Special Education Instructional Aide

Richmond, CA

Full Time

Special Education

Mid Level

Job Description

Title: Special Education Instructional Aide
Apply: Prior to the end date: October 10, 2025
Division: School-Wide
Location: Making Waves Academy, Richmond
Reports To: Director of Special Education
Status: Full-time, Non-exempt (During the Academic Year)
Hourly Rage: $32.67- $34.49 (The hourly wage range is based on a full-time schedule and confirmed job-related skills and experience)

When You Join Making Waves Academy
You Commit to Intergenerational Change. You will join a team dedicated to rigorously and holistically preparing students from the 5th grade to their ultimate career success. Our bold mission is to interrupt inequity by supporting every Wave-Maker's journey to a rewarding life dream. As an employee, you will uphold high expectations for academics and behavior within a close-knit, supportive community. You will be instrumental in fostering essential durable skills like critical thinking and self-advocacy, crucial for any field. This is more than a job; it’s a commitment to empowering students to lead fulfilling lives, have rewarding careers and give back to their respective communities to recycle their success. We are looking for leaders and advocates ready to make a lasting impact.

What You Will Be Doing…
As a Special Education Instructional Aide, you’ll be the essential, hands-on partner who ensures our Wave-Makers with learning differences receive the differentiated support they need to thrive. You won't just supervise; you will actively tutor and reinforce core academic, language, and specialized learning activities with individual students and small groups.
You’ll play a critical role in fostering full inclusion by facilitating positive social interactions and modeling appropriate behavior within both special education and general classrooms. Your daily work includes preparing crucial instructional materials, providing necessary testing accommodations, and helping implement effective behavior intervention plans using positive strategies. Crucially, you'll regularly collaborate with the entire IEP team (teachers and specialists) using student data to inform modifications and ensure every student stays on their path to post-secondary success.

What We're Looking For…
We are seeking an empathetic and committed Special Education Instructional Aide ready to become a fundamental member of the MWA community. We need someone who can seamlessly integrate academic support, cultural understanding, and positive behavior strategies to uplift our Wave-Makers.

You must hold an Associate's degree or 48 semester units/72 quarter units of study and have proven experience working with youth in an educational setting.
We highly value direct experience assisting students with disabilities and implementing positive behavior supports. Your daily work requires the ability to tutor students, provide testing accommodations, and collaborate effectively with teachers and the IEP team using student data.
Experience supporting students from historically underserved communities is essential, and prior IEP knowledge is a significant advantage.

The MWA Fit

We are looking for a community member, not just an employee. You must actively support our mission, uphold strict confidentiality, and be willing to participate in campus life, including weekly supervision duties. Excellent communication skills, flexibility, and a high degree of patience are non-negotiable. Fluency in Spanish is a distinct advantage for serving our diverse community.

Scheduled Weekly Hours
40 hours a week

Equal Employment Opportunity
Making Waves Academy is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to veteran status, disability or other legally protected characteristics.

Benefits and Compensation 🚀
Joining Making Waves Academy means securing a robust, comprehensive total rewards package designed to support your long-term financial, physical, and professional well-being. We ensure your stability and growth so you can focus on maximizing every Wave-Maker’s potential in the Bay Area.

💰We offer competitive, above-market salaries that reflect your vital expertise in educational support, recognizing your commitment to our students. Beyond your base pay, you will have immediate access to a dedicated retirement savings plan helping you build financial confidence for the future.

🏥Your health is our priority. You will have access to robust, comprehensive 100% paid for Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance options for you and your family. We also offer benefits such as employee assistance programs to support your mental and emotional wellness.

🌴We believe educators need time to recharge. You will receive generous Paid Time Off (PTO), and all school holidays and breaks. This schedule is designed to ensure meaningful time away from campus, facilitating a sustainable and healthy work-life balance that is critical to preventing burnout.

💡We commit to your continuous improvement as a Special Education professional. You will benefit from ongoing training, dedicated collaboration time, and resources specifically designed to enhance your instructional and behavioral support expertise. You’ll be part of a culture that sees professional growth as essential to our mission.

Reasonable Accommodation
Consistent with its obligations under the law, MWA will provide reasonable accommodation to any employee with a disability who requires accommodation to perform the essential functions of his or her job.

Equal Employment Opportunity Is Our Policy

Making Waves Academy is an equal opportunity employer. It is the policy of the School to afford equal employment and advancement opportunities to all qualified individuals without regard to their perceived or identified: race (including traits historically associated with race, such as hair texture and hairstyle, including but not limited to braids, locks, and twists); color; gender, (including gender identity, gender expression, and transgender identity, whether or not the employee is transitioning or has transitioned); sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and medical conditions related to such); religious creed (including religious dress and grooming practices); marital/registered domestic partner status; age (forty (40) and over); national origin or ancestry (including native language spoken and possession of a driver’s license issued to persons unable to prove their presence in the U.S. is authorized by federal law); physical or mental disability (including HIV and AIDS); medical condition (including cancer and genetic characteristics); taking of a leave of absence pursuant to the Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”), Pregnancy Disability Leave (“PDL”) law, Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), California Family Rights Act (“CFRA”), the Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”), or laws related to domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking laws; genetic information; sexual orientation; military and veteran status; or any other consideration made unlawful by federal, state, or local laws.

This policy extends to all job applicants and employees and to all aspects of the employment relationship, including the hiring of new employees and the training, transfer, promotion, discipline, termination, compensation and benefits of existing employees. For a full copy of our non-discrimination policy, visit: https://bit.ly/mwapublicnotices

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Making Waves Academy provides a rich academic environment, state-of-the-art facilities, abundant support and resources, and a commitment to supporting our students to and through college.

We have immediate openings for teachers, leaders, and support staff. At Making Waves Academy, you will find:

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Competitive compensation & benefits

Take a look at our open jobs and submit your resume to join our team team today!

Special Education Instructional Aide

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