After-School Pre-K Staff, Salem Public Schools [SY 2025-2026] INTERNAL CANDIDATES ONLY at Salem Public Schools

After-School Pre-K Staff, Salem Public Schools [SY 2025-2026] INTERNAL CANDIDATES ONLY

INTERNAL Candidates Only (8-10 openings) 

Salem is a small, diverse city with a proud maritime and immigrant history. Salem Public School leaders are passionate about urban education and understand the urgency of improving student achievement. They respect and value the racial, cultural, and linguistic diversity of our students and their families, and have a strong commitment to the Salem community. Salem Public Schools seeks individuals who are able to serve all of our students, regardless of ability or language. Applicants who have experience working in urban settings and have bilingual skills are strongly encouraged to apply.

Salem Public Schools: After-School Pre-K Program

Salem Public Schools is seeking dedicated and enthusiastic SPS Staff to join the SPS Out-of-School Time (OST) Staff to support our Pre-K After-School Programs for the 2025-2026 school year. Opportunity for school-day teachers, support staff and paraprofessionals to continue making a positive impact on our youngest learners beyond regular school hours.

About the Program

Our Pre-K After-School Program offers a safe, joyful and engaging place for students while also providing childcare. The program is designed to support the success of our students and families while increasing student engagement and foster social-emotional learning. 

The program runs in conjunction with the official 2025-26 school year calendar, starting on September 4th, 2025, and concluding on the last day of Pre-K (June 11th, 2026).

Staff will be expected to attend the pre-program orientation meeting scheduled for September 2nd or 3rd. 

Programs operate from school dismissal until 5:00 PM at the following Pre-K schools:

• Bates Elementary: 2:15 PM - 5:00 PM
• Bentley Academy Innovation School: 2:15 PM - 5:00 PM
• Horace Mann Laboratory School: 2:15 PM - 5:00 PM
• Early Childhood Center: 2:50 PM - 5:00 PM

Please note: We do not provide after-school support on scheduled half-days.

What You'll Do

As an OST Pre-K Program Staff member, you'll be responsible for cultivating a welcoming and joyful environment for our students. Your role is vital in ensuring a structured, supportive, and enriching experience. Key responsibilities include:

• Student Supervision & Engagement:
• Cultivate a welcoming and joyful environment for students after school. 
• Plan and implement daily activities to support student engagement and participation.
• Work with students of all abilities, planning and implementing adaptive enrichment activities to meet diverse needs.
• Engage and build positive relationships with students during active, hands-on activities.
• Positively manage student behavior, collaborating to provide an exceptional after-school experience.
• Program Operations:
• Check all students in and out using the program software, Brightwheel.
• Support smooth transitions from school dismissal into the Pre-K program.
• Oversee and distribute after-school snacks, including tracking, snack pick-up, and snack bag drop-off.
• Support and prepare tabletop activities, ensuring appropriate modifications for individual student needs.
• Support program dismissal and parent pick-up protocols, ensuring children are released only to approved caregivers.
• Communication & Collaboration:
• Communicate with families at student pick-up, this may include student behavior, daily challenges, and program highlights.
• Work collaboratively with community partners who facilitate enrichment blocks (ranging from physical activity to SEL expressive arts).
• Messaging with families on Brightwheel during program time as needed and reaching out to families who are late for pick up. 
• Communicate program concerns and updates to the Director of Extended Academics & Enrichment Services and school based administration, as needed. 
• Attend Program Orientation Meeting (specific date TBD).

Compensation: 

• After school staff will be paid their contractual hourly rate on a bi-weekly basis, OST staff stipends will begin after SPS contracted hours. 
• All OST staff will be asked to complete a bi-weekly timesheet aligned to the SPS payment schedule. 

For any additional questions about this OST Internship opportunity, please email Taylor MacDonald at [email protected].

What You’ll Bring:

We are looking for candidates who have diverse backgrounds and experiences, are inspired by our mission, and are highly motivated to change children’s lives through education. You’ll be right at home here if you are a reflective practitioner who values collaboration with colleagues and pushes yourself, your work, and the people around you to the next level.  We expect our SPS employees to:

• Hold a deep commitment to students and families and value diversity - The SPS community is vibrant, diverse in background, ethnicity, language, and perspective. You embrace and affirm the backgrounds of all members of the SPS community and view our diversity as a powerful resource that supports us each in learning and doing our best work.
• Hold high expectations for yourself, students, and colleagues – You see potential in all, especially our SPS students, and maintain high expectations for achievement, while providing the support necessary to meet that bar. You hold yourself to high expectations, modeling SPS values and seeking opportunities to continuously improve.
• Build authentic, caring relationships with colleagues, students, and families – You build strong relationships across students, families, and colleagues that are collaborative in nature and contribute to the individual and collective success of SPS.  You partner with families and colleagues to make decisions in the best interest of students and learning.
• Embrace feedback – You are a reflective practitioner who learns from mistakes and challenges and uses them as opportunities for professional development. You model persistence and a growth mindset and thrive in a culture of feedback.

Job Requirements:

• Salem Public School paraprofessional, support staff or teacher. 
• Ability to meet the expectations of the Massachusetts Standards and Indicators of Effective Teaching Practice - DESE licensed Pre-K staff
• Passion for afterschool programming and willingness to adapt to and contribute to a positive school culture
• Ability to partner with multiple stakeholders to meet student needs
• Plan and prepare afterschool activities for the program
• Monitor and facilitate outdoor play, program enrichment activities
• Classroom management & supervision
• Oversee safe and organized arrival and dismissal procedures

Equal Opportunity Employer

Salem Public School District is committed to maintaining a work and learning environment free from discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, pregnancy, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital/civil union status, ancestry, place of birth, age, citizenship status, veteran status, political affiliation, genetic information or disability, as defined and required by state and federal laws. Additionally, we prohibit retaliation against individuals who oppose such discrimination and harassment or who participate in an equal opportunity investigation.