| Location | Indianapolis, IN |
TITLE Behavior Support Specialist
WELCOME TO INDIANAPOLIS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
At IPS we believe in the transformative power of education. We work collectively every day to prepare our students for success in the classroom and in life by providing equitable high-quality educational experiences across our family of schools. IPS is a place to make an impact grow your career and ensure every student has access to a high quality education all while earning a good living in a district on the move. While the work is challenging it is deeply meaningful and impactful. We seek innovators and trailblazers who bring varying experiences and expertise and share our belief that every child deserves access to an exceptional education. As part of TeamIPS youll create lasting connections find a sense of belonging and feel supported to make a meaningful difference in students lives.
In return no matter your role here we expect a commitment to excellence and accountability. Youll be held to high standards. Resilience and passion are key-you must be adaptable handling adversity with flexibility while putting students at the heart of everything you do. Ethical conduct clear communication and mutual respect are fundamental. Being a dependable collaborative team player who builds meaningful relationships is essential.
Together we are Proving Whats Possible by building a community where everyone belongs and each student has the opportunity to fulfill their potential.
A Career in IPS Offers…
Purpose and Impact
Essential Contributions In every non-teaching and non-leadership role your work directly supports the success of IPS students and schools. Whether youre maintaining facilities providing student services or managing administrative operations you play a key part in ensuring an equitable and high-quality educational environment.
Belonging and Community IPS is a place where every employee is valued. Youll join a supportive community that promotes respect teamwork and a shared commitment to serving students and families.
Professional and Personal Growth
Training and Development Opportunities IPS offers a variety of training programs to help staff build new skills and grow professionally. This includes access to development opportunities for administrative technical and operational roles as well as pathways to becoming a certified teacher.
Skill Enhancement Whether youre new to your role or seeking to deepen your expertise IPS provides resources and support for continuous improvement.
Comprehensive Compensation and Benefits
Fair Compensation IPS ensures competitive wages and regularly reviews pay structures to maintain equity.
Extensive Benefits Package Employees enjoy comprehensive health coverage dental and vision plans life insurance disability insurance and retirement plans. Additional financial benefits include flexible spending accounts and eligibility for federal loan forgiveness programs.
Work-Life Balance and Well-being
Generous Leave Policies IPS offers vacation personal and sick leave along with paid holidays. Twelve-month employees benefit from floating holidays and unused personal leave rolls into the sick leave balance.
Wellness Programs IPS prioritizes staff well-being with access to wellness initiatives including health screenings and an employee assistance program for confidential support and counseling.
What We Expect
Professionalism and Reliability Every role at IPS is vital to the districts success. We expect staff to demonstrate professionalism dependability and a commitment to providing excellent service to students educators and families.
Collaboration and Communication IPS values teamwork. Working collaboratively with your colleagues ensures a supportive environment for all. Clear communication and mutual respect are key to maintaining this culture.
Flexibility and Problem-Solving As a large dynamic district IPS needs staff who are adaptable and proactive in solving problems to meet the ever-changing needs of students and schools.
JOIN US
Indianapolis Public Schools is more than a workplace its a community where purpose impact and belonging come together to help Prove Whats Possible - in your career and in your school. If youre ready to embrace challenges strive for excellence and make a meaningful impact IPS is the place for you.
WHO WE ARE
Indianapolis Public Schools IPS is a student-focused innovative educational organization committed to academic excellence. Our mission is to empower and educate all students to think critically creatively and responsibly to embrace diversity and to pursue their dreams with a purpose. We are a family of excellent public schools in which every student has the opportunity to succeed and the power to create their own future.
Led by forward-thinking leadership and our commitment to prioritizing students racial equity and authentic engagement with our families team members and communities our staff have diverse opportunities to develop their careers in a challenging but rewarding environment. We are an organization for people who are passionate about education and who are committed to the Indianapolis community.
SUMMARY OF OPPORTUNITY
We are looking for a Behavior Specialist who will positively impact student success by planning carrying out evaluating and assisting in the application of positive behavior supports. The Behavior Specialist helps schools coordinate interventions that address students behaviors and provide equitable access to educational opportunities.
As a member of the Unified Student Supports Team you will receive excellent benefits opportunities to grow within your role and the organization and collaborative and supportive colleagues who put students first.
WHAT YOULL DO
The following outlines what your core duties and responsibilities will be for this position and provides a sample overview of what your day-to-day may look like.
Core Duties and Responsibilities
Assist school teams with the ability to support and serve students with behavioral challenges maximizing parental and community involvement.
Effectively support schools with defining and measuring behaviors understanding principles of reinforcement analyzing data to identify antecedents and functions of behavior coaching and modeling positive strategies for weakening inappropriate behavior and problem-solving to align resources interventions and supports.
Analyze data- assessments attendance discipline academics and other pertinent information - to determine appropriate interventions to reduce suspensions and other disciplinary occurrences while improving student engagement and academic achievement in the general education environment.
Collaborate with school teams during MTSSProblem-solving meetings to identify students with the most need and recommend appropriate Tier 1 and Tier 2 interventions.
Provide professional development to individual teachers groups of teachers andor entire school staff on issues related to crisis intervention learning and collaborations restorative practices and factors that can affect the development and implementation of interventions andor student progress.
Maintain records of students served and their progress.
Assist in the collection and compilation of student parent teacher and community data.
Attend professional meetings.
Discuss pupils academic and behavioral attitudes and achievements with the teacher.
Engage in ongoing professional development to increase knowledge and skill of positive student behavior supports for all students and targeted students.
Other duties as assigned.
Day In the Life" Overview
On a regular day as the Behavior Specialist you might
Promote highly specialized positive behavior interventions in which students in need thrive by prioritizing behavior instruction that is explicit intensive accelerated and provides ample practice.
Work cooperatively with building administrators to promote positive behavior.
Attend problem-solving meetings to discuss the current discipline trends in the building.
Assist school teams with the use of ongoing assessments strategies to record student successes or failures of planned interventions and systems.
Monitor schoolclassroom to ensure an equitable safe non-threatening nurturing learning environment.
Consult with school social workers counselors therapists and teachers when appropriate.
Engage parents in the student behavior intervention plan process and empower parents by providing them with skills and techniques to support the positive behavior development of their child.
Review behavior referrals and other pertinent information school-wide data reports.
Other duties as assigned.
As an ideal candidate for this role you will be able to achieve the following
Highly developed communications skills writtenverbal and interpersonal savvy.
Resultsaction-orientation project management skills.
Racial equity mindset and other critical indicators related to DEI.
Organizational agility developed negotiation skills.
Unquestionable personal code of ethics integrity diversity and trust.
Able to successfully navigate within varying degrees of ambiguity in a fast-paced environment.
Strong strategic analysis skills.
Ability to be creative in developing alternatives to meet IPS Instructional needs.
A track record of developing and maintaining strong working relationships with and among a diverse group of actors.
Excellent communication skills and strong analytical and writing capabilities.
Close attention to detail coupled with the ability to exercise good judgment.
Strong organizational oral and written communication and interpersonal skills.
Proactive nature able to anticipate conflicts before they arise.
Ability to work well independently as well as collaboratively.
Ability to execute meetings calls and emails with professionalism courtesy and accuracy.
Personal qualities of maturity humility strong work ethic sense of humor and diligence.
Ability to effectively allocate and prioritize time to several tasks to ensure completion of all.
Willingness to support school staff and classroom teachers in a professional and collegial manner.
Unwavering moral compass guided by personal ethics integrity tolerance and trustworthiness.
EDUCATION CERTIFICATION AND LICENSURE REQUIREMENTS
Bachelors Degree in Education B.A. or B.S. from a four-year college or university.
Minimum of five 5 years of successful classroom teaching experience withat-risk" andor behaviorally challenged" students.
Certification or ability to be fully certified by the Indiana Department of Education.
Candidates may be licensed in school counseling school social work special education or have a similar experiences in another IDOE approved area of licensure.
5 to 7 years of experience as a skillful practitioner and evidence of the knowledge skills and abilities required to execute this role at a high level.
Working knowledge of federal and state special education and 504 laws rules and practices including IDEA and Article 7.
Expert knowledge of function-based intervention planning for developing behavior-change strategies that focus on reducing problem behavior and increasing more appropriate replacement behavior.
Expert knowledge of techniques needed to assist schools with successfully completing effective Functional Behavior Assessments FBA function-based interventions and Behavior Intervention Plans BIP.
Exceptional knowledge in the use of assessments and assessment data to guide goal setting and prescribe work plans for individual student success.
Expert knowledge in research-based interventions strategies and the ability to implement them successfully.
Ability to plan and evaluate strategies for improving instruction.
Embrace a mindset that all children can succeed and demonstrate the commitment to do what is necessary to make this a reality.
Demonstrate exceptional skills in the roles of a teacher leader instructional coach collaborator action researcher reflective practitioner and learner advocate.
Working knowledge of federal and state special education laws rules and practices including IDEA and Article 7.
Broad knowledge of Indiana and IPS special education policies practices and programs.
FLSA CLASSIFICATION
Exempt
ELIGIBILITY FOR REMOTE WORK
Not eligible
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENT
The physical requirements described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be