Sports and Fitness Instructor / Recreation Instructor / ESE Instructor / Special Education Instructor

💚 About The WOW Center   

At The WOW Center, we believe that every person deserves the opportunity to grow, connect, and thrive. Our culture is rooted in compassion, inclusion, and genuine joy in what we do. We don’t just teach — we empower adults with developmental disabilities to live more confidently, independently, and meaningfully within their communities. 

We are guided by our core values of Empathy, Excellence, Passion, Serving, Teamwork, and Continuous Improvement — principles that shape how we support the individuals we serve, collaborate with one another, and grow as an organization every day. 

If you’re someone who loves uplifting others, celebrates wins big and small, and thrives in a collaborative environment, you’ll feel right at home here. 

You Might Be a Great Fit If...

You’re energetic, encouraging, and patient, and you enjoy helping others feel confident trying new things. You have a genuine interest in sports, fitness, movement, and healthy living and know how to make activities fun, engaging, and accessible for people with different abilities.

You’re creative and adaptable—you can take an activity or lesson and adjust it so everyone has an opportunity to participate and succeed. You’re also organized, dependable, and proactive, comfortable taking the lead, keeping track of individual goals and progress, and maintaining a safe and structured environment.

Most importantly, you’re a positive and motivating presence who celebrates effort and progress, encourages independence, and believes sports and fitness should be something everyone can enjoy. If that sounds like you, you could be a great fit for our team!
 

What You'll Do…

The Sports & Fitness Instructor creates engaging, inclusive, and adaptive sports, exercise, and wellness experiences for adults with developmental disabilities. This role goes beyond supervising recreational activities—you’ll plan and lead structured programming that encourages individuals to stay active, build skills, develop healthy habits, and experience the confidence and enjoyment that come from participating in movement and sports.

You’ll adapt activities to meet a variety of abilities and support each individual in participating as independently as possible. The Sports & Fitness Instructor also tracks individual goals and progress, maintains accurate documentation, collaborates with other members of the program team, and helps ensure a safe, positive, and encouraging environment.

This is a great opportunity for someone who enjoys teaching, coaching, fitness, and working directly with people and who can bring creativity, energy, patience, and encouragement to each day.

🎓 Qualifications

• Bachelors’ degree in field related to the field of special education or equivalent experience.  
• Good written and spoken communication, public relations and problem-solving skills.
  
• Able to use computer programs and other software related to classroom.  
• Management and administrative skills in order to organize and execute programs.  
• Consistently reliable and dependable.
  
• Able to drive 12-14 passenger van under the WOW insurance requirements.  

🌱 Professional Responsibilities and Duties

📋 Health, Safety, and Record Keeping 

• At all times, assure the health, safety, and welfare of the individuals served at The Wow Center and during community trips.
  
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date records for all individuals in the program, ensuring compliance with organizational policies and procedures. 

🏫 Classroom Environment and Instructional Planning 

• Establish a positive classroom environment and routines that facilitate learning and foster interpersonal relationships.
  
• Develop and implement sports and health activities to facilitate communication, expression of emotions, physical and cognitive skills, self-awareness, and personal growth.
  
• Develop instructional plans to teach knowledge and skills to help individuals reach a higher level of independence in their households and in their community.
  
• Develop program activities that promote healthy living, exercise, and physical fitness (e.g. maintaining an appropriate weight and eating healthy foods).
  
• Develop instructional plans to teach knowledge and skills in order to help individuals live healthier lifestyles. Lesson plans must be completed on a monthly basis.
  
• Assess individual needs and provide guidance to facilitate participation in program activities, tailoring approaches to fit various group settings (both one-on-one and group).
  
• Weigh the individuals on a monthly basis and record their weights on a log.
  
• Enable individuals to explore different exercising methods.
  
• Incorporate the individual’s participation in different sports and classroom routines.
  
• Incorporate the use of the gym in classroom routines.
  
• Incorporate the multipurpose court to play sports and other exercise activities.
  
• Maintain the equipment and facilities; keep an updated inventory of equipment. 

🏆 Individual Goals 

• Develop Individual Program Plans for each individual participating in the Sports and Fitness program based on the individuals’ needs and goals.
  
• Assess the needs of the individual and provide guidance to participate in program activities.
  
• Collaborate with homeroom Instructors providing insights and feedback regarding individual progress and needs.
  
• Ensure individual tracking sheets are updated to match individual’s progress in their homeroom

🚐 Transportation and Documentation 

• Drive individuals to various community locations, ensuring safe and comfortable transportation.
• Maintain mileage and necessary documentation for transportation, ensuring all trips are logged accurately.
  
• Keep vans clean, inside and out.  

🤝 Collaboration and Communication 

• Collaborate with other The WOW Center employees to execute special activities and events throughout the year.
  
• Provide regular feedback to social services staff regarding participants’ progress in class, behavioral health, and safety concerns.
  
• Participate in IPP and Support Plan Meetings