Position : Early Childhood Lead Specialist (11 months)
Office of Student Services

Cambridge is a vibrant, diverse city and a central hub and driver of the nation's innovation economy. Home of the renowned educational institutions of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge is also the center of an impressive array of biotechnology, science, and information technology companies.

Educating about 8,000 students JK-12, the Cambridge Public Schools includes award-winning faculty, cutting edge technology, and innovative programs. While each of our public schools is unique, they are joined in a shared vision of rigorous, joyful, and culturally responsive learning plus personalized support for every student. Over 30% of CPS students speak a language other than English at home, and over 65 languages are spoken by our families. Among the most common are Spanish, Haitian Creole, Amharic, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, and Portuguese. Our schools proudly embrace this diversity.

The Office of Student Services (OSS) is responsible for providing a variety of supports and services to students in Cambridge Public Schools (CPS). Our programs are dedicated to ensuring equitable access and success for students with disabilities and students who have advanced learning needs.

The Early Childhood Lead Specialist reports to the Office of Student Services Coordinator of Preschool/Special Start, and works with a Lead Teacher, Community Special Educator, and Team of School Psychologists as part of the Special Start Leadership Team. The Early Childhood Lead Specialist is responsible for providing family and community engagement and outreach services for preschool children and their caregivers to ensure the needs of students with disabilities are met in both general and special education settings.

Major Areas of Responsibility :
Family Engagement

• Coordinate open house events and classroom visits for families of children with and without disabilities
• Provide monthly webinars for families on topics related to supporting early childhood development, special education, and accessing resources
• Support families with the preschool registration process in collaboration with the Student Registration Center
• Facilitate preschool family registration in the JK/K lottery in collaboration with the Student Registration Center
• Connect families with school-based and community resources to support with mental health, housing, food, and/or related service needs
• Support program special education compliance process
• Facilitate and coordinate professional development for the Special Start program including family training sessions

Community Engagement

• Partner with the city's Office of Early Childhood to provide trainings for community-based preschool educators and build relationships related to the Universal Pre-K initiative
• Establish and maintain partnerships with community-based organizations to support preschool curriculum and instruction
• Collaborate with other stakeholders and offices within CPS, including the Office of Equity Inclusion, and Belonging; the Lead Teacher of Early Childhood (general education); the Autism Spectrum Disorders program; and the Basic Academics program
• Support all aspects of the JK/K transition process, including providing stakeholders with monthly projections, facilitating the transition planning process, sharing information between programs, and JK/K year follow-up visits

Special Education

• Coordinate monthly community screening events as part of the Child Find process
• Process parent referrals for special education evaluation
• Regularly visit and observe in Special Start classrooms
• Support Lead Teacher with completion of state indicators
• Provide leadership with the development, implementation, and coordination of instruction and assessment of early childhood programming throughout the district
• Collaborate with Early Childhood Lead Teacher to support classrooms, consider least restrictive environment placements, and collect data for compliance monitoring
• Skill in organization, data analysis, and basic computer knowledge
• Knowledge of curriculum design and implementation
• Provide support Special Start summer programming

Your Skill Set:
As the incoming Early Childhood Lead Specialist, you will possess many, though perhaps not all, of the following characteristics and qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited college or university required.
• Experience working in an urban educational setting, including the ability to work successfully with students, colleagues, and families from diverse ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds preferred.
• Experience with student screening and/or evaluation for special education.
• Experience designing, facilitating, and/or coordinating online learning opportunities
• Experience with identifying and coordinating wrap around supports for our students
• Highly collaborative with strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Required Massachusetts certification in School Psychologist; or School Social Worker/Adjustment Counselor

Cambridge Public Schools is committed to slowing and/or stopping the spread of COVID-19. Therefore, as a condition of employment with Cambridge Public Schools, all new hires will be required to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 no later than their first day of work. Written requests for either a religious exemption from this requirement based on sincerely held religious beliefs, or for a medical exemption based upon clear documentation from a medical provider should be submitted to the attention of the Chief Talent Officer.

How to Join Our Team :
Please upload a resume and thoughtful cover letter, outlining how your skills and experience meet the qualifications of the position and stating how you heard about this opportunity.

At the Cambridge Public Schools, we are committed to cultivating an environment where diverse perspectives and backgrounds are embraced, acknowledging that a team reflecting diversity of race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, age, gender, marital/domestic partner status, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status, and veteran status allows us to serve our communities better. To that end, we welcome and encourage applicants to bring their authentic selves when considering employment opportunities within our school district.