Educational Support Professional Sail 1 Program (ESP-3) Job ID 1317

Bedford Public Schools is seeking an Educational Support Professional (ESP-3) for the SAIL 1 Program to provide direct support to students diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder or related disorders in a sub-separate classroom.

About the role

The ESP will implement individualized academic and behavior programs using the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis, including discrete trial task analysis and naturalistic teaching. A Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and a certified Special Education Teacher supervise ongoing training and support. Five days of additional specialized training before the start of school is provided.

Responsibilities

• Support classroom routines and procedures; reinforce principles of social interaction programs (e.g., Responsive Classroom, RULER, PBIS) by modeling positive behavior and assisting with behavioral support.
• Provide supervision and student support during recess, lunch, arrival, dismissal, field trips, and while escorting students to designated areas (activities, fire and crisis drills).
• Deliver small group or individual instructional support aligned with student goals, benchmarks, IEPs, and behavior plans under the guidance of teaching/counseling staff.
• Consult with teachers to prepare for daily classes, including learning targets and success criteria.
• Support academic programs (reteaching, reinforcing, reviewing, assessing, scribing, note-taking, data collection) and behavioral programs (data collection, cueing, motor breaks, behavior plans).
• Provide regular feedback to teaching/counseling staff on student progress and challenges.
• Collaborate with classroom teachers to support learning experiences, prioritizing identified students while engaging with the broader group.
• Implement behavior intervention plans and facilitate social skills across various school settings.
• Support crisis intervention using culturally responsive methods, including verbal de-escalation and physical intervention (as trained) to reduce injury risk.
• Adapt to varying student needs and perform other job-related tasks as assigned by administrators.
• Maintain accurate data and records for progress monitoring of student plans (e.g., IEP goals) and share information with teaching/counseling staff.

Requirements

• Ability to integrate into the classroom setting under the direction of administrative/teaching/counseling staff to support student engagement and learning.
• Experience collecting, recording, and analyzing data across multiple data points; proficiency in using Google tools to create spreadsheets and graphs for visualizing student progress.
• Willingness to adapt and acquire new skills to support student engagement in learning activities, behavior interventions, and social interactions.
• Maintain flexibility in day-to-day priorities to reflect changing student needs.
• Ability to work in multiple classrooms or environments during the school day.
• Commitment to maintaining confidentiality and professionalism expected of teaching staff.
• Ability to anticipate and address unforeseen events when working with large groups of children.
• Strong interpersonal skills to maintain positive relations with students, parents, staff, and the public.

Qualifications

• Passion for working with children/students.
• Knowledge of child growth and development, basic learning strategies, and social-emotional learning (SEL).
• Knowledge of proper de-escalation strategies and restraint protocols.
• Ability to work with diverse learning styles and collaborate as a member of a teaching team.
• Associate’s Degree in Psychology, Education, or a related area preferred.
• Considered an Instructional Aide as defined in General Laws, Chapter 71, Section 38.

Physical and Environmental Demands

• Able to move with students between school environments.
• Physical agility and strength, with proper safety protocols.

Pay

$28.18/hour to $34.64/hour. Annualized for 184 work days at 6.75 hours/day: $35,006 to $43,028.

Benefits

Benefits are outlined at Benefits | Bedford Public Schools.