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Special Education Teachers, Secondary School

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Teach academic, social, and life skills to secondary school students with learning, emotional, or physical disabilities. Includes teachers who specialize and work with students who are blind or have visual impairments; students who are deaf or have hearing impairments; and students with intellectual disabilities.

Related: Special Education Teachers, Elementary School Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten Special Education Teachers, Middle School Special Education Teachers, Preschool Teaching Assistants, Special Education

Industries: Education

Summary
Details

Maintain accurate and complete student records, and prepare reports on children and activities, as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
Develop and implement strategies to meet the needs of students with a variety of handicapping conditions.
Prepare students for later grades by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks.
Attend professional meetings, educational conferences, and teacher training workshops to maintain and improve professional competence.
Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
Administer standardized ability and achievement tests, and interpret results to determine students' strengths and needs.
Instruct students in daily living skills required for independent maintenance and self-sufficiency, such as hygiene, safety, and food preparation.
Plan and supervise class projects, field trips, visits by guest speakers, or other experiential activities, and guide students in learning from those activities.
Select, store, order, issue, and inventory classroom equipment, materials, and supplies.
Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
Use computers, audio-visual aids, and other equipment and materials to supplement presentations.
Provide assistive devices, supportive technology, and assistance accessing facilities, such as restrooms.
Select, store, order, issue, and inventory classroom equipment, materials, and supplies.
Prepare for assigned classes, and show written evidence of preparation upon request of immediate supervisors.
Maintain accurate and complete student records, and prepare reports on children and activities, as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
Prepare materials and classrooms for class activities.
Confer with parents or guardians, other teachers, counselors, and administrators to resolve students' behavioral and academic problems.
Meet with other professionals to discuss individual students' needs and progress.
Coordinate placement of students with special needs into mainstream classes.
Prepare objectives and outlines for courses of study, following curriculum guidelines or requirements of states and schools.
Instruct through lectures, discussions, and demonstrations in one or more subjects, such as English, mathematics, or social studies.
Prepare, administer, and grade tests and assignments to evaluate students' progress.
Prepare for assigned classes, and show written evidence of preparation upon request of immediate supervisors.
Instruct and monitor students in the use and care of equipment and materials to prevent injuries and damage.
Sponsor extracurricular activities, such as clubs, student organizations, and academic contests.
Confer with parents, administrators, testing specialists, social workers, or other professionals to develop individual educational plans (IEPs) for students' educational, physical, and social development.
Modify the general education curriculum for students with disabilities, based upon a variety of instructional techniques and technologies.
Collaborate with other teachers and administrators in the development, evaluation, and revision of secondary school programs.
Monitor teachers and teacher assistants to ensure that they adhere to inclusive special education program requirements.
Plan and conduct activities for a balanced program of instruction, demonstration, and work time that provides students with opportunities to observe, question, and investigate.
Perform administrative duties, such as school library assistance, hall and cafeteria monitoring, and bus loading and unloading.
Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects, and communicate those objectives to students.
Meet with parents and guardians to discuss their children's progress and to determine priorities for their children and their resource needs.
Instruct and monitor students in the use and care of equipment and materials to prevent injuries and damage.
Visit schools to tutor students with sensory impairments and to consult with teachers regarding students' special needs.
Provide additional instruction in vocational areas.
Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
Provide interpretation and transcription of regular classroom materials through Braille and sign language.
Confer with parents or guardians, other teachers, counselors, and administrators to resolve students' behavioral and academic problems.
Guide and counsel students with adjustments, academic problems, or special academic interests.
Confer with other staff members to plan and schedule lessons promoting learning, following approved curricula.
Meet with parents and guardians to provide guidance in using community resources and to teach skills for dealing with students' impairments.
Employ special educational strategies and techniques during instruction to improve the development of sensory- and perceptual-motor skills, language, cognition, and memory.
Confer with parents, administrators, testing specialists, social workers, or other professionals to develop individual educational plans (IEPs) for students' educational, physical, and social development.
Establish and enforce rules for behavior and policies and procedures to maintain order among students.
Teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification and positive reinforcement.
Teach personal development skills, such as goal setting, independence, and self-advocacy.
Prepare, administer, and grade tests and assignments to evaluate students' progress.
Attend staff meetings and serve on committees, as required.
Select, store, order, issue, and inventory classroom equipment, materials, and supplies.

Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

Education

Bachelor's degree

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

No on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

97820/yr

Currently Employed

2,790

Yearly Projected Openings

240

Social: People interested in this work like activities that include helping people, teaching, and talking. They do well at jobs that need:

Concern for Others
Cooperation
Dependability
Integrity
Adaptability/Flexibility
Stress Tolerance

Adaptive communication switches for the physically challenged
Assistive listening devices
Binocular light compound microscopes
Braille devices for the physically challenged
Cassette players or recorders
Childrens science kits
Compasses
Computer mouse
Desktop calculator
Desktop computers
Digital camcorders or video cameras
Document camera
Enteral feeding administration sets
Game pads or joy sticks
Gas burners
Goggles
Hand held camcorders or video cameras
Keyboards
Laboratory beakers
Laboratory hotplates
Laboratory scalpels
Laminators
Laser printers
Letter or symbol boards for the physically challenged
Liquid crystal display projector
Medical gas cylinders or related devices
Medical or surgical suction tubings
Microphones
Mobile medical services first aid kits
Multimedia projectors
Notebook computers
Page turners for the physically challenged
Personal computers
Photocopiers
Protective gloves
Scanners
Tablet computers
Telecommunication devices TDD or teletypewriters TTY for the physically challenged
Televisions
Touch screen monitors
Video cassette players or recorders
Visual presenters
Voice synthesizers for the physically challenged
Wheelchairs
Writing aids for the physically challenged