Position : Extended Term Substitute, Occupational Therapist
Available January 2024 through no later June 2024
Office of Student Services/Kennedy-Longfellow School/Vassal Lane Upper School

Cambridge is a vibrant, diverse city and a central hub and driver of the nation's innovation economy. Home of the renowned educational institutions of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge is also the center of an impressive array of biotechnology, science, and information technology companies.

Educating about 7,000 students JK-12, the Cambridge Public Schools includes award-winning faculty, cutting edge technology, and innovative programs. While each of our public schools is unique, they are joined in a shared vision of rigorous, joyful, and culturally responsive learning plus personalized support for every student. Over 30% of CPS students speak a language other than English at home, and over 65 languages are spoken by our families. Among the most common are Spanish, Haitian Creole, Amharic, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, and Portuguese. Our schools proudly embrace this diversity.

The Office of Student Services (OSS) is responsible for providing a variety of supports and services to students in Cambridge Public Schools (CPS). Our programs are dedicated to ensuring equitable access and success for students with disabilities and students who have advanced learning needs. The Office of Student Services is comprised of special education, 504 services and the office of advanced learning.

Key Responsibilities:

• Collaborate with teachers, other related service providers and parents to ensure understanding of student's occupational performance strengths and needs, through evaluation, educational program planning, and service delivery.
• Evaluate students through a variety of functional, behavioral, and standardized assessments, skilled observation, checklists, histories, and interviews.
• Synthesize evaluation results into a comprehensive written report which reflects strengths and barriers to student participation in the educational environment.
• Participate in multidisciplinary meetings to review evaluation results, integrate findings with other disciplines, offer recommendations, and develop individual education plans and intervention plans to achieve IEP goals.
• Provides targeted, evidence-based therapeutic intervention to facilitate student participation and occupational performance within the school environment.
• Collect data for decision making and progress monitoring.
• Schedule direct services using a variety of service delivery models, including classroom intervention, consultation/collaboration and pull-out sessions as appropriate to meet student needs in the least restrictive environment.
• Maintain easily accessible and accurate student files.
• Safeguard confidentiality of student records.
• Complete logging of services for third party reimbursement accurately and in a timely manner.
• Monitor and reassess the effects of specific occupational therapy intervention and the need to continue, modify, or discontinue services.
• Adapt and modify environments, equipment, and materials.
• Train instructional staff to meet individual needs and to help students function as independently as possible.
• Manage inventory of therapeutic equipment.
• Attend reconvened Team meetings and parent-teacher conferences.
• Chair team meetings and participate collaboratively with multi-disciplinary educational teams to develop Individualized Education programs (IEPs), write measurable goals and objectives, and complete all required documentation in a timely manner.
• Develop appropriate IEPs and/or 504 Plans based on students' strengths and needs and demonstrates awareness of professional performance in due process matters and litigious environments.
• Plan, coordinate, and conduct educational trainings for staff, parents, and students.
• Participate in professional meetings and workshops directly related to the Occupational Therapy.
• Any related duties as outlined by the Assistant Superintendent, Special Education Director and/or Coordinator of the Office of Student Services.

Your Skill Set:
As the incoming Occupational Therapist you will possess many, though perhaps not all, of the following characteristics and qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree or higher from an accredited Occupational Therapy program required.
• Registered Occupational Therapist.
• Massachusetts License or the ability to obtain Massachusetts licensure in Occupational Therapy preferred.
• Experience teaching and/or working in an urban school system with special needs students.
• Knowledge of sensory motor integration techniques.

Cambridge Public Schools is committed to slowing and/or stopping the spread of COVID-19. Therefore, as a condition of employment with Cambridge Public Schools, all new hires will be required to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 no later than their first day of work. Written requests for either a religious exemption from this requirement based on sincerely held religious beliefs, or for a medical exemption based upon clear documentation from a medical provider should be submitted to the attention of the Chief Talent Officer.

How to Join Our Team:
Please upload a resume and thoughtful cover letter, outlining how your skills and experience meet the qualifications of the position and stating how you heard about this opportunity.
At the Cambridge Public Schools, we are committed to cultivating an environment where diverse perspectives and backgrounds are embraced, acknowledging that a team reflecting diversity of race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, age, gender, marital/domestic partner status, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status, and veteran status allows us to serve our communities better. To that end, we welcome and encourage applicants to bring their authentic selves when considering employment opportunities within our school district.