EPIC’s UTeach Program

Are you underemployed or looking to make a career change?  Are you underemployed and would like the opportunity to make more money and impact the lives of children at the same time?  Do you want to be part of a unique teaching environment that is paving the way for individualized learning across Oklahoma? Would you like to be able to spend enough one-on-one time with each student to bring out their maximum learning potential? Are you interested in the flexibility to control your own daily/weekly/monthly schedule? Does a bonus that could DOUBLE your salary sound good to you? If so, EPIC’s new UTEACH Program may be right for you!

EPIC’s UTEACH Program is an innovative Special Education career pathway designed to take you from someone who did not go to college to be an educator to a trained and certified Special Education teacher.  If you have a Bachelor’s degree and are interested in changing careers or are interested in working with students with special needs, Epic’s UTeach Program can help you achieve your goal.  Applicants will go through a multi-step interview process. If selected for the cohort, EPIC will make an offer of employment and pay you during the UTEACH Program. Anticipated starting date is TBD. 

Phase 1: SPED Boot Camp 

Cohort members will participate in a Special Education Boot Camp.  This boot camp will consist of five weeks of specialized training focused on preparing you to work with students with special needs in the Epic Charter School system.  Epic’s Special Education boot camp is a 150-hour program consisting of 120 hours of online activities, teaching, and collaborative sessions and 30 hours of field experiences.  

Upon completion of the Boot Camp, participants will apply for the OSDE’s 1 year SPED Provisional Certification to work with and teach in the area of mild/moderate or severe/profound disabilities in grades PreK – 12.

All participants will be required to take the SPED OSAT (mild/moderate) certification test upon completing the boot camp.  Any participant that does not successfully pass the SPED OSAT on will continue taking the exam until it is passed. Epic reserves the right to discontinue employment for any participant that does not successfully pass the exam 

Participants that successfully complete the boot camp and receive a one-year provisional certificate will be assigned a roster to work with and teach Special Education students.  Epic reserves the right to discontinue employment for any participant that does not successfully complete the boot camp or successfully completes the boot camp but does not fill out the provisional certification paperwork. 

Phase 2: Teaching & American Board

In 2009, Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry signed into law an educational pathway for people to become certified teachers in Oklahoma.  The program, run through the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (ABCTE), is a non-profit organization funded through a grant by the U.S. Department of Education.  This program, currently utilized in 13 states, assists participants in obtaining a five-year Oklahoma standard teaching certificate in one of the state approved secondary education areas.  The program requires participants to pass the American Boards two certification exams and the Teacher Residency (Mentoring) Program.

UTeach program participants will select an OSDE approved secondary education area of interest (Biology, Chemistry, English Language Arts, General Science, Mathematics, Physics, United States History, and World History covering grades 6-12) and take the American Board’s subject area certification exam and the American Boards Professional Teaching Knowledge (PTK) exam.  

UTeach participants will also participate in the American Board’s Teacher Residency (Mentoring) Program.  Similar to a year-long student teaching experience, participants will teach students in their specific subject area and complete a variety of activities.  A mentor will be assigned to assess your progress and work completed. Upon completion of the American Board program, participants will apply for an OSDE  5-year Oklahoma standard certification in the secondary education area chosen.

Upon receiving Oklahoma’s 5-year standard certificate, participants will apply to have the SPED designation added to their 5-year standard certificate as a result of passing  the Special Education (Mild/Moderate) OSAT. All UTeach program participants will be encouraged to pursue graduate level coursework in an area of Special Education. 

We are currently identifying and hiring people to join EPIC’s UTEACH Program for the 2020-2021 school year. Anticipated start date of the cohort is TBD. You may submit your application and accompanying supporting documents now to be considered.

Background on Epic:

We are a unique learning environment that provides a non-traditional educational setting utilizing Internet-based, individualized self-paced instruction provided in nearly any location in Oklahoma. Epic Teachers are remotely based and travel to the student’s home or other designated location to work with each student and meet with parents on a regular basis throughout the year. And each of our students is assigned only one teacher for a personalized, one-on-one approach to learning. 

Applicants for this cohort must possess the following credentials:

• Have a 4-year degree (any major) from an accredited college or university 
• Have a minimum 2.75 cumulative grade point average
• Ability to pass the State of Oklahoma’s “Background Check for School Employment”
• Have a strong desire to obtain a Special Education teaching certification (mild/moderate)

DUTIES

Include but are not limited to:

EPIC RESPONSIBILITIES

• Actively participate in the success of Epic Charter School
• Adhere to laws, policies, procedures and ethical standards of Epic Charter School
• Communicate effectively with administrators to coordinate activities and programs
• Participate fully in professional development for facilitators, including Professional Learning Communities and technological training
• Participate with the administration and faculty as a team member in the implementation of the district testing program
• Attend school activities
• Work collaboratively with other professional staff members in assessing and helping students solve health, attitude and learning problems
• Facilitate the implementation of federal and state education regulations

WORKING WITH YOUR STUDENTS

• Work with assigned students to provide instruction in a virtual learning environment
• Provide learning experiences in pre-reading, reading, language arts, social studies, mathematics, science, and other electives
• Use technology as an everyday tool for teaching, learning and communicating
• Directs the distribution of curriculum to students
• Teach students and their families how to use online curriculum and supplemental curriculum
• Provide consultation and/or technical assistance to students and families
• Adapt instruction and curriculum to the needs of the student
• Serves as a liaison between the school and family
• Assists families with the interpretation of Epic Charter School’s policies and procedures
• Treat students and families with respect and dignity
• Check on the student’s progress three (3) times per week. Contact the family and teacher if adequate progress is not being made
• Contact the student and/or parents once a week with encouragement and address any family concerns or questions
• Meet with the family twice a year to address IEP paperwork within a timely manner so as to remain in compliance with the Oklahoma State Department of Education
• Type IEP’s twice a year and update monthly
• Be available for parents and teachers to contact you
• Be available as a resource for the primary teacher
• Give student grades based on IEP modifications
• Give accommodation information to the teacher and testing coordinator
• Attend IEP meetings of your IEP team partner
• Attend Professional Learning Communities held once a month

ADDRESSING STUDENT NEEDS

• Work to coordinate, schedule, assess and implement appropriate instruction for each student
• Conduct assessments of student needs, including those with English as a second language
• Counsel with students to promote self-awareness, self-identity and positive social and academic skills
• Promote parental involvement in the learning process and parental responsibility
• Inform students and parents about pertinent test results, academic programming, behavior intervention strategies and their implications to the overall academic success
• Work with students and families regarding the effective use of learning time to maximize academic success. This ensures that the most time is focused on the student’s academic needs to ensure student participation.
• Identify opportunities for additional tutoring for assigned students
• Work with parents to use positive behavioral techniques to strengthen the student’s ability to succeed academically in a positive manner
• Emphasize the use of proactive, educative and reinforcement-based strategies to achieve meaningful outcomes
• Communicate with parents, in a professional manner, through conferences and other means to discuss the student’s progress and interpret the school program. 
• Assist students and families in selecting credit coursework to advance the student towards graduation

DAILY ADMINISTRATIVE TASKS

• Perform administrative tasks for day-to-day management including: tracking student grades, updating transcripts, managing schedules and meetings, conferring with the school, while scheduling and monitoring student course progress
• Translate lesson plans into learning experiences so as to best utilize the available time for instruction.
• Review course work for every student
• Design, deliver, evaluate and revise a planned sequential developmentally appropriate program in accordance to district standards and indicators
• Select and requisition books, instructional aids, instructional supplies for the student and assist with the collection of school property when the relationship between the school and the student ends 
• Closely monitor and review student transcripts 
• Maintain grades on the required database for school record
• Systematically develop, deliver and evaluate student planning Pre-K through 12th grade addressing academic goal setting and transition plans
• Develop and follow Individual Learning Plans to assist in developing measurable goals for continuous improvement of assigned students
• Evaluate student’s academic and social growth by keeping appropriate records and preparing progress reports
• Maintain documentation of student progress and tracking documents to show student growth
• Identify potential at-risk students using common risk factors and frequently observed characteristics
• Design interventions for individual students
• Assess student behavioral needs
• Ensure that proper placement is provided for students with special learning needs
• Provide assistance for parents of students identified as being at risk
• Be an adult advocate for assigned students
• Report suspected child abuse/neglect

CONTINUING EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT

• Stay current with relevant research and teaching/learning trends as required to improve academic achievement
• Understand school resources
• Maintain updated curriculum training
• Maintain professional competence through in-service education activities provided by the district and self-elected professional growth activities
• Demonstrate subject matter concepts and examples using models, computers or other teacher-prepared instructional aids
• Develop instructional aides stressing discovery and laboratory learning as necessary depending on subject taught
• Formulate new strategies to ensure that teaching to Epic Charter School standards is evident throughout the academic school year

• Strong communication skills, both verbal and written. 
• Demonstrated ability to think creatively and demonstrated leadership abilities
• Ability to build effective relationships, work collaboratively and gain credibility quickly to instill confidence of teaching ability
• Strong decision making, organizational, planning, analytical and problem solving skills.
• Use effective positive interpersonal communication skills
• Resolve issues and conflicts
• Strong technology skills in up-to-date computer software including Skype, word processing and spreadsheets
• Current on new instructional technologies
• Ability to coach, mentor and teach students ages 4 – 21
• Ability to work cooperatively and collaboratively with others
• Demonstrates self-discipline and initiative

Google Certified Teacher Levels 1 

https://teachercenter.withgoogle.com/certification_level1

All cohort participants will be required to become a Google Certified Level 1Teacher.  Participants will be encouraged to become a Google Certified Level 2 Teacher.  The level 1 Google Certification costs $10 and the level 2 Google Certification costs $25.00.  Each participant is responsible to pay for each Google Certification level. The process takes about 180 minutes to complete for both certifications. You will have the opportunity to upload your completion certificates during the application process. Please understand that all participants in this program (cohort) are required to become level 1 Google certified and will not be hired for employment until both certifications are passed and uploaded. 

Compensation: Participants in this program will start with a base salary of $40,000 annually, payable in equal installments on the last day of each month.  As participants complete the program, gain more experience, and teach more SPED students, higher levels of compensation are available.  Our average full-time Special Education teacher earns $66,499 per year, plus benefits and retirement.  

For more information, please contact Dr. Jeffrey Keeney, Director of Educator Preparation & Certification at jeff.keeney@epiccharterschools.org or 918.955.7032.