected by applicable law in the administration of its employment.

To Apply: Please submit your cover letter and resume to elisabeths@touchstoneschool.com.