Educational Instruction and Library
Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten
Teach academic, social, and life skills to kindergarten students with learning, emotional, or physical disabilities. Includes teachers who specialize and work with students who are blind or have visual impairments; students who are deaf or have hearing impairments; and students with intellectual disabilities.
MAY 2025 · OCCUPATIONAL WAGES
A wage reference for United States.
Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.
Source wage group: Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School
This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.
May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.
Median annual wage$65,120USD per year · Published 50th percentile
Annual wage thresholds
USD per year
| Percentile | Annual wage (USD/year) | Hourly wage (USD/hour) |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $49,350 | Not published |
| 25th | $59,710 | Not published |
| 50th · Median | $65,120 | Not published |
| 75th | $80,280 | Not published |
| 90th | $103,010 | Not published |
“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.
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THE WORK BEHIND THE TITLE
What this career involves.
Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.
Selected title examples
Academic InterventionistAdapted Physical Education TeacherBlind TeacherBraille TeacherCross-Categorical Special Education TeacherDeaf TeacherDevelopmentally Delayed Special Education Teacher (DD Special Education Teacher)Early InterventionistEmotional Disabilities TeacherEmotional Support TeacherExceptional Needs TeacherHearing Impaired Itinerant Teacher (HI Itinerant Teacher)
Expand more title examples (26)
Hearing Impaired TeacherInclusion Special Education TeacherIntegrated Program TeacherK-1 SPED Teacher (Kindergarten through First Grade Special Education Teacher)Kindergarten SPED Teacher (Kindergarten Special Education Teacher)Learning and Behavioral Disabilities TeacherLearning Disabilities TeacherLife Skills TeacherLip Reading TeacherMentally Retarded TeacherMildly Disabled Student Special Education TeacherMulti-Handicapped Students Special Education TeacherPhysically Impaired TeacherPrimary Special Education TeacherPrimary Special EducatorProfound Mental Handicaps Special Education TeacherResource Room Special Education TeacherSelf Contained Special Education TeacherSevere Emotional Behavioral Disorders TeacherSevere Mental Handicaps Special Education TeacherSign Language TeacherSpecial Education Inclusion TeacherSpecial Education Kindergarten TeacherSpecial Education Resource TeacherSpecial Needs TeacherSPED Teacher (Special Education Teacher)
Typical tasks
- Instruct students with disabilities in academic subjects, using a variety of techniques, such as phonetics, multisensory learning, or repetition to reinforce learning and meet students' varying needs.
- Prepare objectives, outlines, or other materials for courses of study, following curriculum guidelines or school or state requirements.
- Develop or implement strategies to meet the needs of students with a variety of disabilities.
- Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, or administrative regulations.
- Teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification or positive reinforcement.
- Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among students.
Expand more tasks (23)
- Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
- Confer with parents, administrators, testing specialists, social workers, or other professionals to develop individual educational plans (IEPs) for students' educational, physical, or social development.
- Employ special educational strategies or techniques during instruction to improve the development of sensory- and perceptual-motor skills, language, cognition, or memory.
- Meet with parents or guardians to discuss their children's progress, advise them on using community resources, or teach skills for dealing with students' impairments.
- Modify the general kindergarten education curriculum for students with disabilities.
- Confer with parents, guardians, teachers, counselors, or administrators to resolve students' behavioral or academic problems.
- Monitor teachers or teacher assistants to ensure adherence to special education program requirements.
- Prepare classrooms with a variety of materials or resources for children to explore, manipulate, or use in learning activities or imaginative play.
- Prepare assignments for teacher assistants or volunteers.
- Prepare, administer, or grade assignments to evaluate students' progress.
- Provide assistive devices, supportive technology, or assistance accessing facilities, such as restrooms.
- Organize and display students' work in a manner appropriate for their perceptual skills.
- Organize and supervise games or other recreational activities to promote physical, mental, or social development.
- Collaborate with other teachers or administrators to develop, evaluate, or revise kindergarten programs.
- Confer with other staff members to plan, schedule, or conduct activities for a balanced program of instruction, demonstration, and work time that provides students with opportunities to observe, question, and investigate.
- Administer standardized ability and achievement tests to kindergarten students with special needs.
- Instruct and monitor students in the use and care of equipment or materials to prevent injuries and damage.
- Present information in audio-visual or interactive formats, using computers, televisions, audio-visual aids, or other equipment, materials, or technologies.
- Attend professional meetings, educational conferences, or teacher training workshops to maintain or improve professional competence.
- Perform administrative duties, such as school library assistance, hall and cafeteria monitoring, and bus loading and unloading.
- Visit schools to tutor students with sensory impairments or to consult with teachers regarding students' special needs.
- Control the inventory or distribution of classroom equipment, materials, or supplies.
- Plan or supervise experiential learning activities, such as class projects, field trips, demonstrations, or visits by guest speakers.
Skills used in this work
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Expand more skills (29)
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs for various purposes.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Technology Design
- Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
- Management of Material Resources
- Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
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