What are the responsibilities and job description for the Special Education Paraprofessional Leave Coverage (SY25-26) position at UP Education Network?
Special Education Paraprofessional Leave (SY25-26)
Grade Level: Elementary School
Start Date: August-November 2025
Location: UP Academy Holland
About UP Education Network
UP Education Network is a non-profit school success organization that addresses inequities in public school systems. UP provides differentiated support to historically under resourced schools through a partnership with districts and the state.
Since opening its doors in 2010, UP Education Network has focused on taking the lowest-performing schools in Massachusetts and transforming those schools into exceptional learning environments. We manage two campuses in Dorchester, serving over 1,300 students in Boston Public Schools (BPS) from grades pre-K through 8th. Our schools operate with charter-like autonomy while our network provides comprehensive support and management that builds capacity for schools to focus deeply on students.
Role:
The Special Education Paraprofessional at UP Academy holds primary responsibility for overseeing the implementation of effective, rigorous academic and behavior intervention systems with a small case load of students. The Special Education Paraprofessional will work closely with a small case load of students who need additional supports to be successful in the UP Academy classroom. This individual will support those students, their families, and their teachers in an effort to fundamentally change the successes they are realizing within UP Academy.
Specific Responsibilities:
• Work alongside experienced special educators to support a small case load of students across two substantially separate classrooms, driving the achievement of students with moderate to severe need
• Implement an effective, rigorous behavior intervention system with a case load of students across two classrooms
• Provide consistent and high academic and behavioral expectations
• Facilitate restorative conversations with students
• Support student mastery of state, city, and school academic and behavioral standards
• Lead daily individual and small group tutoring sessions
• Communicate effectively with students, families, and colleagues
Qualifications:
• A strong belief in UP Education Network’s vision, mission, and TIGER values (Teamwork, Integrity, Growth, Engagement, Resilience)
• ABA experienced preferred
• A high-school diploma or GED
• A miniumum of Forty-eight (48) Credit Hours of College Coursework as a current student; or an Associate's Degree; or a passing score on one of the two following Formalized Standardized Assessments: ParaPro Assessment (http://www.ets.org/parapro/ ) or WorkKeys Certificate of Proficiency for Teacher Assistants (http://www.act.org/workkeys/profcert/index.html ). REQUIRED
• Current authorization to work in the United States – A candidate must have such authorization by his or her first day of employment.
Working at UP Academy
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. Additionally, the entire staff participates in weekly professional development sessions during the school year.
Compensation:
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.
We encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds to apply for any open position for which they are qualified. Our students must be exposed on a daily basis to a diverse group of powerful role models. Therefore, we have a responsibility to recruit, retain, develop, and reward a diverse and talented staff from a wide range of backgrounds to join our creative, mission-driven team.
