Terms of Employment: Teacher's Salary Scale – 12 months, 5% Lead Stipend
FLSA Status: Exempt
Work Location: Dept. of Culture, Climate, and Student Services
Immediate Supervisor: Associate Director, Culture, Climate & Student Services

General Description: The Lead Behavioral Support Specialist (K-12) serves as both a division behavioral specialist
and supports the department by providing leadership to a team of behavioral specialists to ensure that students receive support to address behavioral challenges and increase academic outcomes. The team offers comprehensive trauma-responsive behavior intervention and support to students, teachers, and school teams. Support is for students receiving both general and exceptional education services in the division.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Leads and evaluates a team of behavioral specialists and interventionists to ensure students receive the appropriate whole-child support impacting student behavioral and mental health
• Supports in planning and implementing team, department, and division-wide professional learning over the summer and during the school year
• Works with the Associate Director of Culture, Climate & Student Services to coordinate comprehensive division-wide behavioral supports across the division
• Assesses and supports instructional and behavioral programs for students in general education
• Provides staff development and works collaboratively with teachers, paraprofessionals, and support staff to demonstrate best practices, strategies, and techniques to enhance instruction for students with social, communication, behavioral, and learning challenges
• Collaborates with staff division-wide to develop an understanding of a variety of methods to improve student behavior
• Completes functional behavioral assessments and develops behavioral intervention plans using evidenced-based practices
• Assists with the design, implementation, and follow-up of behavioral management programs for students to remediate behavioral and social problems
• Provides individual and group counseling to targeted students to include socialization activities
• Plans, coaches, and confers with classroom teachers concerning any behavioral, social, or personal issues affecting students, and develops and conducts in-service activities regarding techniques for remediation
• Assists teachers with the development of safety plans and engages with caregivers to plan for student success as needed
• Assists in developing and maintaining home-school relations in crises with students
• Assists with the development and maintenance of program evaluation procedures
• Engages in weekly data collection, recording, and analysis for effective planning
• Assists with case management and team problem-solving with other behavioral specialists, agency personnel, and other appropriate professionals regularly
• Demonstrates patience, respect, and a receptive attitude toward students of varied age groups and understanding of the specific situation
• Utilizes consulting skills to ensure implementation and maintenance of intervention plans
• Assumes responsibility for own professional growth and development by keeping current with the literature and new research findings
• Performs other related duties as assigned

Qualifications:

• Master’s degree from an accredited college or university in special education, psychology, behavior disorders, social work, and/or counseling required
• Virginia Postgraduate Professional License with endorsement in special education or school counseling or Virginia Pupil Personnel Services License with endorsement as a school counselor, school social worker, or school psychologist preferred
• Minimum five years of successful clinical or classroom experience working with students with challenging behaviors
• Must know current trends and methodologies used to address the needs of children with behavioral challenges
• Must have extensive successful experience in analyzing, assessing behavior, developing, planning, and implementing behavioral interventions
• Must have skills in data collection, evaluation, development, and implementation of positive behavior intervention plans and knowledge of tiered intervention frameworks and current accepted best practices utilized in the full continuum of placement options for students with behavioral challenges
• Must know about data tracking and collection, record management, and reporting methods
• Demonstrated understanding of differentiated instruction
• Must have expertise in developing and providing staff development activities for individual schools and/or division-wide
• Must have a valid driver’s license
• Bilingual educators (English-Spanish) are encouraged to apply

HOW TO APPLY: All applicants (including RPS employees) must submit an online application. Please access the website at: www.rvaschools.net

Please upload a current resume with your application.

Three reference names and contact information will be required if you progress to the interview step of the selection process. Richmond Public Schools will conduct a background investigation, fingerprinting, and tuberculosis screening as a condition of employment. EOE.