School Culture Specialist

Welcome to Lawrence Public Schools Lawrence Public Schools is committed to ensuring that ALL students successfully master the content and skills necessary to graduate from high school ready for college and/or career. Lawrence Public Schools provides a rigorous, standards-based instructional program with strong supports and regular monitoring of student progress. The Guilmette Middle School is a diverse and caring school community serving students in grades 5–8. We are committed to creating a school where students feel known, supported, and connected while being held to clear and consistent expectations. We are seeking a strong, student-centered School Culture Specialist who can build meaningful relationships with students, maintain those relationships during challenging moments, and contribute to a safe, positive, and productive learning environment. Position Summary The School Culture Specialist works closely with school administrators, teachers, counselors, support staff, students, and families to strengthen school culture and support student success. The successful candidate will be highly visible throughout the school, develop positive and lasting relationships with students, reinforce schoolwide expectations, respond calmly and effectively to challenging behavior, and help students reflect, reset, and successfully return to the learning environment. This position requires warmth, strength, sound judgment, consistency, and follow-through. The ideal candidate understands that building relationships and maintaining accountability are not competing responsibilities—both are essential to helping students grow. Essential Duties and Responsibilities The School Culture Specialist will: * Build positive, respectful, and consistent relationships with students across grades 5–8. * Maintain strong relationships with students while holding firm, clear, and appropriate boundaries. * Reinforce schoolwide expectations related to behavior, attendance, punctuality, uniforms, hallway conduct, and classroom readiness. * Provide direct supervision and structured support for students temporarily assigned to a designated student support or reflection space. * Maintain a calm, orderly, and productive environment for students completing assignments, reflecting on behavior, or preparing to return to class. * Support students in identifying the impact of their choices, resolving conflicts, and developing more productive responses. * Use de-escalation, restorative, and relationship-based practices when responding to student behavior. * Assist with student transitions, re-entry conversations, and communication between students and classroom teachers. * Respond promptly to requests for behavioral support while minimizing the loss of instructional time. * Monitor hallways, arrival, dismissal, lunch, transitions, and other common areas as assigned. * Redirect inappropriate behavior respectfully, consistently, and without escalating the situation. * Work collaboratively with administrators, counselors, teachers, paraprofessionals, and other members of the student support team. * Communicate relevant information regarding student concerns, interventions, and follow-up needs. * Maintain accurate documentation of student incidents, interventions, parent contacts, and outcomes. * Communicate with families in a respectful, professional, and solution-oriented manner when assigned. * Support schoolwide celebrations, incentives, assemblies, events, and other activities that promote student belonging and engagement. * Model professionalism, dependability, confidentiality, cultural responsiveness, and respect for all members of the school community. * Perform other duties related to student support and school culture as assigned by the principal or designee. The Ideal Candidate Is * Strong, calm, and confident when responding to challenging situations. * Able to build authentic relationships with adolescents and sustain those relationships when students make mistakes. * Positive and solution-oriented without minimizing inappropriate behavior. * Consistent, fair, and dependable. * Skilled at balancing student support with accountability. * Able to manage a structured student support environment independently. * A team player who communicates clearly and follows through on responsibilities. * Culturally responsive and respectful of students’ identities, languages, backgrounds, and experiences. * Able to remain composed, exercise sound judgment, and avoid power struggles. * Committed to helping students repair harm, make better choices, and return successfully to the classroom. * Willing to be visible, active, and engaged throughout the school day. Required Qualifications * Associate's Degree * Experience working successfully with middle school-aged students or adolescents. * Demonstrated ability to build positive relationships with students while maintaining clear expectations and boundaries. * Strong communication, organization, and problem-solving skills. * Ability to manage challenging student behavior calmly, respectfully, and consistently. * Ability to work collaboratively as part of a school-based team. * Ability to maintain student confidentiality and exercise sound professional judgment. Preferred Qualifications * Bachelor’s Degree in education, counseling, psychology, human services, criminal justice, social work, or a related field. * Previous experience in a school, youth development program, behavior-support setting, or community-based organization. * Experience with restorative practices, conflict resolution, trauma-informed practices, de-escalation, or positive behavioral interventions and supports. * Bilingual ability, particularly in English and Spanish. Physical and Professional Expectations The School Culture Specialist must be able to move throughout the school building, actively supervise students in classrooms and common areas, respond promptly to student needs, and remain engaged and visible for extended periods of the school day. Regular and reliable attendance is an essential function of this position. Reports to: Principal or designee Location: The Guilmette Middle School Position Type:** Full-Time, School Year Lawrence Public Schools is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Lawrence Public Schools does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, homelessness, or any other category protected by federal or state law.

Salary : $51,000 - $64,000