School-Based Family Liaison (SBFL)

Fitchburg School District • Fitchburg, MA

8h

About The Position

The School-Based Family Liaison (SBFL) works collaboratively with the school and community to improve and increase family engagement, creating strong support for teaching, learning, and student achievement. The School Family Liaison supports school sta? around family engagement and involvement issues, conducts outreach to families while communicating the priorities and goals of the school, and engages families in decision-making processes within the school. The School Family Liaison works towards improving communication among sta? and parents, enhancing families’ capacity to support their children’s learning, and serving as leaders in the school community. The School-Based Family Liaison (SBFL) works with sta?, families, and community organizations to create a school environment that is consistently welcoming to families.

Requirements

• Associate degree or two (2) years relevant experience working with families and/or school communities preferred; a combination of education and experience will be considered
• Ability to work effectively with teachers, support staff, and parents and advocate for children to effectively problem-solve
• Strong interpersonal communication, both oral and written organizational skills, time management, task completion, and a high sense of urgency as well as the ability to multi-task
• Strong presentation, database, and spreadsheet skills; ability to use MS Office and/or Google Suite
• Belief in the commitment to increasing personal growth, both academic and social-emotional, to obtain the highest level of achievement for every student
• Strong desire to work with students and families in an urban setting
• Outstanding problem-solving and critical thinking skills and desire to use data to drive decision-making
• Ability to learn quickly and to be effective and take initiative in a fast-paced, dynamic, ambitious environment
• An understanding of the concepts of institutional and structural racism and bias and their impact on underserved and underrepresented communities
• Ability to work with information that requires maintaining a high level of con?dentiality

Nice To Haves

• Bilingual in a language other than English, preferred. Spanish is the most common language other than English in FPS; other languages may include, but are not limited to Portuguese, Hmong, Haitian Creole, Arabic, etc.
• Opportunities for additional hours as needed

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain a welcoming environment for families to access school information and resources and welcome new students and families.
• Build, support, and maintain open, positive, and proactive communication with families about their goals and expectations for student learning.
• Communicate school goals and expectations for student learning in ways that diverse families and community members can understand.
• Build, support, and maintain communication between educators and families on various topics, including, but not limited to: attendance, disabilities, abuse, poverty, student truancy, housing insecurity, misbehavior, and delinquency;
• Support understanding of information such as school procedures, instructional programs, Title 1 funding, and roles of administrators and sta? to parents through direct contact, newspapers, and online means;
• Implement Processes and Procedures for Welcoming New Families;
• Provide support to families with diverse literacy and language skills with school communications;
• Assist with family-focused events, programs, and professional development workshops;
• Attend and participate in Family and Community Coordinator meetings, trainings, professional development, and McKinney Vento Service Committee meetings;
• May attend non-IEP Meetings with families (i.e., admission, attendance, behavioral and/or health, suspension hearings, etc.) as requested by administration to provide translation as necessary;
• Utilize the translation system that is available at each school;
• Maintain appropriate documentation regarding communication in the student information system (SIS) (journal section and parent outreach tracking form);
• Ability to work e?ectively with teachers, support sta?, and parents and advocate for children to solve problems e?ectively;
• Partners with the Community Engagement Coordinator for access and connecting families to resources.

Benefits

• Competitive and comprehensive health benefits are offered through the City of Fitchburg
• 190-day work year as negotiated by the Fitchburg School Committee and the Fitchburg Education Association (FEA) Association Secretaries and Clerks.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Associate degree