School Social Worker (SY23-24)
Start Date: August 2023
Locations: Dorchester, MA

About UP Education Network

Role

The school social worker supports the academic and behavioral success of UP Academy’s students. The social worker provides critical, differentiated services for those students identified as needing socio-emotional support in and out of school.

Specific Responsibilities

• Plan, organize and deliver a comprehensive school counseling program based upon the developmental and individual needs of students and in collaboration with building level administrators;
• Deliver counseling services through classroom instruction, interdisciplinary curriculum, group activities, individual or small group appraisal and advisement, consultation, individual and small group counseling, crisis counseling/response and peer facilitation;
• Collaborate with parents/guardians, teachers, administrators and other educational specialists to develop academic, career and personal/social skills for all students;
• Advocate for the elimination of barriers to access and assure a rigorous education for all students;
• Provide leadership, intervention and support when crisis counseling is appropriate;
• Utilize data to perform yearly program audit to evaluate the schools counseling program’s effectiveness;
• Participate in grade-level activities, and school-wide functions;
• Provide consistent and high academic and behavioral expectations;
• Communicate effectively with students, families, and colleagues; and
• Participate in an intensive staff orientation and training for up to four weeks prior to the school year and weekly professional development sessions.

Qualifications

• A strong belief in UP Education Network’s core values: Students, Community, Humility, Resilience, and Humor
• Bachelor’s degree is required
• A valid Massachusetts Teaching License as a School Social Worker/School Adjustment Counselor
• Valid Social Worker (LCSW or LICSW) or School Adjustment Counselor Licensure (LMHC)
• Knowledge of Special Education policies and procedures- preferred
• Current authorization to work in the United States – A candidate must have such authorization by his or her first day of employment

Compensation and Benefits

Your salary is commensurate with experience; UP Academy follows the salary scales of each UP Academy’s host school district. As an employee of UP Academy and your respective school district, you will receive the same access to personal and sick days, health insurance, and dental insurance as others within your union.

Working at UP Education Network

We know that great staff members directly lead to the success of our students. At UP, your career is shaped by:

• Opportunities for immediate impact: UP offers a chance to bring best practices found in high-performing schools to students previously enrolled in struggling schools, and to rapidly unlock the potential of these students
• Talented, mission-driven colleagues: Our staff is enthusiastic, dedicated, and willing to do “whatever it takes” to put every student on the path to college
• Collaboration and teamwork: Staff members collaborate and work closely together on grade-level or content area teams, using data to track student performance as well as guide instructional practice
• Consistent professional growth and development: Members of our staff typically have bi-weekly check-in meetings with their managers where they receive targeted coaching and support and the entire staff participates in weekly professional development sessions during the school year, kick-started by extensive training in August.

We encourage applicants of diverse backgrounds to apply for any open position in which they feel qualified. We believe that we have a responsibility to recruit, retain, develop, and reward a diverse and talented staff. Our students must be exposed on a daily basis to a diverse group of powerful role models - in their teachers, their school leaders, and their supporters in the network office. With this in mind, we are committed to recruiting the most talented individuals from the widest possible range of backgrounds to join our creative, mission-driven team.