Immediate Opening!

Unique Opportunity for a Pediatric Neuropsychologist to Join an Innovative, Small Special Education Team with Neuroscience at the Core of Education!

Cajal Academy is looking for a pediatric clinical neuropsychologist to join our expert multidisciplinary team, beginning with the upcoming school year. This is a unique opportunity to further the development of an innovative educational model that updates teaching and therapeutic approaches to match current neuroscience, with neuropsychology, OT and PT findings at the core of academic and social-emotional learning. Working closely with bright and gifted kids who have a range of learning, social-emotional and neurophysiological differences, you will provide direct counseling services as part of multi-disciplinary treatment plans that address the full process from hidden neurophysiological differences to measurable neuropsychological impacts and observable learning social-emotional outcomes. You will be working side by side with a recognized, ABPP-certified neuropsychologist, who will provide on the job training in all aspects of the model and approach. Full-time is preferred, but a part time transitional period will be considered if necessary. 

About Our School:

Cajal Academy is a new kind of special education school. The Academy was co-founded by an occupational therapist and a social entrepreneur who is mom to two very bright but neurophysiologically complicated children and with direction from a nationally recognized neuropsychologist. Together, our team has developed a novel approach that moves beyond accommodation to the child’s disability to actually reduce the level of this disability.  Within a model of embodied cognition, PT, OT and neuropsychology rehabilitation therapies are integrated into academic and social-emotional programs to enhance key neurocognitive dysfunction and help children learn how to self-monitor, self-manage and self-advocate for autonomic and sensory regulatory challenges. This includes first-of-their-kind programs for under-served cohorts of high intellect students with concomitant neurological and/or neurophysiological disorders such as dysphasia; dyspraxia; thermoregulatory disorders; enteric nervous system disorders and heritable connective tissue disorders such as Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.  

Ours is a small, non-profit school with a mixed-age cohort of bright, gifted and twice exceptional students in grades 3-12, growing towards a full K-12 school. Over time we hope to grow the school to a total of approximately 50 students. All staff members form close and nurturing relationships with each of our students, using a trauma-informed approach. Cajal Academy is not a "behavior management" or ABA school and does not implement ABA approaches. We do not accept students who, at the time of consideration, are physically aggressive towards staff or peers.

Cajal Academy was granted Candidacy status by NEASC in June, 2023 and will strive to achieve full accreditation over the coming year.

Responsibilities of the Position:

For our new pediatric clinical neuropsychologist, this position presents a unique opportunity to become fully embedded in an innovative small school environment with a mission-based and highly collaborative team that includes a very experienced Board Certified Clinical Neuropsychologist (ABPP); licensed physiotherapists, including an occupational therapist and cranio-sacral therapists; and specially trained educators. You will be engaged in all aspects of identifying and addressing students’ needs, from the application process through to supporting academic teachers with designing tailored instruction into their lesson plans. On the job training will be provided in these techniques. 

Specific responsibilities of the position will include:

• Providing neuropsychological assessments focused on answering specific hypotheses that are generated based on observations of the child's performance and behavior;

• Providing direct clinical treatment services in 1:1 or small group settings, as well as co-treats or push-in to the classrooms;

• Collaborating with academic teachers and other members of our therapeutic staff to develop an integrated, multi-disciplinary understanding of each child’s learning, physio and social-emotional needs;

• Participating in weekly, all-staff team meetings at which individual student needs are addressed in-depth;

• Providing cross-training and support to members of our academic team to help them understand how our students’ neuropsychological profiles mpact their learning and social-emotional experiences;

• Implementing Cajal Academy protocols for growth mindset and social-emotional coaching, and supporting children’s growth by prompting students to utilize personalized self-regulation strategies developed in consultation with other members of the clinical team;

• Participating in our admissions process, by providing targeted neuropsychological  assessments to aid in determining student programming needs;

• Identifying areas of evolving neuropsychologic and neurophysiologic challenges for individual students and raising them to our therapeutic team and in our team meetings;

• Keeping parents and team members informed through written and oral communications, and expanding teacher and parent understanding of each child’s development, through our private online portal;

• Assessing and documenting student progress with respect to identified needs, keeping therapy notes for each child documenting student progress, and contributing narrative-style progress reports assessing students’ mastery of stated goals and growth mindset competencies, aligned to Cajal Academy inter-disciplinary competency-based grading standards;

• Contributing to the growth and development of our school by looking for opportunities to help our skeletal administrative team move us forward, within a true startup environment 

• Comply with all state regulations concerning renewal of certifications and licenses.

Requirements:

The basic requirements are a doctorate in neuropsychology, clinical psychology, or school psychology with postdoctoral training in clinical neuropsychology and a current license to practice psychology in Connecticut. A two year postdoctoral experience seeing some neurology and psychiatry pediatric patients, and with research and treatment experience is preferred. However, the equivalent of this experience distributed across a greater number of years will be considered. Salary is competitive and commensurate with the extent and quality of training and experience.

We are looking for creative problem solvers who are strong analytical and cross-disciplinary thinkers, and are passionate about making a difference for bright and gifted children who have learning, social, emotional or neurophysiological challenges. All Cajal Academy team members must be flexible thinkers with strong attention to detail and an eagerness to embrace new educational and psychotherapeutic practices that have been developed by our team. The successful candidate must be committed to a trauma-informed approach to education, clinical practice, classroom management, and to collaborating with staff from other academic and therapeutic disciplines. The clinician also must be comfortable reflecting regularly on practice, must seek and respond to feedback, and must demonstrate self-awareness and commitment to continuous learning and professional development.

How to Apply

Interested applicants should complete the Employment Application available on the Cajal Academy website, including a resume and 3 references. Applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.

Job Type: Full time

Salary: Commensurate with experience

Schedule: Monday to Friday, 8:30am - 4:30 pm; part-time hours for a transitional period will be considered where necessary