Coast-Music-Therapy-Job-Openings-San-Diego-Blog

San Diego IEP Music Therapy Job Openings

Posted March 1st, 2024 by Coast Music Therapy

Help Our Students Shine!

We take applications throughout the year for Board Certified Music Therapists and those who are soon to be certified. We’ll get back to you right away and let you know if we currently have any openings. If we don’t, we’ll keep your information on file and will connect as soon as a position opens up. Check out our job description below and reach out if it looks like a perfect fit or if we can help answer any questions.

Position Opening: IEP-Based Special Education Music Therapist
Position Type: Full Time, 10-month salaried position with benefits
Start Date: Reach out and we’ll let you know if we have any current openings.
Location: San Diego, California
Who We Support: A diverse spectrum of students in grades PreK-12
Contact: Michelle Lazar, MA, MT-BC here

Become an IEP expert while supporting neurodivergent students who learn best through music. Enjoy big time benefits and over six weeks of paid time off during the 10-month school year.

Be an integral and respected part of the educational team while enjoying a self-made schedule and LOTS of variety between direct sessions, consultation, developing new songs, IEP meetings, documentation, and bonding with our crew. You’ll also have a chance to hone your collaboration skills alongside teachers, paraprofessionals, SLPs, OTs, and PTs.

If you’re new to the school setting, don’t worry, you’ll have several weeks of orientation, shadowing opportunities, coaching, and ongoing mentorship to help you along the way.

Our therapists serve a variety of school sites Monday through Friday in the San Diego Unified School District and have access to our fully-equipped office near Kearny Mesa in San Diego as a home base. Therapists are also able to work portions of their week remotely.

Your weekends, evenings, and school holidays are always off to give you that work life balance. All of your documentation, planning, IEP meetings, staff meetings, supervision, and travel time is INCLUDED within your work hours and at your full salaried pay. You aren’t penalized for student cancellations or caseload changes, and always receive your full salary throughout the school year.

Do you love having some ME time in the summer?

Our music therapy positions follow the San Diego Unified School District calendar. You’ll receive a full paid week of orientation before school officially starts. You’ll work for the duration of the school year and you’re then free for the summer. If we get along famously, the position automatically renews each school year and we’ll continue to cover your health benefits over the summer.

This is an ideal position for adventure-bound therapists who like to travel, those of you have your own kiddos on a school year schedule, or therapists who would love to work on their own passion projects or side gigs over the 2 month summer break.

Depending on our student rosters, there are some years that we may have an additional 4 weeks of summer school work available.

If you enjoy the creative brainstorming process, this position will keep you on your toes! Fun ways we support our students’ IEP goals include:

-Using a microphone and a hip hop beat to get students practicing social words and phrases such as “Oops”, “Let’s Gooooo”, or “No way!”.

-Getting students cackling by composing a partner-based social skills song where they get to practice silly handshakes and facial expressions.

-Writing a superhero themed piggyback song for handwashing steps and creating a video of you singing it for staff and parents.

-Using Neurologic Music Therapy techniques such as playing ascending and descending melodies to a Taylor Swift tune while a student visually tracks up and down.

Our Ah-Mazing Job Perks (Over $10,000 in annual benefits!)

– 29 guaranteed paid school holidays during your 10-month school year (ALL school holidays including 1 week spring break, 2 week winter break, 4 day President’s weekend, 1 week Thanksgiving break, and more)!!!
– an additional 5 paid front-loaded sick days and 1 bereavement day (with no wait period and no accrual)
– $1200 one time starting bonus after 30 days of employment and an additional $1000 signing bonus if you have already attended the full NMT training within the last 3 years.
-$1200 ANNUAL end of school year bonus (if the therapist starts with us the first week of school rather than mid-year)
– $450/month toward our health, dental, and vision plans. For many of our therapists this covers their entire monthly premium. We continue to cover health/dental/vision over the summer even if you’re on break.
– 3% IRA Retirement fund match
– Generous stipend that can be used toward CBMT dues, online trainings, music lessons, conferences, personal therapy sessions, and even auto repairs to help you stay safe when traveling to your sites.
– Mileage paid at the federal rate for all visits to school sites
– Monthly cell phone stipend

Wait there’s more! You’ll have access to:

-Thousands of Music Therapist-designed digital songs, videos, slideshows, and visual supports for you to get inspiration from and use for consult with IEP teams
-Staff meetings including song and intervention shares, help with tricky cases, and IEP help
-Supervision including monthly support from our Lead therapist or Director, on-site observation, peer shadowing, and messaging forums available daily to assist as questions arise
-Recording studio to design interventions for your students, and for your personal use during non-work hours
-Your own iPad, desk and desktop computer at our state of the art Kearny Mesa office
-Full color copier and visual supports making wonderland (bindery equipment, laminating, Velcro, and more)

Qualifications:

Do the below describe you to a tee? If yes, get in touch with us ASAP.

>>You love using fun and unusual props, silly themes, humor and have a whimsical imagination.

>>You have quick response time to correspondence, tend to arrive early to sessions and meetings, and have impeccable follow-through.

>>You don’t run for the hills when you see a Google spreadsheet and you don’t mind having to to organize many moving pieces including numerous school sites, a rotating schedule, and multi-step procedures for student documentation.

>>You have SUPERpowers with voice projection and versatile guitar skills.

>>You’re comfortable with setting boundaries, speaking in front of groups during meetings, and navigating challenging conversations that may arise regarding service recommendations.

Applicants must have a Bachelor’s or advanced degree in Music Therapy, MT-BC status (or taking exam within 1 month), reliable transportation, and must have an initial COVID vaccination, pass TB testing and a background check if hired (paid for by Coast Music Therapy).