Teacher- Special Education- Autism / ABA PK (Anticipated)

DISTRICT OVERVIEW

Holyoke Public Schools is a PreK-12 public school district serving nearly 4,800 students, of whom 80 percent are Latino/Latina, in 11 schools. We employ nearly 1,300 people who together educate and support a richly diverse community of learners. We are committed to recruiting and retaining top-quality educators who believe all children can and will learn and who strive daily to make school a joyful place of discovery, support, and belonging.

Holyoke Public Schools’ strategic plan, “Moving Forward Together,” builds on the strengths of our past while serving as a call to action to accelerate student learning by thinking differently about how we teach, how we work together, and how we support students’ well-being. 

Many successes contributed to Holyoke’s return to local governance after 10 years in state receivership. These include:

• The highest graduation rate on record of 77.1 percent, an increase of more than 15-points over 10 years
• Meaningful, applied learning opportunities for high school students, including theme-based academies, career vocational technical education programming, work-based learning, and advanced coursework
• A comprehensive approach to early literacy that includes strong core instruction and one-on-one tutoring, contributing to more students reading at grade level
• A thriving dual language English/Spanish program, where nearly 900 students are on their path to becoming bilingual, biliterate, and bicultural

• More than one-third of Holyoke teachers identify as people of color, a 19-point increase over 10 years. Many partnership programs support staff to earn licensure or additional certification.

Please visit the Holyoke Public Schools website to learn more about us, our recent accomplishments, and our commitment to equity. 

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PERSPECTIVA GENERAL DEL DISTRITO

Las Escuelas Públicas de Holyoke son un distrito escolar público que cuenta con 11 escuelas de prekínder a 12.° grado y acoge a casi 4 800 estudiantes, de los cuales el 80 % se identifica como latino o latina. Empleamos a casi 1 300 personas que, en conjunto, educan y apoyan a una comunidad de estudiantes altamente diversa. Estamos comprometidos a contratar y retener educadores de alta calidad que creen firmemente que todos los niños pueden aprender y aprenderán, y que se esfuerzan diariamente por hacer de la escuela un lugar alegre de descubrimiento, apoyo y pertenencia.

El plan estratégico de las Escuelas Públicas de Holyoke , “Avanzando Juntos”, se basa en nuestras fortalezas previas y, al mismo tiempo, sirve como un llamado a la acción para acelerar el aprendizaje estudiantil a través de una nueva perspectiva sobre cómo enseñamos, cómo trabajamos en colaboración y cómo apoyamos el bienestar de los estudiantes. 

Existen numerosos logros que permitieron a Holyoke recuperar el control local después de 10 años de administración judicial.  Entre estos logros se encuentran:

• La tasa de graduación más alta registrada, del 77.1 %, lo que representa un aumento de más de 15 puntos porcentuales en 10 años
• Oportunidades significativas de aprendizaje práctico para estudiantes de secundaria, que incluyen academias temáticas, programas de educación técnica y vocacional, aprendizaje basado en el trabajo y cursos avanzados
• Un enfoque integral de la alfabetización temprana que combina una sólida instrucción básica con tutorías individuales, lo cual ha contribuido a que más estudiantes lean a nivel de grado
• Un próspero programa bilingüe de inglés/español, en el que casi 900 estudiantes avanzan hacia el bilingüismo, la biliteracidad, y la biculturalidad.

• Más de un tercio de los maestros de Holyoke se identifican como personas de etnicidad diversa, lo que representa un aumento de 19 puntos porcentuales en 10 años. Diversas colaboraciones con programas que han contribuido a que miembros del personal obtengan sus certificaciones o credenciales adicionales.

Visite el sitio web de las Escuelas Públicas de Holyoke para obtener más información sobre nuestra comunidad, nuestros logros recientes y  nuestro compromiso con la equidad. 

Job description:

• SPECIFIC EXPERIENCE REQUIRED/DESIRED:  Holyoke Public School District is seeking a highly qualified ABA Teacher for Middle School students with autism spectrum disorder in our Applied Behavioral Learning (ABL) Program. This teacher provides direct instruction in academic subjects, daily living skills, cognitive processing, social skill development, and vocational skills training.  This  teacher also assists in the development and implementation of behavior management as well as Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) programs. Students enrolled in the ABL program receive the majority of their program within the specialized instructional setting, with access to inclusion to the maximum extent appropriate.  This  teacher will follow the regulations associated with Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE), and procedural safeguards and Individual Education Plan (IEP) development and implementation. ABA teacher works under the supervision of the Chief of Pupil Services, Coordinator for District-Wide Autism Services, and School Principal.

        JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:

• • Demonstrate an ability to use research-based principles of effective instruction, such as specific prompting protocols, discrete trial instruction (DTI), pivotal response training (PVT), and generalization training
  • Ability to create and implement programming to target academic skills, social skills, independence, activities of daily living, social skills, and targeted inclusion opportunities.
  • Follow district processes and procedures in assessing students referred for special education services to determine eligibility and appropriate services.
  • Coordinate and facilitate Individual Education Plan (IEP) meetings.
  • Design individualized education plans appropriate to meet the learning needs of students.
  • Ability to complete thorough assessments, such as ABLLS-R, VB-MAPP, AFLS, and participate in FBA-related information gathering.
  • Provide necessary documentation and data to validate student progress toward goals and objectives.
  • Maintain and update special education records as required by district, state and federal agencies.
  • Ensure confidentiality of special education records.
  • Provide behavior management programs to address behavior challenges and increase appropriate student behavior.
  • Serve as a member of the school support  team (SST).
  • Meets Regularly with Autism Specialist/BCBA to collaborate on programming and follow protocols designed by the Autism Specialist/BCBA
  • Coordinate the efforts and services of support personnel (OT, PT, Augmentative Communication, Speech/Language Pathologists, etc.) services to assist student with special needs.
  • Participate in professional development activities to develop specialized skills.
  • Establish positive working relationships with parents, teachers, educational assistants, and administrative personnel.
  • Train, plan for, and supervise ABL Paraprofessionals
  • Ability to maintain professional and committed relationships with families
  • Attends staff meetings and serve on staff committees as required
  • Other duties as required by district and building administration

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree
• Minimum of 3 years working in an ABA setting
• Minimum of 1 year supervising classroom staff
• RBT Training Preferred
• CPI Training Preferred
• Experience with implementation of ABA strategies, including discrete trial training, pivotal response training, PECS training, data collection, and behavior plan
• Commitment to ensuring academic success for all students
• Experience working with multi-disciplinary teams, strongly preferred
• Experience working in an urban setting, preferred
• Experience working with diverse student populations, preferred
• Experience with using media and technology to target learning
• Ability to read, interpret, and apply student performance data to instructional planning and execution
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; excellent teamwork skills 
• Bilingual applicants (Spanish) strongly encouraged to apply 

Must possess Massachusetts Educators Licensure in Moderate or Severe Special Needs, All Levels. 

Salary : $51,000 - $73,000