Family Liaison

Springfield Public Schools • Springfield, MA

342d

About The Position

The Family Liaison will use home visits as a strategy to support families to positively affect student achievement and to increase effective communication between home and school.

Requirements

• Associates Degree from an accredited college preferred or minimum of two years of experience in family services or related human services field.
• Communicate effectively with families in a friendly and supportive manner.
• Ability to work as an effective team member in a diverse educational, multicultural environment.
• Skill, ability and knowledge of Microsoft Word.
• Skill and ability to access email and internet.
• Possess interpersonal and organizational skills.
• Access to transportation is required.
• Bilingual skills highly desirable.

Responsibilities

• Provide information on available Springfield Parent Academy workshops and other school and district family activities.
• Support families with social needs by providing information on appropriate community resources.
• Assist parents with referrals to district programs and services.
• Actively promote district and school events and family activities.
• Help families understand district/school policies and procedures such as: attendance, homework, uniforms and other related information in the Student/Parent Handbook.
• Create ways for parents and teachers to personally meet to address students' academic progress (i.e. Parent-Teacher Conferences).
• Help parents with general questions and basic information related to special education and other academic related programs.
• Assist families with parenting skills to support their children.
• Work with teachers and other staff to develop learning kits to use in home visits.
• Welcome families, personally meet them and introduce them to the school community.
• Identify potential Parent/Teacher Organization (PTO) & School Centered Decision Making (SCDM) parents and personally meet them for active participation.
• Create ways for families and teachers to personally meet.
• Participate in school events such as open houses, coffee hours to personally connect with parents.
• Act as a liaison between families and school staff when issues arise, more information needs to be shared or cultural differences are a barrier.
• Document needs of families through Power School and other tracking tools.
• Using observation and other variety of techniques; identify the specific needs of families and their progress.
• Develop a support plan to work with the families.
• Work in collaboration with parents, teachers, counselors, and attendance officers to enhance communication between school and home.
• Attend parent engagement capacity building workshops geared towards parents and/or school staff.
• Work in collaboration with parent and community organizations to build the capacity of parents and families.
• Work in collaboration with the PACE Center Team and community groups to support district activities and the Springfield Parent Academy.
• Assist school staff with identifying potential translation services.

Benefits

• Competitive salaries and benefits.
• Numerous cutting-edge professional development opportunities for all staff.
• Support for teaching staff with mentors such as instructional leadership specialists and effective educator coaches.
• Career advancement opportunities.
• Investment in 'Grow our Own' and educational pipeline programs.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Industry: Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support
• Education Level: Associate degree