Instructional Paraprofessional (Grade 8, Part-time, Mornings, Mon-Fri, .3 FTE), Saltonstall K-8 School, Salem Public Schools

0.3 Part-time Instructional Paraprofessional - 8th Grade, Part-time (2 hours/day)

Location: Saltonstall

Type: One year grant-funded position

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.

Reimagining Middle School:

The Salem Public Schools vision for a middle school graduate, developed in partnership with students, families, and educators in 2023, states: “Powered by relationships, trust, and a sense of belonging, students will develop their identity, skills, and mindsets that empower them to navigate their learning, chart their course, and engage with their community to reach their academic and life potential.”

To bring this vision to life, the middle schools in Salem have committed to reimagining the student experience. Over the past two years, the district has run a small pilot program within our middle school to help us innovate in partnership with our students, families, and educators to reach this vision. The goal of the pilot is to create relevant learning experiences that connect middle schoolers to the community, empower them to be independent learners, and offer appropriate challenges and supports. We are committed to continuing to build our muscles as a learning organization - to continue to empower student voice, to be intentional as we scale what works, and to continue to innovate as we feel there is still so much more to learn and do. We are also committed to expanding access to the strong foundation and the new opportunities explored in the pilot. As such, we will scale the learning strategies of the pilot across the 8th grade next year, and scale lessons from the work to all middle schoolers. To learn more, you can read about the first year of our work in this Transcend Case Study or in this Boston Globe op-ed.

To scale key innovations of the pilot to the whole eighth grade, we have a one year, grant funded role to help scale this work across both middle schools in Salem, coordinating closely with Collins Middle School and primarily supporting Saltonstall K-8. 

What you’ll do: 

Paraprofessionals will assist teachers and/or other certified personnel in providing an innovative, high quality education program designed to meet the needs of all children in the Salem Public Schools. Paraprofessionals will work with school staff to create an educational environment in which quality and continuity are key factors. In addition to sound reasoning and good organizational skills, paraprofessionals are expected to contribute to positive school culture and climate. 

The position may include some lifting, academic support, family outreach, and the use of technology. The right person for this position is dependable, organized, flexible and eager to learn through hands-on experience, reading and workshop training.

What you will do:

• Support the Dean of Innovation and Innovation Manager to ensure the day-to-day life of the middle school is successful
• Work in close collaboration with the Innovation Manager to support field learning immersions and project-based learning for students (set-up, collecting and tracking permission slips, coordinating lunches and nursing support)
• Collaborate closely with middle school team members to identify and execute on operational support items:
• Complete support tasks as assigned by Innovation Manager
• Support communication with stakeholders (including students and families)
• Support internal coordination of spaces, times, and events with Saltonstall K-8 school
• Organize the middle school learning spaces and materials
• Prepares and inventory instructional materials, set-up/operate and maintain various learning aides, materials, and assistive technology
• Support the day-to-day operations of the middle school work, including direct work supporting students as applicable
• Ensure successful administrative management of the middle school work:
• Ensure students and staff have access to needed technology
• Maintain a friendly, welcoming, helpful atmosphere for all who visit or contact the school
• Other duties determined in collaboration with the Dean of Innovation and Innovation Manager

What you 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 growth. You model persistence and growth mindset and thrive in a culture of feedback. 

Requirements:

• High School Diploma or GED
• Forty-eight (48) Credit Hours of College Coursework or an Associate’s Degree, or a passing score on one of the two following Formalized Standardized Assessments: ParaPro Assessment (http://www.ets.org/parapro/) or WorkKeys
• Minimum of one year experience working with school-aged children
• Bilingual candidates and candidates of color strongly encouraged to apply
• Current authorization to work in the United States

Preferred:

• Experience working in urban schools or with Salem students
• Bilingual or conversational in Spanish and/or Portuguese
• Connection to the city of Salem and our students

This is a school-year position, following the district calendar and school hours. Salary according to union contract. This is a part time position to support the implementation of the reimagining middle school work at Saltonstall K-8 school. The position is hourly from 7:45am-9:45am daily. 

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.