The Jay and Rose Phillips Early Intervention Specialist is a full-time employee at the JCC’s Early Learning School (ELS) and is a member of the ELS Administrative Team. Their primary goal is to support all children and their families in the ELS by creating and fostering an inclusive environment to ensure children are meeting their developmental milestones.
We believe that children will do at least as well developmentally and socially in inclusive programs as they do in specialized programs. This position will work with educators to maximize the participation of typically developing children while also providing reasonable accommodations to the individual needs of children with identified needs. The Early Intervention Specialist partners with families to ensure students receive consistent support both at school and create a strong school/family partnership for parallel support to be provided at home.
In addition, the Early Intervention Specialist directly supervises several classroom teachers in the ELS and will be responsible for providing continuous coaching and training to all educators within the school throughout the year.
Role And Responsibilities
Training & Policy
- Staff Training
- Provide coaching and support to all educators to implement best practices in the classroom to support children with challenging behaviors or identified needs.
- Coach and provide technical assistance to all educators to support the identification of children with developmental delays and/or disabilities. Specifically, if a potential delay/disability is identified, the Early Intervention Specialist will support educators with making referrals to appropriate outside Early Intervention resources.
- Train on and implement the MTSS model previously established in the ELS to ensure fidelity across classrooms throughout the year.
- Hold regular meetings with support staff on PD days with the focus of best supporting classroom teachers.
- Parent & Community Training
- Provide at least 2-3 family workshops each year for ELS Parents around child development.
- Identify trends in individual classrooms and provide parent resources and education trainings, as needed.
- Support the ELS Administrative Team with Rising Events designed to educate families about big developmental changes in each age group.
- Policy Development
- Support and develop policies and procedures focused on embedding inclusive practices in our teaching at the ELS.
- Support with the development of new inclusive policies for the family and educator handbooks.
- Partner with Camp Shai and Ranch Camp to ensure continuity between programs.
Supervision & Leadership
- Directly supervise the assigned group of educators in-line with the other ELS Administrative Team.
- Provide continuing education for year-round staff on inclusive practices and behavior management. In addition, work closely with the ELS Administrative Team to observe classrooms and recognize areas where teachers need Professional Development.
Classroom Support & Student-Facing Contact
- Partner with all classroom educators to measure the cognitive, language, motor, social, and school readiness of all children.
- This will include regular classroom observations to evaluate the flow of daily activities, classroom atmosphere, child interactions, use of differentiated supports, etc. to identify ways to better support all students.
- Meet with classroom teachers to demonstrate interventions and explain the rationale/practical use for an individual child or group of children once a need(s) has been established.
- Ensure the adapted MTSS model for the ELS is being actualized across all classrooms throughout the year.
- As needed, create additional accommodations to support the individual needs of a child (both with and without identified needs) or group of children in a classroom.
- Meet with and educate parents on their child’s developmental milestones, as needed.
- Coordinate outside support agencies and specialists, such as physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech & language pathologists, to facilitate early intervention services within the school, with parent permission.
- Partner with Interventionists to understand best practices for individual children and support educators through differentiations/accommodations.
- Anticipate behavioral needs for classrooms. For example, support families in the toddler classrooms with understanding biting and coach educators to offer pro-social alternatives.
- Provide support to classroom teachers with understanding and implementing individualized interventions.
- Manage inclusive materials in the motor rooms and classrooms alike.
- Create and maintain classroom behavior trackers to identify patterns in maladaptive behavior, and then work with classroom educators and support teachers to provide appropriate, consistent interventions.
Grant Management & Program Evaluation
- Manage the inclusion grant objectives and budget with the Director of the Early Learning School and GM of Camps & Early Learning School.
- Meet and collaborate with the camps teams around consistent behavioral interventions JCC-wide to create as much consistency as possible across programs.
- Ensure completion of Ages and Stages Questionnaires across classrooms. Specifically, ensure completion and review of ASQs by Classroom Educators for Infants – 3x/year; Toddlers – 2x/year; Twos & Preschool – 1x/year (fall only).
- Support and identify other potential inclusion grants, as needed.
Other Duties/Responsibilities Required
- Respond to classroom calls for behavioral support. Provide teachers with breaks if needed or intervene directly to provide support to child(ren) in need.
- Responsible for maintenance and upkeep of the Motor Rooms.
- Supervise purchases and safe use of materials in the motor rooms.
- Ensure materials are age-appropriate and safe for children to use.
- Support educators to use the rooms safely for therapeutic purposes, not just “play.”
- All other duties as assigned.
Basic Qualifications
Qualifications and Education Requirements
- Bachelors degree in special education, social work or related field
- Minimum of two years of experience
- The Early Intervention Specialist must be ECSE endorsed (Early Childhood Special Educator)
Preferred Qualifications
- Master's Degree in early childhood special education, or related field
Physical Demands and Working Environment
This position requires the candidate to be able to care for children’s physical needs on a consistent basis.
Candidates must be able to interact with children on their level; frequent bending, squatting and playing on the floor is expected. Candidate must be able to lift 30 pounds. Candidate must remain alert and productive.
Children and teachers move about the building to engage in weekly specials such as music, Judaics, or swimming lessons. The ideal candidate is able to be flexible with routines, and willing to engage in the overall community at the JCC.
Benefits Overview
Full-Time employees of the JCC are considered benefits-eligible.
The JCC contributes a portion of medical, dental, and vision plan premiums. The JCC proudly pays for 100% of Basic Life Insurance, AD&D, Short-Term Disability, and Long-Term Disability coverage for benefits eligible employees. We also provide additional voluntary benefit plans.
The JCC has a 401(K) Plan available for elective deferral contributions for employees over 21 years of age with no waiting period. The JCC matches 50% of employee contributions, up to 3%, on a 5-year vesting schedule.
Paid Time Off is a day-one benefit, accrued based on years of service and in compliance with Colorado Health Families & Workplaces Act. First-year, benefits-eligible employees may accrue up to 120 hours of Paid Time Off in their first year of service. The JCC also provides paid-holidays and benefits-eligible employees are awarded up to 4 additional “Floating Holidays” per year, prorated based on date of hire.
Full-Time employees are also eligible for a wide range of discounts, including up to 50% off for the JCC’s Preschool and Summer Camp childcare programs, free and discounted tickets to Mizel Arts and Culture events, discounted program and class costs, and more!
Full-Time employees of the JCC receive a complementary family gym membership, which includes year-round access to the JCC’s fitness center and heated pool.
All employees of the JCC are eligible to join the “JCCs of North America” (JCCA) community, which includes access to the JCCA’s resource center, ongoing professional development and networking opportunities, as well as educational stipends for qualifying employees.
Additional Notes
This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive, and the incumbent will also perform other reasonably related business duties as assigned by the supervisor or other management as required. The JCC reserves the right to revise or change job duties as the needs arise. This job description does not constitute a written or implied contract of employment.
The Jewish Community Center values diversity and inclusiveness and is an equal opportunity employer.
