Patient Education Specialist - Middle School ELA/Social Studies

We’re searching for a Patient Education Specialist (Hospital Teacher) - Middle School ELA/Social Studies, someone who works well in a fast-paced setting and is deeply committed to supporting children and adolescents with cancer and blood disorders. This is a year‑round teaching position within the Texas Children’s Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Accredited School Program.  In this position, you’ll provide individualized instruction to patients, ensuring academic continuity during treatment and/or hospitalization adapting curriculum to meet each patient's cognitive, emotional, and physical needs, often in collaboration with medical and educational professionals.

In this role, you will serve as a certified teacher providing individualized, developmentally appropriate instruction that ensures academic continuity for students undergoing treatment. Instruction is delivered at the bedside, in the hospital classroom, and through virtual platforms. Lessons are thoughtfully aligned with each student’s home campus curriculum/Individual Education Plan (IEP), Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), 504 plan, and unique medical, cognitive, and emotional needs. This work promotes engagement, normalcy, confidence, and academic stability during an intensely disruptive period in a child’s life.

You will collaborate closely with families, interdisciplinary clinical teams, and home school districts to integrate educational services into each patient’s plan of care and facilitate enrollment, credit accrual, academic placement, and successful reintegration during and after treatment.

The Patient Education Specialist is part of the pediatric hematology/oncology school program team, which includes a Manager/Principal and School Advocacy Coordinators.

 

Think you’ve got what it takes? 
 

Job Duties & Responsibilities

•    Provides individualized educational support through 1:1 sessions or in a hospital classroom setting, aligning instruction with each patient’s current curriculum, Individualized Education Plan (IEP), or Admission Review and Dismissal (ARD) plan
•    Plans and prepares lessons and materials tailored to the patient’s academic level, learning style, and physical or cognitive abilities, using insights from assessments and input from the patient’s multidisciplinary team (e.g. Medical, Nursing, Child Life, Social Work, Psychology, and Rehabilitation Services)
•    Administers, conducts and reviews neuropsychological, academic, behavioral and learning style assessments, developing Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) and 504 accommodations for qualifying Pre-K through high school patients
•    Evaluates, records, and reports patients engagement such as attendance, progress and grades as well as communication with home school district
•    Tracks school service interventions and documents time spent and educational goals achieved for patients
•    Supports patients through open lab and 1:1 bedside support
•    Participates in school visits and conducts presentations to patients and school personnel on serious, life-threatening disease/illnesses and their impact on patient functioning, academic programming, and the type of psychosocial support as needed
•    Designs and implements innovative, patient-centered educational programs that accommodate diverse learning needs, align with medical treatment plans, and support academic continuity during hospitalization

Skills & Requirements

•    Master’s degree in education, special education or related program required
•    TSTC - Texas Standard Teaching Cert by Texas Education Agency required or EDUDIAG - Educational Diagnostician by Texas Education Agency preferred
•    Special Education Teaching Certification preferred
•    3 years of instructional experience including interpreting neuropsychological evaluations required
•    3 years of teaching experience in a hospital or specialized school setting preferred
 

About Texas Children’s

Since 1954, Texas Children’s has been leading the charge in patient care, education and research to accelerate health care for children and women around the world. When you love what you do, it truly shows in the smiles of our patient families, employees and our numerous accolades such as being consistently ranked as the best children’s hospital in Texas, and among the top in the nation by U.S. News & World Report as well as recognition from Houston Business Journal as one of this city’s Best Places to Work for ten consecutive years. 

Texas Children’s comprehensive health care network includes our primary hospital in the Texas Medical Center with expertise in over 40 pediatric subspecialties; the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute (NRI); the Feigin Tower for pediatric research; Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women, a comprehensive obstetrics/gynecology facility focusing on high-risk births; Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus, a community hospital in suburban West Houston; Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands, the first hospital devoted to children’s care for communities north of Houston; and Texas Children’s Hospital North Austin, the new state-of-the-art facility providing world-class pediatric and maternal care to Austin and Central Texas families. We have also created Texas Children’s Health Plan, the nation’s first HMO focused on children; Texas Children’s Pediatrics, the largest pediatric primary care network in the country; Texas Children’s Urgent Care clinics that specialize in after-hours care tailored specifically for children; and a global health program that is channeling care to children and women all over the world. Texas Children’s Hospital is affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine, one of the largest, most diverse and successful pediatric programs in the nation. 

 To join our community of 15,000+ dedicated team members, visit texaschildrenspeople.org for career opportunities.

 Texas Children’s is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All applicants and employees are considered and evaluated for positions at Texas Children's without regard to mental or physical disability, race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, genetic information, military or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status or any other protected Federal, State/Province or Local status unrelated to the performance of the work involved.