Teacher - Special Education (Pre-Kindergarten ABL)

Job Description

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.

-

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.

Position Objective:

The Pre-Kindergarten Applied Behavioral Learning (ABL) Teacher will design and lead a joyful, language-rich, developmentally appropriate learning environment for young children with autism and related neurodiverse disabilities.

The teacher will provide individualized instruction and support that develops communication, play, early academic skills, social-emotional development, self-regulation, adaptive functioning, and independence. As the instructional leader of the classroom, the teacher will work closely with families, paraeducators, general education teachers, behavior analysts, and related service providers to ensure that every student experiences safety, belonging, meaningful progress, and access to inclusive opportunities.

Personal Qualities of Strong Candidates:

• Commitment to Equity and Belonging: Holds an unwavering belief in the capacity of every child and works to eliminate barriers to access, participation, achievement, and belonging.
  
• High Expectations with Warmth: Builds trusting relationships while maintaining clear, developmentally appropriate expectations and consistently communicating that every student is capable of growth.
  
• Instructional Leadership: Effectively leads a classroom team by creating clarity, modeling expectations, assigning responsibilities, coaching staff, and ensuring consistent implementation of student plans.
  
• Developmental and Data-Informed Thinking: Understands that progress in Pre-K includes communication, engagement, play, regulation, independence, social development, and early academic learning. Uses evidence to make thoughtful instructional decisions.
  
• Solution-Oriented Problem-Solving: Responds to complex student needs with curiosity, urgency, creativity, and a willingness to adjust supports based on evidence.
  
• Adaptability and Composure: Remains flexible, calm, and student-centered in a dynamic environment where needs, priorities, and circumstances may shift quickly.
  
• Collaboration and Cultural Responsiveness: Values the expertise of families and colleagues, communicates respectfully, and works effectively across differences in language, culture, background, identity, and professional role.

Essential Responsibilities:
Instruction and Student Development:

• Create and maintain a joyful, safe, predictable, structured, and developmentally appropriate classroom environment.
  
• Plan and deliver explicit, individualized, and play-based instruction addressing early academics, functional communication, social-emotional development, play, self-regulation, motor development, adaptive skills, and independence.
  
• Differentiate instruction, materials, classroom routines, and the learning environment to address each student's strengths, interests, developmental level, sensory profile, communication needs, and learning style.
  
• Implement evidence-based instructional and behavioral practices, including visual supports, task analysis, reinforcement, prompting and fading, naturalistic instruction, discrete-trial instruction when appropriate, and opportunities for students to generalize skills across people and settings.
  
• Support and honor all forms of student communication, including speech, gestures, visuals, signs, behavior, and augmentative and alternative communication systems.
  
• Provide repeated opportunities for students to make choices, communicate their needs, engage with peers, participate in classroom routines, and develop greater independence.

IEP Development and Implementation:

• Develop, write, implement, and monitor high-quality Individualized Education Programs in collaboration with families and the multidisciplinary team.
  
• Translate IEP goals into clear daily instruction, classroom routines, staff responsibilities, and systems for collecting evidence of student progress.
  
• Prepare for and participate meaningfully in IEP meetings, evaluations, progress reviews, transition meetings, and other student-centered team meetings.
  
• Complete IEPs, progress reports, assessment reports, data summaries, and other required documentation accurately and within district, state, and federal timelines.
  
• Maintain organized and confidential student records in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, and district procedures.

Assessment and Data-Based Decision-Making:

• Administer and interpret developmentally appropriate formal and informal assessments.
  
• Collect objective data on student communication, engagement, academic performance, behavior, social development, adaptive skills, and independence.
  
• Regularly analyze student data to determine whether instruction and interventions are producing meaningful progress.
  
• Adjust instructional strategies, learning targets, prompting levels, materials, behavioral supports, and opportunities for practice in response to evidence.
  
• Write clear, detailed reports that summarize assessment results, identify student strengths and needs, and provide actionable recommendations.

Positive Behavioral Support and Student Safety:

• Develop a classroom culture grounded in relationships, co-regulation, positive reinforcement, dignity, predictability, and respect.
  
• Collaborate with behavior analysts, autism specialists, families, and other team members in the development and implementation of individualized behavior support and safety plans.
  
• Identify the function and communicative purpose of student behavior and teach meaningful replacement skills, including communication, requesting assistance, waiting, transitioning, coping, and self-advocacy.
  
• Use proactive environmental supports, crisis-prevention strategies, and appropriate de-escalation techniques to reduce distress and maintain safety.
  
• Ensure that physical restraint is never used as punishment or as a standard response to behavior. Participate in emergency physical intervention only when legally permissible, necessary to prevent assault or imminent serious physical harm, and consistent with required training and district procedures.
  
• Follow all required procedures for incident response, documentation, family notification, medical follow-up, and administrative reporting.

Classroom-Team Leadership:

• Serve as the instructional leader of the classroom and establish clear roles, routines, and expectations for paraeducators and other supporting staff.
  
• Develop systems that ensure adults are strategically assigned to instruction, data collection, communication support, behavior support, inclusion, transitions, and personal-care routines.
  
• Model effective instructional and behavioral practices and provide paraeducators with regular guidance, feedback, and opportunities to practice.
  
• Promote consistent implementation of IEPs, communication systems, behavior plans, prompting procedures, and data-collection protocols across all staff members.
  
• Foster a professional team culture grounded in shared responsibility, respectful communication, problem-solving, confidentiality, and a relentless commitment to students.

Inclusion and Collaboration:

• Actively plan and facilitate meaningful opportunities for students to learn, play, communicate, and build relationships alongside peers in inclusive settings.
  
• Collaborate with general education teachers to identify appropriate supports, accommodations, instructional goals, and measures of success for inclusion.
  
• Partner closely with speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, behavior analysts, counselors, nurses, special education leaders, and other service providers.
  
• Participate in team meetings, professional learning communities, consultation sessions, and schoolwide initiatives.
  
• Support students across classroom, arrival, dismissal, meals, recess, specials, community experiences, and other school environments, as appropriate.

Family Partnership:

• Build trusting, respectful, and culturally responsive relationships with students' families and caregivers.
  
• Communicate regularly with families about student strengths, progress, emerging needs, classroom experiences, and opportunities for partnership.
  
• Ensure that family perspectives, priorities, cultural knowledge, and knowledge of their child are meaningfully reflected in planning and decision-making.
  
• Work collaboratively with interpreters and district staff to ensure families can fully access and participate in communication and the IEP process.

Adaptive and Personal-Care Support:

• Ensure that students receive respectful and individualized support with toileting, hygiene, feeding, dressing, mobility, positioning, and other adaptive routines identified in their educational, medical, or safety plans.
  
• Protect student privacy and dignity during all personal-care routines.
  
• Follow all required medical guidance, health plans, safety protocols, and staff-training requirements.

Professional Responsibilities:

• Remain current with accepted research and best practices in early childhood education, special education, autism support, communication, applied behavior analysis, inclusion, and positive behavioral interventions.
  
• Participate actively in required professional development, coaching, consultation, and district training.
  
• Demonstrate reliability, professional judgment, confidentiality, strong attendance, and timely follow-through.
  
• Perform other responsibilities consistent with the role and assigned by the building principal or district administration.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited institution.
  
• Possession of, or eligibility to obtain, a Massachusetts educator license appropriate for the assignment, as determined by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and Holyoke Public Schools.
  
• SEI Endorsement or eligibility to obtain the endorsement within the required timeline.
  
• At least one year of full-time teaching experience or equivalent professional experience working in an educational setting.
  
• Experience supporting children with autism, developmental disabilities, communication needs, and significant academic, behavioral, or adaptive support needs.
  
• Knowledge of the special education evaluation, IEP-development, implementation, progress-monitoring, and reporting processes.
  
• Ability to collect, analyze, and apply student-performance data to instructional planning and decision-making.
  
• Demonstrated ability to establish a structured, positive, and developmentally appropriate classroom environment.
  
• Strong written, verbal, interpersonal, and organizational skills.
  
• Ability to lead and collaborate effectively with paraeducators, families, educators, specialists, and school leaders.
  
• Ability to perform the essential functions of the position, with or without reasonable accommodation, including active supervision and the provision of physical or adaptive support consistent with student plans and district training.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience teaching preschool-aged children with autism or related neurodevelopmental disabilities.
  
• Experience implementing applied behavior analysis, naturalistic developmental interventions, visual supports, functional communication training, and augmentative and alternative communication systems.
  
• Experience leading, coaching, or coordinating the work of classroom paraeducators.
  
• Experience supporting students with significant communication, behavioral, sensory, adaptive, or personal-care needs.
  
• Experience facilitating meaningful inclusion with typically developing peers.
  
• Experience working in an urban school district and with culturally and linguistically diverse students and families.
  
• Bilingual applicants, particularly applicants who speak Spanish, are strongly encouraged to apply.