Culture Coordinator (25-26)

Who are we?

Springfield Prep Charter School is a K-8 public charter school in Springfield, Massachusetts that prepares all students for high school, college, and life. We are driven by the belief that all children deserve a world-class education and that they can and will achieve when provided with high expectations, rigorous curriculum, and a joyful school culture. 

What does the Culture Coordinator do?

The Culture Coordinator (CC) supports scholars to ensure that they meet our high expectations for classroom engagement and behavior, and can focus on their learning.  The CC collaborates and works closely with teachers, counselors, families, and school leadership to ensure that all students are able to experience success in school, that behavior issues do not impact scholar success, that the school environment is conducive to learning, and that school culture is positive.

Key Responsibilities

These are the primary responsibilities that reflect the majority of the CC’s work:

• Manage disciplinary issues that arise in middle school.  This means taking proactive steps to prevent classroom disengagement with scholars who are struggling and responding to instances of significant classroom disruption in order to help the student process their actions and re-engage the student in learning.  It also means using the Code of Conduct to ensure consistency and fairness for all disciplinary issues and upholding school wide policies on a daily basis, (e.g., attendance and uniform policies).
• Oversee behavioral pull-out and in-school suspensions.  Our priority is to support students in the classroom but students will need time out of the classroom to de-escalate, reflect, and/or prepare to re-engage in learning.  The CC leads this process.  In rare instances of in-school suspension, the CC supervises the student while they are not with their class.  The CC is also responsible for keeping clear documentation of student culture and discipline records.
• Support teachers and school leadership in dealing with behavioral crisis-intervention and acute behavioral issues.  When serious behavioral issues do occur, the CC will work with the Counselor to de-escalate, communicate with families, and re-engage the student.   
• Lead positive school culture initiatives.  Coordinate and support positive school incentives and events, such as leadership and community awards and whole-school celebrations.
• Work closely with families to understand potential sources of school disengagement and misbehavior, uphold school wide community expectations, develop creative solutions to support engagement, and track progress.  This means engaging in positive and difficult conversations with students and families, problem solving collaboratively, and implementing individual Behavior Intervention Plans, Home/School Plans, and Safety Plans.  It also means  leading parent meetings related to discipline and attendance in a manner that clearly communicates to families the school’s policies and expectations.
• Support students with a mix of firmness and love.  This means motivating and coaching students, celebrating successes, and giving students consequences — we believe in our students too much to not hold them to a high bar for what they can achieve. 
• Provide targeted programming to support positive identity development and peer relationships.  This means working with the Counselor and the school’s leadership to facilitate social skills groups, mediation, and other age-appropriate groups and lessons to support students with navigating challenges of middle school
• Work side by side with teachers, in classrooms, to support student engagement and learning.  Given that the ultimate goal is for students to engage in their classroom learning, the CC will spend the majority of his/her time in classrooms, collaborating with teachers and supporting student learning.  During this time, CCs will support students with academic work, lead small group interventions, collaborate with teachers, and be part of grade level teams.
• Supervise non-classroom times such as arrival, dismissal, lunch, and transitions, and manage bus safety, so that non-classroom spaces are positive, calm, and orderly.  This means leading these spaces and times to uphold schoolwide systems and expectations.  For buses, it means setting and upholding expectations for appropriate behavior.

Who should apply?

Our community and student body are diverse, and we believe that we can best achieve our mission when our leadership, teachers, and staff reflect our students’ identities. Therefore, we are committed to being a diverse organization at all levels. With this in mind, we encourage people from all backgrounds and identities to apply. 

We do have a few requirements and preferred qualifications for this role:

• Associate’s degree (required)
• You can join us in early August 2024 and commit to our schedule: (7:25 am-3:50 pm)
• Previous experience teaching and/or working with students (experience working in a school setting highly preferred)
• Exceptionally strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build relationships with students, parents, colleagues, and community members
• Strong written and communication skills

Compensation and Benefits

We offer competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits, including generous paid family leave and retirement savings options.

We are an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer

As an equal opportunity employer, Springfield Preparatory Charter School provides equal employment opportunities without regard to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, military service, disability, genetic information, or any other category protected by federal or state law.