Job Description

DISTRICT OVERVIEW

Holyoke Public Schools is a PreK-12 public school district serving nearly 5,100 students, of whom 80 percent are Latino/Latina, in 11 schools. We employ nearly 1,300 people who together educate and support a richly diverse community of learners. We are committed to recruiting and retaining top-quality educators who believe all children can and will learn and who strive daily to make school a joyful place of discovery, support, and belonging.


Holyoke Public Schools' strategic plan, "Moving Forward Together," builds on the strengths of our past while serving as a call to action to accelerate student learning by thinking differently about how we teach, how we work together, and how we support students' well being.


Our Equity Commitments are pledges we are making to address systemic equity challenges.

We intentionally build a community that is anti-racist, inclusive, and culturally responsive. We ensure that students, families, and staff get the support they need to be successful. We seek out and incorporate the voices of those impacted, with a commitment to include those who have been excluded in the past. We promote access and inclusion for all students, staff, and families. We respect, embrace, and honor the diversity of our students, families, staff, and community. We reflect on our own behavior to minimize harm to others. We create a culture of acceptance and empathy so that everyone feels valued and is able to contribute to our community's success.

Please visit the Holyoke Public Schools website to learn more about us as well as some of our recent accomplishments.



Spanish:


Las Escuelas Publicas de Holyoke son un distrito escolar publico de prekinder a 12. grado que acoge a casi 5100 estudiantes, de los cuales el 80 por ciento son latinos/latinas. Empleamos a casi 1300 personas que, juntas, educan y apoyan a una comunidad de estudiantes muy diversa. Estamos comprometidos a contratar y retener educadores de alta calidad que tengan la certeza de que todos los ninos pueden y podran aprender, y que tambien se esfuercen diariamente por hacer de la escuela un lugar alegre de descubrimiento, apoyo y pertenencia.


El plan estrategico de las Escuelas Publicas de Holyoke , "Avanzando Juntos", toma en cuenta nuestras fortalezas anteriores y al mismo tiempo sirve como un llamado a la accion para acelerar el aprendizaje de los estudiantes a traves de una perspectiva diferente sobre como ensenamos, como trabajamos juntos y como apoyamos el bienestar de los estudiantes.


Nuestros compromisos de equidad son promesas que hacemos para abordar los desafios de equidad sistemica.

Construimos intencionadamente una comunidad antirracista, inclusiva y culturalmente receptiva. Nos aseguramos de que los estudiantes, las familias y el personal reciban el apoyo que necesitan para tener exito. Buscamos e incorporamos las voces de los afectados, con el compromiso de incluir a los que han sido excluidos en el pasado. Promovemos el acceso y la inclusion de todos los estudiantes, el personal y las familias. Respetamos, acogemos y honramos la diversidad de nuestros alumnos, familias, personal y comunidad. Reflexionamos sobre nuestro propio comportamiento para minimizar el dano a los demas. Creamos una cultura de aceptacion y empatia para que todos se sientan valorados y puedan contribuir al exito de nuestra comunidad.

Por favor, visite el sitio web de las Escuelas Publicas de Holyoke en www.hps.holyoke.ma.us para obtener mas informacion sobre nosotros y algunos de nuestros logros recientes.

Job description:

SPECIFIC EXPERIENCE REQUIRED/DESIRED:

Holyoke Public School District is seeking a highly qualified ABA Teacher for Middle School students with autism spectrum disorder in our Applied Behavioral Learning (ABL) Program. This teacher provides direct instruction in academic subjects, daily living skills, cognitive processing, social skill development, and vocational skills training. This teacher also assists in the development and implementation of behavior management as well as Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) programs. Students enrolled in the ABL program receive the majority of their program within the specialized instructional setting, with access to inclusion to the maximum extent appropriate. This teacher will follow the regulations associated with Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE), and procedural safeguards and Individual Education Plan (IEP) development and implementation. ABA teacher works under the supervision of the Chief of Pupil Services, Coordinator for District-Wide Autism Services, and School Principal.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:

+ Demonstrate an ability to use research-based principles of effective instruction, such as specific prompting protocols, discrete trial instruction (DTI), pivotal response training (PVT), and generalization training + Ability to create and implement programming to target academic skills, social skills, independence, activities of daily living, social skills, and targeted inclusion opportunities.
+ Follow district processes and procedures in assessing students referred for special education services to determine eligibility and appropriate services.
+ Coordinate and facilitate Individual Education Plan (IEP) meetings.
+ Design individualized education plans appropriate to meet the learning needs of students.
+ Ability to complete thorough assessments, such as ABLLS-R, VB-MAPP, AFLS, and participate in FBA-related information gathering.
+ Provide necessary documentation and data to validate student progress toward goals and objectives.
+ Maintain and update special education records as required by district, state and federal agencies.
+ Ensure confidentiality of special education records.
+ Provide behavior management programs to address behavior challenges and increase appropriate student behavior.
+ Serve as a member of the school support team (SST).
+ Meets Regularly with Autism Specialist/BCBA to collaborate on programming and follow protocols designed by the Autism Specialist/BCBA
+ Coordinate the efforts and services of support personnel (OT, PT, Augmentative Communication, Speech/Language Pathologists, etc.) services to assist student with special needs.
+ Participate in professional development activities to develop specialized skills.
+ Establish positive working relationships with parents, teachers, educational assistants, and administrative personnel.
+ Train, plan for, and supervise ABL Paraprofessionals
+ Ability to maintain professional and committed relationships with families
+ Attends staff meetings and serve on staff committees as required
+ Other duties as required by district and building administration

Qualifications

Bachelor's Degree Minimum of 3 years working in an ABA setting Minimum of 1 year supervising classroom staff RBT Training Preferred CPI Training Preferred Experience with implementation of ABA strategies, including discrete trial training, pivotal response training, PECS training, data collection, and behavior plan Commitment to ensuring academic success for all students Experience working with multi-disciplinary teams, strongly preferred Experience working in an urban setting, preferred Experience working with diverse student populations, preferred Experience with using media and technology to target learning Ability to read, interpret, and apply student performance data to instructional planning and execution Strong written and verbal communication skills; excellent teamwork skills Bilingual applicants (Spanish) strongly encouraged to apply

Required license(s):

Must possess Massachusetts Educators Licensure in Moderate or Severe Special Needs, All Levels.