Coordinator-Family and Community Engagement

Holyoke Public Schools•Holyoke, MA

50d

About The Position

Holyoke Public Schools is a PreK-12 public school district serving nearly 5,100 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. 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 community's success. Please visit the Holyoke Public Schools website to learn more about us as well as some of our recent accomplishments. The Family And Community Engagement Coordinator will report to the Director of the Family, Student, and Community Engagement. They will work in collaboration with school-based leaders. Each Family Access & Engagement Coordinator may be expected to work with multiple locations in a flexible schedule, which will require adaptability, resourcefulness, and excellent organizational, communication, and teamwork skills. The FACE Coordinator will: Build school and district capacity to expand and deepen relationships with families. Develop key community partnerships to enhance family-school relationships Support parent, involvement, voice, and leadership development. Lead a District Affinity Group Support a Family and Community Connector The key goals of this position will be to: Support parents in strengthening their efforts at home to support their child's learning Build and Support school staff in strengthening family engagement and two-way communication. Create and implement a strategy in alignment to the district vision to rebuild trust and strengthen the relationship with HPS families, including increasing opportunities for Family and community voice and leadership.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree strongly preferred, or 2 years of college-level coursework with 3 years of highly relevant experience or equivalent training in a school, early education, or community agency setting which provides the required knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform essential job functions.
Bilingual (English/Spanish) with Cultural competence in Puerto Rican/Latino communities
Genuinely Warm and engaging personality and exceptional interpersonal skills
Demonstrated working knowledge of community dynamics, resources, services, leaders, and partners as well as Knowledge of community conditions in Holyoke and of the needs of the diverse families residing in Holyoke
Experience working with families, family programming, and community outreach.
Demonstrated ability to develop leadership skills in others.
Excellent proactive oral and written communication skills
Demonstrated ability to work independently and be a self-initiator
Demonstrated ability to be flexible and to work and deliver results as part of multiple teams
Demonstrated ability to work with word processing, spreadsheets, student database, and other office software.

Responsibilities

Implement strategies using the capacity-building Framework to support teachers, school leaders, and other school staff in establishing connections and deepening partnerships with families.
Design, Implement and facilitate home visiting protocols, modeling of learning strategies, classroom observations by parents, staff understanding of family and community context and resources, etc.
Design, support, lead and coordinate periodic school-based family activities, such as educational workshops, fun nights, cultural celebrations, community outreach, etc. in collaboration with school leaders and staff in multiple schools
Enhance parent voice, leadership, and feedback. Support teachers and other school staff to understand family and community context and resources
Lead the communication with families (including translation and interpretation of family communications, excluding IEPs) as well as in family engagement in school activities
Assist designated groups of families in need of special support, through light case management, referrals, and liaison work with community agencies
Manage and support parent volunteers to address school needs and initiatives and develop their leadership skills Lead educational workshops and coaching for parents and volunteers on different subjects, particularly around early literacy, educational policy, and regulations, special education, ELL, parent leadership, etc.
Implement and strengthen a robust system for regular communications with families, particularly related to navigating the school system, district policies and procedures, events, and opportunities for parent involvement
Develop and Maintain updated HPS resource and information sites as part of the district-wide family resource information system
Lead Site Councils and Work collaboratively with school PTOs
Develop and manage key community partnerships that support family engagement Support district-wide collaborations and initiatives to increase family engagement
Plan, Develop, implement and assess District and school attendance policy communicate with families regarding attendance and punctuality issues, and lead attendance teams.
Attend training and workshops necessary to perform FACE duties
Consistently Demonstrate positive interpersonal relationships with students, staff, parents, and community members
Consistently Demonstrate punctuality, great attendance, and a strong work ethic for all duties assigned
Other duties as assigned by the FACE Director