Dean Of Students--Temporary (August 2024- December 2024)

ABOUT THE SCHOOL
The mission of the Christa McAuliffe Charter School is to cultivate within each member of a diverse student body an intense commitment to self and community, the courage and insight to set high standards for academic and personal success, and the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to achieve those standards.

McAuliffe is a charter middle school (grades 6-7-8) educating 300 scholars who live in Framingham and other MetroWest communities. We are an EL Education (EL) school. EL is a non-profit organization devoted to providing network schools with a highly-respected model of comprehensive school reform with emphasis on high achievement through active learning, character growth, and teamwork.

IS MCAULIFFE'S "DEAN OF STUDENTS" THE RIGHT JOB FOR YOU?
What are your values, experiences, and skills? Are you a great fit for McAuliffe's Dean of Students position? Is this the right school for you? Examine the following to see how your values, experiences, and skills compare with what we're looking for in our Dean of Students. If many of your values, experiences, and skills align, we encourage you to apply!
You have successfully established school-wide routines and expectations for student behavior.
You are familiar with the implementation of Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) that include proactive, reactive and interactive steps to establish a social culture that supports social, emotional, and academic success. You also have experience facilitating the implementation of school wide routines and supporting teachers to establish strong classroom routines. You empower students and faculty to take ownership of expectations, routines and traditions.

You are skilled at using data to analyze and respond to patterns of behavior for individual students, classes, or a whole grade level that are grounded in a commitment to learning and contribution to a respectful community.
In the context of establishing and utilizing PBIS, you are able to use data-based decision making to align curriculum and behavioral supports for students and staff, including teaching, reinforcing, monitoring and re-teaching a set of clear expectations, as well as the implementation of a ladder of clear consequences for unexpected behavior. You are able to recognize patterns in behavior data and make recommendations for adjusting support within the school to fit the highest needs.

You believe in an approach to student discipline that emphasizes learning, restoration, and collaborative problem solving.
You have experience implementing a school's code of conduct and discipline policy. You have experiences employing restorative practices as well as more traditional consequences such as detentions and suspensions. However, you strive to provide restorative consequences that are exhausted before suspending students unless a major threat to safety has occurred.

You are patient and understanding in your work with adolescent/preadolescent students and their families.
You have a strong understanding of adolescent development and the reasons why adolescent-age students act as they sometimes do. You have experience collaborating with teachers and counselors in their work with middle schoolers and are committed to bringing the best out of every student. You stick with even the most challenging students and families as you strive to help staff understand the function of behavior.

You are philosophically aligned with EL Education core practices that focus on character and community.
You have experience teaching or leading in a school that prioritizes academic growth and character development. You aspire to establish a school climate characterized by safety, kindness, and joy in learning.

You have an adventurous spirit and a "go get 'em" drive!
You are ready to stretch yourself, try new things, share ideas, and spread your adventurous nature through McAuliffe's professional community. You are skilled at encouraging professional growth and risk-taking. You believe in your own capacity to grow and in students' and teachers' capacity to gain skills.

RESPONSIBILITIES
─ Contribute to the development of a culture of collaboration, inquiry, perseverance, responsibility, and kindness where students and adults are committed to quality work and the McAuliffe community.
─ Hold high expectations for student behavior and establish faculty and student buy-in to collectively uphold these expectations.
─ Oversee school-wide routines and procedures including: lunch/recess, arrival/dismissal, hallway passes, after school consequences, lunch and recess consequences as well as hallway transitions.
─ Coordinate the administrative system for providing in-the-moment teacher support to manage students exhibiting challenging behavior in the classroom and other school settings. Help train staff in safety care procedures.
─ Oversee the implementation of the school's Code of Conduct including the management of discipline issues and supporting the assignment and delivery of consequences; Integrate restorative practices into disciplinary responses when possible.
─ Use data to track student behavior, identify behaviors or cultural issues to target per grade or as a school and collaborate with grade level teams and/or the PBIS team to establish effective interventions
─ Oversee and ensure compliance with discipline policies and procedures including legal requirements.
─ Document all serious incidents and investigations. Contact the school resource officer when necessary.
─ Collaborate with other instructional leaders to engage faculty in professional development pertaining to classroom culture and management, teaching Habits of Work and Learning, responding to challenging behaviors, and building relationships.
─ Contribute to the implementation of student behavior intervention plans.
─ Collaborate with the Director of Culture and instructional coaches to support teachers on the instruction and reinforcement of classroom expectations and routines, student engagement, and behavior management.
─ Participate on the school's PBIS Team (composed of faculty) to establish priorities for the year related to Positive Behavioral Intervention Systems, crew, student behavior/discipline, restorative practices, as well as community-building activities including spirit weeks and community meetings.
─ Participate in an annual evaluation of McAuliffe's culture/character/discipline programming including analysis of behavioral and discipline data and identification of areas in need of improvement.
─ Support the implementation of the school's response to intervention (RTI) processes including participation in weekly grade level meetings, Student Support Squad, and RTI Committee meetings, and Counseling Department meetings as needed.
─ Contribute to a culture that values and emphasizes the importance of collaboration and transparency between school and families by engaging in strong communication with parents/guardians regarding student discipline; conduct reentry conferences as well as behavior meetings with parents/guardians, scholars, and other professionals as needed.

QUALIFICATIONS
─ Belief in the school's mission and educational model.
─ Experience working with middle school age students in a teaching or leadership capacity.
─ Experience working with students who have identified learning disabilities including but not limited to autism, emotional, behavioral, and cognitive.
─ Skilled at working with students who engage in challenging behaviors.

• Previous experience using PBIS and Restorative Practices
  ─ Trained and experienced in applying crisis prevention and de-escalation techniques.
  ─ Experience building collaborative relationships with parents/guardians including hard-to-reach families.
  ─ Experience working in a highly collaborative professional setting.
  ─ Experience and expertise facilitating difficult conversations with students, families, and teachers.
  ─ Reflective professional with high levels of emotional intelligence.
  ─ Skilled at building, facilitating, monitoring, and adjusting systems that need to be implemented by others.
  ─ Comfortable with Google Drive, especially experienced with Google Sheets, Google Form, and Google Docs. (Comfort and experience with MicroSoft suite is helpful too, but much of our work happens through Google Drive.)
  ─ Strong verbal and written communication skills.
  ─ Skilled at managing multiple and competing priorities, e.g., juggling many balls at the same time!

APPLICATION PROCESS
To apply for this position, please submit materials via schoolspring.com

1.Cover letter which includes reflection on this job opportunity. Help us understand what makes you a great match for the Christa McAuliffe Charter School and our Temporary Dean of Students position.
2.Resume or curriculum vitae that gives a full picture of your professional and educational experiences.
3.List of three (3) professional references including capacity in which you know each person, affiliation, current employment, email and phone contact information.
4.OPTIONAL: Link to an online platform that showcases examples of your work -- videos, documents, photographs, etc. This could be an online portfolio, wiki-site, Google Drive folder, dropbox folder, etc.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Hours / School Calendar
School hours are formally 7:45a

• 3:45pm. On Tuesdays, we have a school wide PD until 4:15pm that you are required to attend.
  The school generally follows the Framingham Public School calendar.
  There are evening events that this position will need to attend on occasion including Student Celebrations of Learning, and parent/guardian presentations/trainings.

Compensation & Benefits
Starting salary will be based on years of experience teaching, counseling, and/or serving in a similar role.
The school offers a comprehensive health and benefits package