Long Term Substitute Behavior Specialist, (1/27/2025 - 6/18/2025) Salem Early Childhood Center, Salem Public Schools, SY2024-2025

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.

What You’ll Do:

The Behavior Specialist will work under the supervision of the Special Education Administrator in their assigned building as an integral part of the school-based special education team in supporting students with disabilities, whose social,emotional, or behavior challenges impact their ability to successfully participate in their learning environment.

Intervention and assistance provided by the Behavior Specialist may be short-term and intensive, or long-standing, providing support to both the student and the staff.

Role Responsibilities:

• Demonstrate the understanding of the CASEL framework for social and emotional learning. 
• Assist and support school -based leadership and special education teams to identify root causes of problematic student behaviors
• Collaborate and consult with colleagues to implement behavior plans that support growth towards social emotional learning goals.
• Implement intervention strategies including, but not limited to, small group intervention, social skill based learning, and SEL facilitation. 
• Collaborate / consult with BCBAs/SAC and teachers to adapt and implement behavior plans that support growth towards social emotional learning goals.
• Implement evidence based strategies to ensure behavior goals of students are being met.
• Effectively collect meaningful data and be able to present evidence of progress towards student goals
• Use effective communication skills to present information accurately and clearly.
• Model and provide staff with resources and strategies to promote positive classroom management
• Support building based administration to ensure school wide expectations for behavior are being met consistently across all settings including transition times, specialists, recess, and lunch.
• Participate in IEP team, and other school based team meetings as necessary (includes attending staff meetings)
• Complete needed paperwork and job-related functions in a timely manner
• Routinely participate in district and school-based meetings, training and professional development
• Establish and maintain open communication with special education and building staff.
• Required to be safety care trained and recertified annually
• Other duties as required by the Special Education Administrator and/or or building administration. 

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 growth mindset and thrive in a culture of feedback.

Job Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in related field preferred
• At least one year of related work experience required
• Experience working in an urban environment
• Safety Care Training Certification (District will provide training)
• Effective written and oral communication skills
• Second language (Spanish and/or Portuguese) proficiency a plus
• Bilingual candidates and candidates of color strongly encouraged to apply
• Current authorization to work in the United States

Work Year: This is a school-year position.

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.