Transitions Academy 11 Paraprofessional

DISTRICT OVERVIEW

Holyoke Public Schools is a PreK-12 public school district serving nearly 4800 students of whom 80 percent are Latino/Latina in 11 schools. We employ nearly 1300 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 Holyokes 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.

DISTRICT OVERVIEW Holyoke Public Schools is a PreK-12 public school district serving nearly 5100 students of whom 80 percent are Latino/Latina in 11 schools. We employ nearly 1300 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. Our Equity Commitments are pledges we are making to address systemic equity challenges. We intentionally build a community that is anti-racist inclusive and culturally responsive. We ensure that students families and staff get the support they need to be successful. We seek out and incorporate the voices of those impacted with a commitment to include those who have been excluded in the past. We promote access and inclusion for all students staff and families. We respect embrace and honor the diversity of our students families staff and community. We reflect on our own behavior to minimize harm to others. We create a culture of acceptance and empathy so that everyone feels valued and is able to contribute to our communitys success. Please visit the Holyoke Public Schools website to learn more about us as well as some of our recent accomplishments.

Holyoke Transitions Academy is designed to prepare students with disabilities ages 18-22 for their change in status from a student to an emergent adult role. We focus on such facets of life as employment post-secondary education home care and maintenance community involvement and social and personal relationships.

Transitions Academy serves students ages 1822 who receive special education services. The program works closely with each student their family and their educational team to understand the students vision for adulthood and provide an individualized set of activities aligned with that vision.

Programming may include work-based learning experiences recreational opportunities community-based education travel training and daily instruction in social vocational life and functional academic skills. Transitions Academy also collaborates with adult service agencies to support each students successful transition into adult life.

The 1:1 Paraprofessional provides individualized support to an assigned student throughout the school day and during community-based activities. Working under the direction of the special education teacher and program leadership the paraprofessional helps the student access instruction participate safely in program activities develop greater independence and make progress toward their Individualized Education Program (IEP) and transition goals.

The paraprofessional must build a supportive relationship with the student while maintaining high expectations and encouraging the student to complete tasks as independently as possible.

• Provide individualized academic behavioral vocational social-emotional mobility communication and daily living support based on the students IEP.
• Reinforce skills and instruction initially introduced by the special education teacher or related service provider.
• Support the student during classroom instruction vocational activities job placements community-based learning recreational activities and field trips.
• Assist the student in developing independence self-advocacy communication problem-solving and workplace readiness skills.
• Implement accommodations modifications behavior support plans safety plans and instructional strategies as directed by the students educational team.
• Collect and maintain accurate daily data related to the students academic progress behavior attendance participation independence and IEP goals.
• Maintain behavioral logs and promptly communicate relevant concerns patterns or incidents to the supervising teacher and program leadership.
• Assist the student with mobility positioning transportation routines and the safe use of adaptive or instructional equipment.
• Provide personal care assistance when required including toileting diapering hygiene tooth brushing eating dressing and other daily living routines.
• Support breakfast lunch snack and cleanup routines.
• Meet the students bus or transportation provider and assist with safe arrival and dismissal.
• Supervise and support the student during emergency drills assemblies physical education recreational activities and community outings.
• Follow all health safety confidentiality and mandated reporting requirements.
• Participate in staff meetings professional development and training related to the students needs.
• Collaborate effectively with teachers related service providers job coaches families community partners and other members of the students team.
• Maintain appropriate professional boundaries and protect the students privacy and dignity.
• Perform other duties related to the students educational and transition programming as assigned.

Applicants must meet at least one of the following requirements:

• Possess an associate degree or higher OR Complete at least two years or 48 credit hours of study at an institution of higher education; OR Pass a formal assessment measuring the knowledge and ability needed to assist classroom teachers in reading writing and mathematics such as the WorkKeys or ParaPro Assessment.

• Training or experience working with students with disabilities.
• Experience supporting students with significant academic behavioral communication mobility medical or personal care needs.
• Experience working with transition-aged students or young adults.
• Experience working in vocational or community-based educational settings.
• Experience working in an urban school environment.
• Experience working with students and families from diverse backgrounds.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong collaboration organization and data-collection skills.
• Ability to remain calm patient flexible and responsive to individual student needs.
• Bilingual applicants particularly Spanish-speaking applicants are strongly encouraged to apply.

Required Experience:

Unclear Seniority