Family Resource Specialist [Somali] (SY24-25)

Description: Reports to Director of Multilingual Learner of Community Outreach

Founded in 1647, Boston Public Schools (BPS) is the oldest public school district in the country. With approximately 50,000 students from over 114 different countries, nearly 9,000 employees (including 4,800 teachers), and an annual budget of $1.1 billion, BPS is the largest school district in Massachusetts and one of the most diverse as well. About half of all BPS students are from a multilingual household.

We are excited to re-vision the work of the new Office of Multilingual and Multicultural Education (OMME), including our priorities of serving our leaders and teachers with direct support at schools. Shifting the office’s primary focus from compliance to one that also focuses on quality teaching and learning will have a direct benefit and impact on our students' growth, schooling experience, and future outcomes.

OMME envisions that all multilingual learners feel a sense of belonging and joy for learning in a healing-centered learning environment so that they have the opportunity to be academically proficient in their home language and English and to graduate with the Seal of Biliteracy. In order to shift our work toward this vision, the office will center a multicultural framework with a social justice lens to address systemic racism and systems of power in all forms that perpetuate inequities for multilingual learners, their families, and communities from anti-blackness, colorism, xenophobia, linguicism/gelotophobia, islamophobia, implicit and explicit bias, bigotry of low-expectations, nativist microaggressions, colonizer language dominance, indigenous and spoken vs. written language access, language loss, refugee status, and linguistic imperialism.

General Description & Goals:

The Multilingual Family Resource Specialist will support the work of OMME as a member of the Multilingual Family Resources Specialists team, ensuring that multilingual parents and community members are engaged as partners to promote the success of all students and schools. The Multilingual Family Resource Specialists are a team of bilingual and bi-literate individuals who are to facilitate and support multilingual families, which entails orienting families about various resources available in the community to meet the needs of multilingual learner students. This position may require working during non-traditional hours such as nights and weekends to accommodate parent schedules.

Responsibilities:

• Train: Successfully respond to parent concerns and provide training to ensure that multilingual parents, youth, and all stakeholders are empowered about EL student achievement goals. Serve as a resource person for parents in researching educational resources to support their child’s academic and social-emotional growth. Ensure that parent education and involvement activities promote and are aligned to District goals, including increasing language, literacy, numeracy, graduation rates, and college and career readiness, while also ensuring connection and coherence to the Strategic Plan for Multilingual Learners in order to ensure the cultural and linguistic needs of the families served is met. Train parents to successfully navigate and gain technology skills in the parent’s native language via Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, and other relevant platforms and applications.
• Multilingual Parent Outreach: Manage outreach efforts with multilingual families consistent with BPS policies and offerings for families and to support by participating in the Office of Engagement training and assisting in the development, execution, evaluation, and planning of community and family initiatives that welcome, support and empower multilingual families and students.
• School-Based Support: Serve as the OMME Parent Liaison to school-based personnel to provide family engagement events that are culturally responsive and welcoming for all multilingual families at the school level in a wide array of events as well as on the decision-making bodies, such as School Family Council and School Site Council. Support transformation network schools in meeting the needs of families of Multilingual Learners by providing guidance on the cultural and linguistic needs of the community and being a partner in this work.
• Facilitate: Participate in the coordination of district and school-based English Learner Advisory Committees for an assigned caseload of schools. Assist in the development of meeting agendas, a compilation of notes, and collaboration with other BPS central office departments in order to make the information accessible to all multilingual families through a variety of mediums. Collaborate with community partners to strengthen relationships with parents and community organizations that represent the multilingual learner population and other stakeholders to promote open communication and ensure that relevant information has been shared out. Support transformation networks and high-needs schools.
• Professional Learning: Develop and facilitate professional learning experiences for a wide array of audiences, such as families, OMME team members, members of other central office departments, and school-based staff on various topics related to multilingual family engagement in various areas of expertise.
• Event Planning and Coordination: Create parent development programs and engagement opportunities for BPS families, such as Know Your Rights workshops and Parent Literacy Programs that are offered at both the school and central office level and also at Community-Based Organizations. Evaluating programming offered by community partners for initiatives, such as Family Literacy, by participating in site visits, conducting interviews, and analyzing quantitative and qualitative data from participation surveys. Collaborate with team members to plan various events designed to engage families of Multilingual Learners at the district level, such as SEI Kindergarten Orientation events and DELAC Conferences. This includes writing job descriptions for stipended positions needed for the events (childcare paraprofessionals and teachers for demonstrations), Interviewing and hiring staff to support with executing events as well as coordinating with the OMME Budget Manager to manage event budget, processing the payment of stipend staff, and completing the RFP process for procuring supplies and services for the events.
• Media: Maintain a website that shares up-to-date immigration resources for supporting immigrant students and families. Constantly search for resources and information regarding immigration. Create event flyers and program brochures in multiple languages. Work with the OMME Media Specialist to share event information on the Office of Multilingual and Multicultural Education’s official BPS website and social media pages.
• Empower: Build capacity with team members to create opportunities that help Multilingual families become involved in their students' educational experience and are empowered to be partners in the successful learning and growth of their children. Recruit families, coordinate sessions, and partake in the implementation of programs that empower and support parent knowledge and growth, such as Technology Goes Home and English as a Second Language.
• Equity and High Expectations: Demonstrate a commitment to excellence, equity, and high expectations for all students with an emphasis on building on the strengths that students bring to the teaching/learning process in order to support closing the achievement and opportunity gaps for Multilingual Learners.

• Professionalism: Model professional behavior that addresses job responsibilities, district policies and procedures, and the expectations of professionals working in a multilingual, multicultural, and economically diverse community.
• Safe, Respectful, and Culturally Sensitive and Responsive Learning Communities: Build and maintain safe, fair, and respectful learning environments that celebrate the diversity of the student population
• Perform other tasks as requested by the Director of ML Community Outreach and/or Cheif Office of Multilingual and Multicultural Education Department

Qualifications - Required:

• Bachelor’s degree or two to five years experience in the education and/or youth development field.
• Computer literacy and capacity to conduct data analysis and research to develop strategic outreach to benefit multilingual/immigrant families and communities.
• Expertise in transforming complex legal and technical terminology from state and federal agencies into guidance comprehensible to families.
• Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to work with diverse groups of people.
• Excellent customer service techniques with strong ability to problem solve.
• Ability to use the internet and other analytical platforms to conduct research and data analysis.
• Knowledge of a wide variety of computer programs including word processing, database management, Powerpoint, Excel, and Desktop Publishing.
• Able to create PowerPoint presentations, reports charts, and tables.
• Proven ability to work independently, exercise judgment, and manage multiple tasks and priorities.
• Demonstrated experience in community partnership outreach and development with a proven record of sustaining and building relationships.
• Ability to create and analyze data within google products to create an action plan.
• Second Language Proficiency in Somali.

Qualifications-Preferred:

• Working knowledge of state and federal laws pertaining to the education of Multilingual Learners and immigrant students.
• Experience teaching or working in an urban public school district.
• Demonstrated experience working in interdisciplinary, cross-functional and multi-cultural
• environments.
• Experience using Google Forms, Google Sites, and Canva.
• Experience creating flyers or brochures.

Terms: Managerial, C41

The Boston Public Schools, in accordance with its nondiscrimination policies, does not discriminate in its programs, facilities, or employment or educational opportunities on the basis of race, color, age, criminal record (inquiries only), disability, homelessness, sex/gender, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, genetics or military status, and does not tolerate any form of retaliation, or bias-based intimidation, threat or harassment that demeans individuals’ dignity or interferes with their ability to learn or work.