Family Welcome Center Liaison

Town of Andover•Andover, MA

6d•Onsite

About The Position

As Family Welcome Center Liaison, this employee will manage Andover Public Schools’ Family Welcome Center, a centralized location where APS families may turn to when seeking information about access to a full array of tiered family services. This role is crucial in fostering relationships between parents/caregivers, staff, and community agencies, and serves as the first point of contact for new families, providing transitional guidance and support throughout the enrollment process.

Requirements

Experience working with students, children, and parents/caregivers, specifically multilingual and multicultural families.
Availability to work some evening hours, as necessary.
Caring demeanor.
Ability to take initiative, exercise sound judgment, and be proactive and resourceful to gather information and problem solve.
Works collaboratively.
Strong organizational skills.
Ability to effectively communicate in a clear, concise, and timely manner.
Ability to prioritize multiple tasks and deal effectively with interruptions.
Ability to perform detailed work accurately and efficiently within strict deadlines, and free from errors and mistakes.
Use a variety of technology tools including: Munis, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Google, Excel, and translation services like Talking Points and Rapport International.

Nice To Haves

Bilingual/Fluent in another language other than English preferred.

Responsibilities

Assist in the development and execution of the Family Welcome Center, working closely with the English Learner Education Program Coordinator and Executive Team.
Manage the day to day operations of the Family Welcome Center.
Provide the first step in fostering relationships between parents/caregivers, staff, and community agencies.
Connect families with appropriate service providers within the school district.
Provide a single point of contact for all new families in the community that can understand their specific needs and seamlessly connect them to appropriate resources.
Provide transitional guidance to families enrolling in APS for the first time or returning after a break in enrollment status, directly assisting them with the registration process, serving as the central drop-off point for critical physical paperwork including residency, and ensuring the accurate completion of the Language Survey.
Provide a conduit of communication between schools, the superintendent’s office, programs, and community resources.
Connect with new English Learners and migrant families as the initial single contact.
Conduct intake interviews and provide initial English Language Development Assessments for English Learners.
Support schools in using district translation services and coordinate Language Ambassadors.
Offer information regarding a wide range of support services, i.e., aid with informing parents about Adult Education (ESL) classes, how to understand American schools, MassHealth and SNAP applications, and registering for extracurricular activities and programs run at the schools and in collaboration/partnership with community-based organizations.
Distribute district/school-based information and welcome packets in the families’ home/ preferred language that lists school information, address, principal’s name, teacher & English Language teacher(s), and contact information.
Connect and collaborate with appropriate APS staff as necessary.
Collaborate on district-wide ELPAC meetings held 4x a year.
Perform related duties and/or special projects as assigned by the Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, or Executive Team.