Resume template · Updated October 2026
Special education teacher resume template
Short answer
Henrietta suits a special education teacher: a conventional page that runs summary, classroom roles, then degrees, so an MEd in special education and your endorsement sit right after the teaching record. The fictional sample case-manages about 20 elementary students in a Portland learning center, co-teaches math and runs reading intervention, after three years teaching a structured classroom for students with autism.
Download the special education teacher sample
Andrea is a fictional special education teacher. Replace every detail with your own before you send it.
The files are made in your browser by Resumity's own exporters, from this sample. The builder opens it as your own resume: click any line to replace it. Free plan, no watermark.
Why Henrietta suits a special education teacher resume
Henrietta prints education straight after work experience, which suits a field where the special education degree and endorsement are checked as closely as the classroom record. Its plain black-and-grey layout matches what district human resources offices expect, and the unlabelled three-column grid holds short items like IEP writing, progress monitoring and AAC.
Second choice: Leslie. Leslie prints experience before skills with one blue accent; better if your degree is in general education and the endorsement came later.
What goes in each section, in Henrietta's order
Henrietta prints its sections in a fixed order, the same in the PDF and the Word file. Here is that order for this sample, and what to put in each section.
- Professional Summary. Grade band, setting (resource, co-taught, self-contained, learning center), disability areas you serve, caseload size, years and the license with its special education endorsement. A principal reading only this should know where you fit in the building.
- Work Experience. For each school: setting, grades, caseload, then IEP work (meetings led, goals written, progress reported), instruction (intervention programs, co-teaching), behavior support and the assistants you supervise. Outcomes are goals met, time in general education gained, referrals reduced.
- Education. MEd or other special education degree first, then the bachelor's. Add the program's practicum setting if your experience is short.
- Skills. The grid has no labels, so start with case management and instruction (IEP writing, structured literacy, progress monitoring, behavior plans), then tools and assistive technology, then family communication.
- Certifications. Teaching license with the special education endorsement, state and year, then crisis intervention or other required training. Repeat the license in the summary, since this section prints last.
The sample resume as text
The same content as the files above, so you can copy a line or compare it with your own.
Andrea Kowalski
Special Education Teacher, K-5 Learning Center, Licensed in Oregon
Portland, OR | andrea.kowalski@example.com | (503) 555-0163
Special education teacher with eight years in elementary learning center and structured classroom settings. Case manager for about 20 students a year with learning disabilities, autism and ADHD; writes IEPs with measurable goals, tracks progress weekly and co-teaches with general education teachers. Oregon teaching license with a special education endorsement; MEd in special education.
Experience
Special Education Teacher, Learning Center (K-5), Willamette Heights Elementary, Portland, OR (08/2021 to Present)
- Case-manage about 20 students a year and lead their annual IEP meetings with families, classroom teachers and related service providers.
- Teach small-group structured literacy intervention; 14 of 18 students met their annual reading fluency goals last year.
- Co-teach math in two fourth-grade classrooms, planning weekly with the classroom teachers and adapting materials.
- Track goal progress with weekly curriculum-based measures and send families quarterly progress reports.
- Wrote behavior intervention plans with the school psychologist that cut office referrals for three students from weekly to about monthly.
- Supervise and train two instructional assistants.
Special Education Teacher, Structured Learning Classroom, Columbia Gorge School District, Hood River, OR (08/2018 to 06/2021)
- Taught a self-contained class of eight students with autism in grades 2 to 5, using visual schedules and communication devices.
- Planned general education time for each student; by year three, five students spent at least half the day with their grade-level class.
- Set shared goals with speech and occupational therapists and families each fall.
Education
MEd, Special Education, Cascadia State University (06/2021)
BA, Elementary Education, Willamette Valley College (06/2018)
Certifications
- Teaching License, Special Education Endorsement, State of Oregon (2018)
- Nonviolent Crisis Intervention, Crisis Prevention Institute (2025)
Skills
IEP writing and case management, Structured literacy intervention, Curriculum-based progress monitoring, Behavior intervention plans, Co-teaching, AAC and visual supports, IEP management software, Google Workspace, Data collection apps, Family communication, Supervising instructional assistants
How to make the sample yours
State setting and caseload up front
Resource room, inclusion, self-contained, learning center; how many students you case-manage. These two facts decide which openings you fit.
Write IEP work as outcomes
Meetings led, goals written with measurable baselines, progress reported each quarter, goals met by year end. "Wrote IEPs" alone could describe any special educator.
Name your intervention programs
Structured literacy, math intervention, social skills curricula, communication systems. Districts often train in one program and look for teachers who already know it.
Show collaboration
Co-teaching partners, related service providers, school psychologists, families. Special education depends on teamwork and principals screen for it.
Protect student privacy
Describe students by grade, disability area and group results. No names, initials or details that could identify a child.
Keywords to keep where they are true
Terms this kind of resume is usually searched for. Use the posting's exact wording, and only for work you have done.
- special education teacher
- IEP
- case management
- progress monitoring
- measurable annual goals
- co-teaching
- inclusion
- structured literacy
- behavior intervention plan
- differentiated instruction
- assistive technology
- AAC
- IDEA
- resource room
- parent communication
Mistakes to avoid
- Leaving out caseload size and setting, the first things a principal checks.
- "Wrote IEPs" with no goals, meetings or progress data.
- Any detail that could identify a student.
- Listing an endorsement you are still working toward as if it were issued; say "expected" with a date.
How the sample PDF reads in text extractors
We exported this sample with Resumity's PDF exporter in Chrome on 2026-10-29 and read the file back with three open-source text extractors. This shows whether software that turns a PDF into text can recover it; it is not a test of any commercial applicant tracking system. How we test templates.
| Extractor | Name, email, phone | Headings | Bullets intact |
|---|---|---|---|
| pdf.js 4.10.38 | All found | 5 of 5 | 9 of 9 |
| pdftotext (Xpdf) 4.00 | All found | 5 of 5 | 9 of 9 |
| pypdf 6.13.0 | All found | 5 of 5 | 9 of 9 |
Frequently asked questions
How do I show IEP work on a special education teacher resume?
Use the parts of the IEP itself. The IDEA regulations require each IEP to state present levels of performance, measurable annual goals, how progress toward them will be measured and when families will get progress reports. Bullets that give caseload, goals met and how often you report show you run that process well.
What should a special education teacher put in the summary?
Setting, grade band, disability areas, caseload size, years and license. Those five facts let a principal match you to an opening in one read.
How do I write about students without sharing private information?
Describe groups, not individuals: "14 of 18 students met reading goals" or "three students with weekly referrals". Never use names, initials or details that point to one child.
What changes for secondary special education roles?
Add transition planning. Under the IDEA regulations, transition services must be in the IEP no later than the first one in effect when the student turns 16, and earlier if the team decides, so show postsecondary goals, job exploration and agency links you coordinated.
How do I move from general education into special education?
Lead with the overlap: IEP meetings you attended, accommodations you delivered, intervention groups you ran. The IDEA regulations place a regular education teacher on the IEP team, so that experience counts. List the endorsement program with its expected date.
Will applicant tracking systems read this Henrietta PDF?
The sample PDF read back with its contact details, all 5 section headings and all 9 bullets intact in three open-source text extractors (pdf.js, pdftotext and pypdf). Commercial systems such as Workday, Greenhouse or Taleo were not tested, and each employer configures its own.
Guides and templates for this resume
Sources, checked 29 October 2026
We opened every page below on that date. Pay, rules and requirements change, so check the source before you rely on a detail.
- U.S. Department of Education: IDEA regulations, Sec. 300.320 Definition of individualized education program (an IEP states present levels of academic achievement and functional performance, measurable annual goals, how progress will be measured and when periodic progress reports will be provided; transition services begin not later than the first IEP in effect when the child turns 16, or younger if appropriate)
- U.S. Department of Education: IDEA regulations, Sec. 300.321 IEP Team (the IEP team includes the parents, not less than one regular education teacher of the child (if the child is or may be in the regular education environment) and not less than one special education teacher or provider)
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