UP Academies: School Psychologist (SY25-26)

About UP Education Network

UP Education Network manages and operates six schools in Boston, Lawrence, and Springfield, MA. We serve over 3,000 elementary and middle school students. UP is invited by local school districts to restart chronically underperforming district schools as UP Academies. Each UP Academy shares the same mission: to ensure that students acquire the knowledge, skills, and strength of character necessary to succeed on the path to college and to achieve their full potential.

Role

The School Psychologist at UP Academy will provide consultation, assessment and intervention services related to school psychology.

Specific Responsibilities

• Evaluate and screen students to assess cognitive abilities and social-emotional and behavioral needs
• Write evaluation reports including all cognitive, social-emotional, and behavior assessments and goals
• Work in conjunction with the IEP Team to create IEPs for annual reviews and provides input for students who are involved with the three-year re-evaluation
• Determine and maintain programs based on goals set by IEP and maintain logs and ongoing assessments to evaluate student progress and complete progress reports;
• Create a climate conducive to counseling and implements a variety of effective guidance and therapeutic strategies
• Provide consultation to classroom teachers pertaining to student progress, behavior management techniques, and establishing individualized behavior management plans;
• Determine the needs of individual students and provide services one-to-one, in small groups, and within the classroom, as deemed appropriate
• Participate in special education meetings, dispute resolution meetings, hearings, and mediation settlement meetings as needed
• Coordinate outreach activities that support our students and families including pediatricians, outside counseling agencies, and agencies such as DCF, DMH, etc.;
• Complete Medicaid reimbursement activities
• Meet federal and state mandates as well as local policies in the performance of duties
• Perform other duties related to this job description as required by the school Principal or other immediate supervisor

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s degree is required
• Completion of Master’s degree or higher in school psychology approved by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), including an advanced practicum of 1,200 hours, 600 of which must be in a school setting
• A strong belief in UP Education Network’s core values: Students, Community, Humility, Resilience, and Humor
• Possession of MA DESE School Psychologist License
• Current authorization to work in the United States – A candidate must have such authorization by his or her first day of employment

Compensation and Benefits

Your salary is commensurate with experience; UP Academy follows the salary scales of each UP Academy’s host school district. As an employee of UP Academy and your respective school district, you will receive the same access to personal and sick days, health insurance, and dental insurance as others within your union.

Working at UP Education Network

We know that great staff members directly lead to the success of our students. At UP, your career is shaped by:

• Opportunities for immediate impact: UP offers a chance to bring best practices found in high-performing schools to students previously enrolled in struggling schools, and to rapidly unlock the potential of these students
• Talented, mission-driven colleagues: Our staff is enthusiastic, dedicated, and willing to do “whatever it takes” to put every student on the path to college
• Collaboration and teamwork: Staff members collaborate and work closely together on grade-level or content area teams, using data to track student performance as well as guide instructional practice
• Consistent professional growth and development: Members of our staff typically have bi-weekly check-in meetings with their managers where they receive targeted coaching and support and the entire staff participates in weekly professional development sessions during the school year, kick-started by extensive training in August.

To Apply:

If you are interested in applying for this position, please visit https://www.upeducationnetwork.org/join-the-team and formally apply for this position through our online application system.

We encourage applicants of diverse backgrounds to apply for any open position in which they feel qualified. We believe that we have a responsibility to recruit, retain, develop, and reward diverse and talented staff. Our students must be exposed on a daily basis to a diverse group of powerful role models - in their teachers, their school leaders, and their supporters in the network office. With this in mind, we are committed to recruiting the most talented individuals from the widest possible range of backgrounds to join our creative, mission-driven team.