26/27 BILINGUAL FAMILY SPECIALIST (Key)

Arlington Public Schools•Arlington, VA

8h•Onsite

About The Position

Human Resources announces an opening for a 1.0 FTE Bilingual Family Specialist at Escuela Key School. This is a full-time, 200-days, Grade N-BF position. This position serves as a liaison between bicultural families and Arlington Public Schools and programs. In partnership with others, the Bilingual Family Specialist supports families through building relationships and cultural understanding, facilitating communication on behalf of the school and/or district, empowering parent, and community involvement, and providing school/community resources. Work is performed under general supervision of the building administrator (e.g. Principal). The incumbent keeps the supervisor informed and brings particularly complex or sensitive issues or problems forward for guidance or resolution. This class is differentiated from the classification of paraprofessional (e.g, instructional assistant) based on the specialized population and demographics of students and families this position supports.

Requirements

High School Diploma or General Education Degree (G.E.D.) and two (2) years of progressively responsible experience in social services, community relations, or related fields is required.
Bilingual capability, oral and written proficiency, in English and target language, as demonstrated by a passing score on a written and oral assessment is required.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology, Psychology, Social Work or Education and three (3) to five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in social services, community relations, or related fields is preferred.

Responsibilities

Welcomes new immigrant families, assisting with enrollment, providing school tours and key information related to the school, district, and educational programs, while building connections between school staff members, family and community.
Actively, dependably, and confidentially manages messages, questions, and responses to and from school staff and parents in a timely manner.
Accurately communicates student need(s) to appropriate school support staff based on parent or student disclosed information while maintaining confidentiality.
Provides, facilitates, and/or leads parent workshops in native language and/or English to increase parents’ familiarity with school expectations; ability to navigate the school system; confidence participating in leadership roles; and ability to monitor child’s academic progress. Assists parents in engaging in academic planning for their child’s future success.
Plans, schedules, organizes, informs and participates in delivering a variety of school or community outreach programs, including one-on-one consultations, small meetings, presentations, conferences, workshops for families and staff members and/or mass communication efforts.
Establishes/Maintains regular parent group meetings to allow exploration of parent interests or needs through providing presentations by invited speakers from the school and community.
Advocates for and supports parental engagement, fostering parent leadership and participation in child’s academic progress and growth.
Identifies, and connects families to potential resources for a variety of needs including, but not limited to: academic, behavioral, mental health and/or family support. These resources may be located within the school, district, or community.
Performs other duties related to assisting families through coordination with other staff or agency representatives and/or community based organizations/community resources (e.g. Help families with unexpected emergencies of medical, stability, transportation needs, etc.)
Assists in providing basic technological support and guidance regarding connectivity to ensure parents can access and use platforms to view report cards, report absences and navigate student learning platforms (e.g.: ParentVue).
May be called upon to interpret for various school meetings and programs.
Facilitates parent conferences through interpretation, assisting in scheduling additional interpreters and building capacity among school staff in utilizing communication tools such as Language Line or Talking Points.
Assists parents in understanding and completing various APS Surveys, questionnaires, and district community engagement activities. Works to ensure diverse voices are heard.
Attends monthly professional development meetings with central office staff, assigned schools and appropriate training opportunities as assigned.
Collaborates to support Parent Teacher Association (PTA) meetings.
Other duties as assigned.