Early Interventionist

ABOUT US

The Primary School is creating a new school model that brings together all of the adults in a child's life, including parents, educators, and medical and mental health providers, starting from a very early age. We recognize the entrenched racism that exists within our public systems and the unjust impact this has had on families of color. Our aim is that children and families most impacted by systemic poverty and racism receive the multidisciplinary support they deserve to be well, learn, and thrive.

Long-term, we hope to create a game-changing school model that can be replicated across the country. As we continue to learn and grow, we plan to share what we've learned and pursue policy and systems change on a local, state, and national level. We are proud to receive funding from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a major national philanthropy.

Our approach has three defining characteristics:

• We start early. We start working with children as young as 8 months and provide full-time school starting at age three to reach them at a critical stage in development.
• We partner with parents. We believe that when parents thrive, children thrive, so we support the wellness and growth of parents alongside the growth of their children.
• We integrate services. Our unique model unites health care and education, building a multi-disciplinary team and holistic system of care around a child's full needs.

In 2016, we opened our flagship school in East Palo Alto, California, with our first class of four year olds. We have grown to serve over 300 children and their families through a birth to three program, parent wellness program, full-day preschool, and elementary school, which will grow through eighth grade. In 2021, we opened our second site in the East Bay.

ABOUT OUR EAST BAY SITE

We opened our second site with a founding class of four-year-old children and families who started preschool in August 2021. Drawing on key learnings from our first site, core components of the model include partnering closely with parents throughout their child's development and supporting parent wellness; coordinating early screening and developmental support and offering a full-day school; and working with existing health care providers in the community to coordinate care for children.

ABOUT THE ROLE

We believe deeply in the importance of supporting children and their families before they start school. As such, our early childhood programs are an important part of our model and incorporate programming elements for the entire family.
This individual will be exceptionally skilled at building trusted relationships through group-based programming with parents and families of toddlers and preschoolers. The role is mission critical to delivering upon The Primary School's innovative model.

Responsibilities

• Support enrollment of incoming cohorts. This includes supporting information sessions as needed, collecting enrollment forms and meeting 1:1 or in small groups with families to answer questions and/or provide support to complete paperwork.
• Partner with parents to complete evidence-based developmental questionnaires, such as the ASQ-3 and ASQ:SE 2.
• Share developmental screening information with the child's medical home.
• Facilitate Children's Circles in partnership with the Parent Coach and other team members.
• Incorporate the findings and results of screening and observation tools to develop parent-child activities that will enhance the parent-child relationship, strengthen child development and increase participants knowledge and awareness of her child's physical, emotional and psychological developmental needs and accomplishments.
• In partnership with the family, make referrals to external service providers for further evaluation and/or services, this includes following up with families and providers as needed to ensure that children receive the necessary evaluation(s) and support. Identify and document gaps and barriers to accessing services.
• Participate in and contribute to the universal activities of the 0-3 experience at The Primary School.
• Implement language playgroups focused on nurturing the parent-child attachment relationship, demonstrating evidence-based parenting techniques, and building community between families.
• Co-facilitate parent wellness coaching groups.
• While a curriculum will be provided, be responsible for its implementation with expectations of personalization for families or different groups.
• Discern gaps in parenting skill that impact the attachment relationship and model for parents new behaviors to strengthen their bond with their child and child's social-emotional learning
• Deliver group-based parenting interventions
• Use authentic assessment methods to observe and document children's developmental progress and set goals and next steps with family members
• Incorporate the findings and results of screening and observation tools to develop parent-child activities that will enhance the parent-child relationship, strengthen child development and increase participants knowledge and awareness of her child's physical, emotional and psychological developmental needs and accomplishments.
• Model for parents high impact language development strategies through songs, stories and talking with children
• Coordinate support for families with other Primary School team members and community organizations by maintaining well-documented and organized information
• Provide training to Primary School parent wellness coaches with varying levels of child development expertise
• Help develop and provide feedback on technology that can support parents in understanding healthy child development
• As needed, conduct home visiting interventions for families in need of additional, personalized support.
• Attend trainings relevant to parent education and/or playgroup curriculum and share new learnings with TPS staff
• Participate in design, evaluation, and refinement of all of the above programs and services.
• Support with organizing and participating in family events including but not limited community nights and other events.
• Develop and maintain collaborative relationships with internal and external partners.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date records.
• Ensure compliance with applicable federal and state HIPAA regulations and guidelines.
• Other duties consistent with the role may be required and/or requested by the manager, for example: creating a monthly family newsletter, visuals, and other materials to support children and caregivers at home and in groups.

ABOUT YOU

Professional skills experience

• You have at least three years of experience in infant and early childhood mental health or early childhood development, focusing on the relationships between young children and their adult caregivers
• You have experience and interest in working with preschool-aged children and leading preschool readiness groups for children up to 3 years of age
• You have experience leading group-based parent education or playgroups for parents
• You have community outreach experience supporting high risk families and children with socio-emotional or developmental needs
• You value the importance of the parent as the child's first teacher
• You are knowledgeable of birth to three early learning standards and developmental milestones
• You have experience assessing the growth and development of infants and toddlers
• You are a strong communicator and feel comfortable leading and facilitating playgroups with positive energy
• You coach families and advocate for others in a way that is compassionate, culturally-responsive, strengths-based and non-judgmental
• You are able to balance multiple priorities - meeting with families, preparing for playgroups, entering data - gracefully and with practiced personal organization and time management
• You are a natural problem solver, fixer and finder of resources; in moments of tension, you defuse and resolve conflict

Personal qualities

• You feel confident in leading playgroups and coaching families that speak different languages through the use of a translator.
• You are flexible with your schedule and understand that this work needs to meet the availability of our families (i.e., must be available and willing to work nights and some Saturday mornings)
• You are comfortable in ambiguity and environments that change rapidly
• You love collaboration and learning and are excited to work with and learn from all TPS team members, from pre-K to 8 education, to parent coaching, to community engagement
• You believe in the mission of The Primary School and that all children and families are capable of extraordinary things

A Plus If

• You are an East Bay native and are familiar with East Bay communities and resources.
  

COMPENSATION

Annual salary range begins at $63,000. Compensation is commensurate with qualifications and experience, plus excellent health benefits, 401k retirement plan, flexible spending account (FSA), dependent care FSA, and generous paid time off, including a competitive paid parental leave benefit.

HOW TO APPLY

TPS values diversity; people of all backgrounds are encouraged to apply. Please complete the following application and submit your most recent resume. These short-answer questions are designed to replace a cover letter, so take your time with them and copy in your answers from a separate document. If you feel that the questions do not accurately capture what you have to offer The Primary School, you are also welcome to attach a cover letter. Applications are being reviewed on a rolling basis so we encourage you to submit yours soon. We look forward to reading your application!