After-School Pre-K Staff, Salem Public Schools SY2024-2025

INTERNAL Candidates Only

About Salem Public Schools, where belonging leads to opportunity.

Salem is a small, diverse city with a proud maritime and immigrant history.  Salem Public Schools is an urban public school district enrolling nearly 4,000 students across our 11 schools. Our vision is to ensure that all students will be locally engaged, globally connected, and fully prepared to thrive in a diverse and changing world. We hold dear our core values of belonging, equity, and opportunity in everything we do. Over the next three years (2023-2026), we are committed to the work outlined by the four core priorities in our strategic plan: 1) Elevate Learning; 2) Empower Educators; 3) Center Belonging; and 4) Strengthen Our Foundation. We seek individuals who are passionate about urban education and understand the urgency of improving student achievement for all students, regardless of ability, economic status, gender/gender identity, language, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, or other backgrounds. Applicants who have experience working in urban schools and settings and are bilingual are strongly encouraged to apply.

About the Program: 

The Pre-K After-School program will run in conjunction with the 2024-2025 school calendar. The program will start on the first day of pre-k, September 9th, 2024, and finish on the last day of Pre-K June 13th, 2025. Hours of operation will be from school day dismissal - 5:00 pm. We will not provide after-school support on scheduled half days. 

What You’ll Do:

Salem Public Schools recognizes the importance of wrap-around services and care to the success of our students and families and will be providing after-school programming for your Pre-K students. Programming is designed to help to increase student engagement, support social and emotional learning, and to support SPS families with after-school care.  Programs will run at the following schools: 

SPS staff working in the after-school program will be responsible for cultivating a welcoming and joyful environment after school. Screentime is to be limited to movement or quiet time music/ mindfulness activities. 

The afterschool program will integrate enrichment blocks facilitated by community partners, varying from physical activity to SEL expressive arts. 

The After-School staff is responsible for: 

• Check all students in on the program software, Brightwheel.  
• Support transitions from school dismissal into the Pre-K program. 
• Oversee and distribute afterschool snacks, which includes tracking snacks, picking up snacks in the cafeteria, and dropping off snacks in the cafeteria after the program is finished
• Support and prepare tabletop activities for students in the program and ensure activities are appropriately modified to address individual student needs. 
• Afterschool staff will work with students with all abilities and plan adaptive activities that meet their needs. 
• Staff will positively manage student behavior and collaborate in a positive environment to provide an exceptional afterschool for students and families. 
• Plan daily activities to support student engagement and participation. 
• Support program dismissal and parent pick up which included checking students out on program software and being responsible for ensuring child is released to an approved caregiver
• Communicate with the Director of Extended Academics & Enrichment Services regarding program concerns and updates. 
• Work collaboratively with the Community Partners to ensure smooth transitions and productive programming
• Engage and build relationships with students during active, hands-on learning workshops 
• Communicate with families about student pick-up, behavior or daily challenges, and highlights from programming. 

Compensation 

Afterschool staff will be paid their contractual hourly rate on a bi-weekly basis. Staff will be asked to complete a bi-weekly timesheet aligned to the SPS payment schedule. 

What You’ll Bring:

We are looking for candidates who have diverse backgrounds and experiences, are inspired by our mission, and are highly motivated to change children’s lives through education. You’ll be right at home here if you are a reflective practitioner who values collaboration with colleagues and pushes yourself, your work, and the people around you to the next level.  We expect our SPS employees to:

• Hold a deep commitment to students and families and value diversity - The SPS community is vibrant, diverse in background, ethnicity, language, and perspective. You embrace and affirm the backgrounds of all members of the SPS community and view our diversity as a powerful resource that supports us each in learning and doing our best work.

• Hold high expectations for yourself, students, and colleagues – You see potential in all, especially our SPS students, and maintain high expectations for achievement, while providing the support necessary to meet that bar. You hold yourself to high expectations, modeling SPS values and seeking opportunities to continuously improve.

• Build authentic, caring relationships with colleagues, students, and families – You build strong relationships across students, families, and colleagues that are collaborative in nature and contribute to the individual and collective success of SPS.  You partner with families and colleagues to make decisions in the best interest of students and learning.

• Embrace feedback – You are a reflective practitioner who learns from mistakes and challenges and uses them as opportunities for professional development. You model persistence and a growth mindset and thrive in a culture of feedback.

Job Requirements:

• Salem Public School paraprofessional, support staff or teacher. 
• Ability to meet the expectations of the Massachusetts Standards and Indicators of Effective Teaching Practice - DESE licensed Pre-K staff
• Passion for afterschool programming and willingness to adapt to and contribute to a positive school culture
• Ability to partner with multiple stakeholders to meet student needs
• Plan and prepare after-school activities for the program
• Monitor and facilitate outdoor play, program enrichment activities
• Classroom management & supervision
• Oversee safe and organized arrival and dismissal procedures

Equal Opportunity Employer

Salem Public School District is committed to maintaining a work and learning environment free from discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, pregnancy, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital/civil union status, ancestry, place of birth, age, citizenship status, veteran status, political affiliation, genetic information or disability, as defined and required by state and federal laws. Additionally, we prohibit retaliation against individuals who oppose such discrimination and harassment or who participate in an equal opportunity investigation.