Behavior Paraprofessional (2020-2021)

ABOUT US

The Primary School is expanding the boundaries of traditional education. Our holistic model weaves together education, health, and family support services to ensure underserved children have the system of care they need to lead meaningful and emotionally, mentally, and physically healthy lives. The Primary School was founded in 2015, and we received seed funding by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a major national philanthropy.

Our approach has three defining characteristics:

• We start early. We start working with parents and enroll children into our program as early as birth to reach them at their most critical stage in development.
• We work with - not around - families. We know that parents and caregivers are the most important people in a child’s life. We partner with them to enhance the education and health of their children.
• We integrate multiple systems to serve the whole child. Our unique model unites health care and education, building a multi-disciplinary team and holistic system of care around a child’s full needs.

In 2016, we opened our flagship school in East Palo Alto, California, with our first class of four-year-olds. We have grown to serve nearly 300 children and their families via a 0-3 parent/child program, a preschool and elementary school.

Our ultimate goal is to create a game-changing system of care for children that can be replicated across the country. To that end, we are building a model that can be effectively implemented in diverse communities and sustained on public funding. We are currently expanding our student and family population in East Palo Alto and opening to our next site in Hayward, California. It’s an exciting time to join the team!

ABOUT THE ROLE

We are looking for a Behavioral Paraprofessional to join our school team. The Behavioral Paraprofessional reports to our Manager of Behavioral and Emotional Supports and will support a Grade Level Team with students who require additional practice building socio-emotional and behavioral skills. In addition to providing general support to lead and associate teachers while in the classroom, we are also looking for someone who can remain composed in emotionally stressful situations, and facilitate specific social skills interventions for individual students and/or small groups. After receiving the proper Crisis Prevention Intervention training - which The Primary School will provide - a Behavioral Paraprofessional, should feel prepared to respond to students experiencing emotional crises. In the event of an emotional crisis happening, the Behavior Paraprofessional will be the first responder. With this said, we are looking for someone who believes in the power of connecting with students, building relationships and noticing behavioral cues in an effort to create a felt sense of safety for all students and staff in the classroom family.

Responsibilities

• Provide general support for Lead and Associate teachers while in classroom
• Facilitate specific social skill/behavioral interventions for individual students and/or small groups - both inside and outside of the classroom
• Attend regular professional development and meetings with the Behavioral and Emotional Support Team.
• Support daily preparation of early/late care materials along with supervision of students
• Support parent sign-in/-out process, transition to/from classroom, and/or other operational procedures
• Communicate information gathered from children or families to appropriate staff

QUALIFICATIONS

• A high school diploma or GED certificate
• Physical ability necessary to help manage student needs
• Communication skills
• Bilingual communication skills are preferred
• A belief that all behaviors are forms of communication
• You are unafraid of diversity and engage confidently across differences.

A Plus If

• You speak fluent Spanish
• You have ties to the East Palo Alto Community

COMPENSATION

Compensation is commensurate with qualifications and experience, plus excellent health benefits, 401k retirement plan, flexible spending account (FSA), dependent care FSA, and generous paid time off, including a competitive paid parental leave benefit.