Academic/Behavior Intervention Specialist About Newark, NJ Located 11 miles away from mid- town Manhattan, Newark is a vibrant city in its own right. Newark is the financial, commercial, and transportation nucleus of the Garden State. It also is a thriving cultural hub, with residents from all over the world. Newark is filled with events and attractions, such as the Branch Brook Park Cherry Blossom Festival and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. There is something for everyone to explore and enjoy in the City of Newark, from festivals and parades, to museums and musical venues, Newark is the New York City metropolitan area s best kept secret. About the Paulo Freire School The Paulo Freire Charter School is conveniently located across the street from Newark Broad Street Station, which provides a 15 minute direct line of service to New York Penn Station. The Paulo Freire Charter School (aka The Freire School) opened in September of 2012, and was chartered by the New Jersey State Department of Education to serve students in grades 9-12 within the city of Newark. At capacity, the Freire School will serve 320 students. Mission of the Paulo Freire Charter School The mission of the Paulo Freire Charter School (aka The Freire School) is to service those who strive to grow in knowledge, wisdom, and understanding for the betterment of our society. We seek to improve the quality of life by putting scholarship into practice for the purpose of addressing social inequities and injustices. Through a cyclical process of inquiry and social engagement, our scholars take key concepts and apply them to service learning projects that promote social justice and democracy. Our goal is to develop a self- actualized scholar, who possesses a knowledgeable and discerning mind, thrives in service to others, and is prepared for higher education. Our teachers must firmly believe in the mission of the school, its goals, and its core value: as teachers one of our most important roles is to foster the active use of knowledge.
The Freire School is committed to: 1. Placing a premium on inquiry based instruction and social engagement. 2. Maintaining a commitment to a cognitive apprenticeship methodology. 3. Hiring and retaining high- quality, mission aligned teachers. 4. Using a data- driven approach to plan and implement lessons. 5. Employing a variety of customized daily student supports. About the Position: The Academic/Behavior Intervention Specialist serves children with serious behavior problems using the principles of applied behavior analysis; providing support to staff as they work with children with autism, ED, ODD, other serious behavior problems, and developmental disabilities; and communicating effectively with school personnel to enhance the effective delivery of instructional/behavioral programs for children. The Academic/Behavior Intervention Specialist will be required to perform the general representative duties listed below, but may also be called upon to perform specialized assignments with a focus on such areas including, but not limited to, child abuse, neglect, domestic violence; substance and alcohol abuse; physical and/or developmental disabilities; behavioral disabilities; or family dysfunctions. This position reports to the Dean of School Culture. The Academic/Behavior Intervention Specialist performance responsibilities: 1) Overseeing and coordinating the school s detention, in- school suspension, and out- of- school suspension programs. 2) Assessing present developmental levels in critical domain areas for the purpose of implementing behavior intervention plans. 3) Implementing the behavior intervention plans with the information collected for the purpose of providing behavior intervention based on individualized needs of the child and family. 4) Collecting/documenting/writing data, related reports, and child records for the purpose of ongoing behavior intervention service planning and review. 5) Communicating with children, family members, school staff, and agency personnel for the purpose of sharing information pertaining to applied behavioral strategies and interventions. 6) Assisting family members and school staff for the purpose of implementing intervention strategies to follow specified behavior management plans.
7) Assisting family members and school staff for the purpose of implementing instructional strategies to instruct children. 8) Assisting family members and school staff for the purpose of providing behavioral intervention activities for children in 1:1 settings carrying out the behavioral intervention plan. 9) Collaborating with agencies, families, schools and others as needed for the purpose of implementing the behavior intervention plan as a team. 10) Conferring/Interacting with program specialists for the purpose of completing appropriate assessments, documentation, and activities related to behavior intervention plans. 11) Coordinating/Maintaining a productive daily schedule for the purpose of completing reports, instructional activities and other duties. 12) Maintaining appropriate records for the purpose of preserving the progress of the behavior interventions. 13) Participating in and functions as a positive team member for the purpose of enhancing/sharing knowledge and skills for delivering best practices. 14) Receiving referrals and background information for the purpose of conducting assessments and implementing appropriate behavior intervention plans. 15) Writing effective reports regarding behavior interventions and data collected as part of the delivery of RTI/504/Sped services. 16) Collecting data regarding the implementation of RTI/504/Sped services. 17) Effectively interacting with children, family members, teachers, agency staff and the public. 18) Structuring time effectively. 19) Assisting with the maintenance of student's files and the retrieval of pertinent information. 20) Recognizing and following procedures when disruptive, abusive, or dangerous behavior occurs. 21) Conducts home visits, when necessary, and may participate in summer home visits highlighting the responsibilities of parents, teachers, and students. 22) Possess the ability to rapidly learn from training methods, techniques, and materials to be used in instruction and in behavioral interventions with children. 23) Possessing knowledge of: a. Effective supervision techniques; b. Behavior intervention strategies; c. Applied behavioral analysis; d. Developmental, emotional, and behavioral disabilities; e. Non- violent verbal and physical crisis intervention techniques;
f. Proper English grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure; g. First- aid skills; Excellent Candidates Will Demonstrate the Following Competencies: 1) Student- focused: Experienced working effectively with, building strong relationships with and prioritizing the needs of educationally disadvantaged students. Understand and address the needs of children with special needs. Maintain confidentiality of children's records and communications. Demonstrate a relentless drive to improve the minds and lives of students in and out of school; 2) Organizational and people leadership: Understand what makes schools succeed/fail, able to build strong classroom environment and positive contribution to school culture, drive classroom and school change, build strong relationships, and influence/develop others. 3) Instructional leadership: Strong leader, with history of results, able to analyze instruction and help others improve their instruction. Ability to read, interpret, and apply rules, regulations, and policies 4) People- oriented: Give and gain respect, show empathy, work effectively in teams, professional, and social situations. The Director of Curriculum and Instruction must be able to work with a large group of diverse constituents, as well as mmaintain positive, cooperative, and mutually supportive relationships with the administration, instructional staff, students, parents, and representatives of resource agencies within the community. 5) Self- aware: Aware of own strengths and weaknesses, work relentlessly to improve upon weaknesses, are open to feedback, able to take blame for failures and willing to take personal responsibility, show balance in confidence vs. humility, and behave professionally. 6) Adaptable: Manage uncertainty; demonstrate resilience, resolve, and flexibility in face of change. 7) Critical thinker and decision- maker: Analyze information and organize thinking to solve problems and make decisions that are aligned with an extraordinary goal. 8) Communication: Speak and write effectively. Inspire through communication. 9) Personal organization: Prioritize and multi- task effectively. Meet schedules and deadlines. Punctual, prepared, detail oriented. 10) Inspirational leadership: Demonstrate integrity, vision for getting kids to college, willingness to challenge tradition. Skills & Qualifications 1) Bachelor's Degree, preferably in Education, Special Education, Social Work, Pyschology, or other related area.
2) A minimum of 1 year of experience working as a Special Education Teacher, Dean of Students, or working in early intervention, and/or working with autistic or developmentally delayed children in an educational or social services setting. 3) A minimum of 3 years of experience in a low income schools with demonstrated exemplary student results. 4) Must have desire to be part of a team- oriented, mission- driven school. 5) Maintain a familiarity with current research and best practices related to students with behavioral and/or emotional needs. 6) Must have desire to be part of a team- oriented, mission- driven school. 7) Must be creative and detail oriented, with well- developed organization skills. 8) Must be able to acquire, synthesize, and implement new information quickly and confidently. 9) Must have a willingness to do whatever it takes to ensure the school's success. 10) Must be flexible under pressure. 11) Must enjoy working with high school students; Experience in urban schools, highly preferred. 12) Demonstrated capacity in being a catalyst for change, well organized and collaborative. To Apply, please visit http://www.thefreireschool.org/employment- application.html. You may also visit our website at www.thefreireschool.org for additional details. Salary will be commensurate with experience and past results. Employee benefits include medical, dental, and participation in state pension program. The Paulo Freire Charter School is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital or familial status, national origin, alienage or citizenship or disability status.