The posting
Thrive Education Partners is seeking an experienced California Special Education Teacher in Ventura County for a full-time private education opportunity based in Thousand Oaks.
If you're an experienced special educator who loves the teaching itself but is looking for an alternative to managing a full classroom, this role offers something very different: the opportunity to focus deeply on one student, build an individualized academic program, and work alongside a collaborative team while earning $75,000–$110,000 annually as a full-time W-2 employee.
We welcome qualified educators from across Ventura County who can reliably commute to Thousand Oaks, including educators in Simi Valley, Moorpark, Camarillo, Newbury Park, Westlake Village, and surrounding communities.
Great individualized instruction starts with understanding the whole learner: where a student is academically, how they learn best, which underlying skills or learning differences may be creating barriers, and what supports will help them move forward. In this role, the educator will use that understanding to establish meaningful goals, thoughtfully adapt grade-level content, design targeted instruction, and help the student make clear, measurable progress over time.
The ideal candidate is an experienced special educator who can recognize why a student is struggling, not simply that they are struggling. This person should be comfortable adapting curriculum, breaking complex skills into manageable steps, providing explicit and systematic instruction, and adjusting their approach in real time based on student response.
This is a full-time, year-round position and the educator is the one teacher at the center of the student's week. The family is looking for someone who will stay, and a commitment of at least two years is the goal. The educator will work in close partnership with the family, an established team of support professionals, and Thrive's Educational Manager.
Student Profile
You'll work with a warm, social, and engaging middle school student who benefits from individualized special education instruction and a thoughtful, relationship-centered approach. The student is a strong visual learner who notices patterns quickly, takes real pride in work completed independently, and has interests, music above all, that can be used creatively to make academic work engaging and meaningful.
The student benefits from support in areas including communication, processing, self-regulation, and academic skill development. Retrieval takes time, and how material is presented—including print size, contrast, spacing, and how much appears at once—changes what the student is able to read and do.
The family is seeking an educator who can provide access to age-appropriate, grade-level concepts through carefully adapted instruction, meeting the student at their current access point while maintaining meaningful expectations for growth.
Academic priorities include grade-level content across core subjects at the student's access point, structured literacy, foundational mathematics, and direct instruction in executive functioning.
Strong relationships matter in this placement. The student responds especially well to educators who are warm and encouraging, communicate clearly, remain steady through moments of frustration, and demonstrate genuine confidence in the student's ability to learn.
What You'll Do
- Take day-to-day ownership of a personalized academic program across core subject areas.
- Adapt grade-level concepts, curriculum, and materials to create accessible, age-appropriate instruction.
- Design engaging, multi-sensory learning experiences responsive to the student's strengths, interests, and learning profile.
- Identify foundational skills that need additional support while continuing to introduce meaningful new academic content.
- Establish baselines and monitor measurable academic progress.
- Incorporate opportunities to strengthen independence, communication, executive functioning, stamina, and self-regulation.
- Convene and run a small peer group one day a week.
- Use community-based and experiential learning to support academic, functional, and social development.
- Keep instructional records, work samples, and progress documentation.
- Collaborate closely with the family, support professionals, and Thrive's Educational Manager.
What Makes Someone Successful
- You are warm, dynamic, relational, and professional.
- You hold an active California Special Education teaching credential and have strong instructional expertise.
- You understand how to make grade-level learning accessible without making it unnecessarily simplistic or developmentally inappropriate.
- You are comfortable adapting curriculum and instruction based on an individual student's learning profile.
- You can respond calmly and flexibly to frustration, fatigue, or difficulty.
- You value collaboration with families and multidisciplinary professionals.
- You enjoy professional autonomy and the opportunity to design highly individualized instruction.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Education, Special Education, or a related field
- Active California Education Specialist teaching credential
- Minimum of 3 years of relevant teaching experience
- Experience adapting grade-level curriculum and developing individualized learning plans
- Experience partnering closely with parents and multidisciplinary support teams
- Strong communication, organization, and progress-monitoring skills
- Eligible to work in the United States
- Must reside within commuting distance of Thousand Oaks or be willing to relocate to the Ventura County area prior to employment
- Valid California driver's license and reliable transportation
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience teaching at the middle or high school level
- Experience supporting students with intellectual or developmental disabilities
- Structured literacy training
- Master's in Special Education, or BCBA or RBT certification
- Experience with experiential or community-based learning
- Experience in private education, home-based education, or another highly personalized 1:1 learning environment
Professional Standards
- Current background check required; Thrive facilitates this process
- Verifiable references from prior teaching roles, including at least one direct supervisor or administrator
- Strong professionalism, discretion, and adaptability when working within a family's home
- Comfort maintaining strict confidentiality and signing an NDA as a condition of employment
Benefits
Logistics & Compensation
- Region: Ventura County, California
- Position Location: Thousand Oaks, California
- Setting: In-person, primarily 1:1 private education, with community-based and small-group instruction
- Schedule: Monday–Friday, primarily mornings and early afternoons
- Hours: 20–22 teaching hours per week plus 6–8 hours of planning and preparation, up to 30 hours total
- Planning time: Built into the working day and protected
- Start: October 1st, 2026
- Compensation: $75,000–$110,000 annually, depending on experience and qualifications
- Employment: Full-time, year-round W-2 employee of Thrive Education Partners
Support from Thrive
You'll have a dedicated Thrive Educational Manager and ongoing support around curriculum, assessment, progress monitoring, and educational strategy. The learning plan, course sequence, and assessment framework are established with you, and you'll have access to Thrive's broader network of educators and specialists.
Why This Role
This is an opportunity for an experienced Ventura County special educator to practice individualized teaching with a level of focus that is difficult to achieve in a traditional classroom.
You'll have the time to know one student deeply, design instruction around how they learn best, and continually refine your approach based on measurable progress. You'll have meaningful professional autonomy while still being part of a collaborative team.
For a special educator who loves teaching but is ready for a more personalized, relationship-driven environment, this role offers the chance to make one student your primary focus and see the impact of your work over time.
About Thrive
Thrive Education Partners connects exceptional educators with families seeking highly personalized education. Our private teacher placements are built around strong educator-student relationships, individualized instruction, thoughtful collaboration, and the belief that education should be responsive to each student as a learner.
Thrive supports educators and families throughout the placement process and provides ongoing Educational Management to help create cohesive, high-quality learning experiences.
Thrive Education Partners is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and make hiring decisions based on experience, skills, and business needs, without regard to any status protected by applicable law.
