What are the responsibilities and job description for the Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA): District wide position at Holyoke Schools?
Goal : The primary role of the District-Wide BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analyst) is to support the development, implementation, and refinement of programmatic and individual social and behavioral supports, using strategies based on principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA). The BCBA will function in a consultative role, whose expertise will increase the capacity of all team members to effectively provide least restrictive behaviorally-based supports to increase engagement of learners with neurodiverse and / or cognitive / intellectual disabilities. District BCBA's are also responsible for providing board specific ongoing supervision of district registered behavioral technicians (RBT's) & behavioral technicians (BT's) in training, providing related professional development and direct training to staff throughout each school day, and maintaining district and state data and documentation.
The following outline of the role and responsibilities is intended to provide a broad overview, but is subject to change according to the needs of the school district, as required by the Director of Intensive Services, Chief of Pupil Services, and Receiver / Superintendent of Schools.
- Adheres to all ethical guidelines, as outlined by the BACB. Adheres to all state and district designed special education processes and procedures.
- Creates & implements staff training and development around principles of ABA and related school-based topics during building based and district wide professional development opportunities throughout the school year, as directed by Director of Intensive Services and building principal.
- Conducts assessments including, but not limited to : Functional Behavioral Assessment / Analysis (FBA / FA), adaptive assessments (ie. Vineland, ABAS-3), social / language / skills-based assessments (ie. ABLLS-R, VB-MAPP, AFLS), home visits, and other related assessments necessary to analyze measurable information to formulate team recommendations and action planning toward overcoming learning barriers and meeting IEP goals and objectives
- Collaborates with educational teams to create Behavior Support Plans (BSP) and other behaviorally based student support interventions, that are feasible for implementation across all educational settings.
- Creates and implements structured program / individual staff training on therapeutic staff design / implementation of BSPs and other individualized recommended strategies to ensure : high fidelity of implementation, progress monitoring, and student success and independence.
- Models applied behavior analytic intervention strategies and data collection techniques for direct service providers, classroom teachers, paraprofessionals, and other school-based stakeholders
- Monitors data on a scheduled basis, identifies change timelines, shares action steps to staff, and provides real time feedback to staff following observations.
- Directly assists and supports teams with crisis / safety situations where staff require additional direct support and / or modeling. Supports crisis situations, using least aversive procedures, and works under the guidance of building administration regarding action planning.
- Provides consultative support to ABA programs / individual staff consultation on development / implementation of Discrete Trials Training programs and other ABA-based teaching methodologies to promote student learning success.
- Provides direct ongoing supervision and maintains documentation and initial / renewal of district Registered Behavioral Technicians (RBT's) & Behavioral Technicians (BT's), as per BACB eligibility and board requirements.
- Engages in staff support and related documentation of ABA School Based Medicaid Reimbursement requirements & Random Moment Completion
- Provides staff consultation on assessment and implementation of social skills instruction.
- Facilitates action and solution based team consultation meetings with classroom teachers / related service providers / paraprofessional staff, as needed by IEP team members and other stakeholders.
- Attends all required IEP and Section 504 meetings, when the BCBA role is assigned to a 504, IEP, or an evaluation has been requested / completed. Attends all additionally requested meetings with IEP teams, families, and / or community stakeholders
- Attends Child StudyTeam (CST) meetings to provide ABA consultation for tiered supports to target significant engagement barriers for students with neurodiverse and / or severe cognitive / intellectual impairments.
- Fulfills all written IEP & / or 504 responsibilities, including but not limited to : student strengths and key evaluation summaries, accommodations, methodologies, service delivery grid. Provides consultation to the team on social / behavioral goals / objectives, as needed.
- Works collaboratively with other IEP Team providers and related stakeholders
- Provides consultation to families and community stakeholders, as requested.
- Schedules and documents provision of services to students, as outlined in individual IEPs
- Assists in maintaining & updating internal and external Shared Resources (ie. internal G-drive resources, external HPS related Resource Webpage)
- Performs other duties as requested by the building principal, Director of Intensive Services, or the Chief of Pupil Services, within the scope of job description.
Additional Job Requirements :
Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), with board supervision eligibility, & State Licensed Applied Behavior Analyst (LABA)
Experience with related assessments and evaluations
Experience with staff training and professional development
Experience with RBT / BT supervision
Strong organizational skills to maintain required data and documentation requirements and scheduling of caseload consultation across schools
Strong ability to work alongside a multidisciplinary team
Strong ability to identify least restrictive ABA strategies that are feasible to implement within the context of a public school setting.
Safety Care training preferred
Working knowledge of 504 & IEP process
Working knowledge of the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks
Effective communication skills with families and community stakeholders
Experience working in an urban setting preferred
At least 2-4 years of relevant experience preferred
Bilingual Preferred
Master degree preferred
Teaching license preferred, but not required
Citizenship, residency or work VISA in United States required