Summer Early Focus - Specialist Teacher (Summer 2026)

POSITION OVERVIEW:

Summer Early Focus seeks an exceptional specialist to provide enrichment for students in our program in the areas of either dance, music or social emotional play (more than just physical education). Each specialist will support our grade K0 to grade 2 students in social emotional and physical development, while helping them develop problem solving skills, promote students health and wellness through dance, organized play, music or other physical activities. Each day the Specialist will provide an enrichment class to each classroom at the site and adapt the program developmentally to each class in grades K0 to grade 2. Program starts on July 7th through August 7th, 2026. Specialists work from 9:00 am- 2:00 pm. On Monday July 6th, teachers will report from 9:00 - 2:00 for meetings and classroom setting. Students will start on Tuesday July 7th.

PROGRAM DELIVERY: Fully In-Person

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Summer Early Focus, led by the BPS Department of Early Childhood, will operate 5 sites in the neighborhoods of Mattapan, East Boston, Roxbury, Hyde Park and Jamaica Plain. with one classroom at each grade level as part of the BPS Summer Learning Academies. Each site will be led by a Site Coordinator who will support 14 teachers and 130 students in 7 classrooms. SEF will serve incoming K1 children, and children completing K1, K2, first grade, and second grade, who are currently enrolled in Boston Public Schools. Children might include those who have special needs and/or are English Language Learners. SEF is designed to provide integrated support in literacy, math, science, arts and social emotional development to help prepare children for the following school year. K0 - one teacher and 2 paraprofessionals will support 20 children.In grades K1 to grade 1, two teachers will support 22 children in each classroom. In grade 2, one teacher will support up to 15 students. The Specialist will be supported by at least one teacher who will remain with the classroom during the activity.

The BPS Summer Learning Academies serve as the primary academic summer offerings for BPS students, consisting of an array of high-quality academic and enrichment programs that provide services for targeted student populations in every grade level across the district.

BPS Summer Learning Academies aim to:

• Stem summer learning loss and increase academic achievement
• Develop student socio-emotional skills and increase student efficacy by building skills and competencies
• Strengthen the effectiveness of school-community partnerships
• Promote student health and wellness

REPORTS TO:

Position reports to the SEF Program Director and the Project Manager of the BPS Department of Early Childhood. The Specialist will check in with the Site Coordinator at each building the day they report to that building.

PROGRAM SCHEDULE: The Department of Early Childhood will operate a five week 6 hour day Summer Early Focus program at 5 sites in the neighborhoods of Mattapan, East Boston, Roxbury, Hyde Park and Jamaica Plain.. SEF will operate on Monday, July 7th, through Friday, August 7th, 8:45 am to 2:15 pm for students.

Specialists will work Monday - Friday for up to 5 hours per day - up to 50 minute increments between 9:00-2:00. We anticipate that each day the Specialist will only be at one site but depending on students’ enrollment, specialists may have to share their time between 2 sites from our 5 sites in the neighborhoods of Mattapan, East Boston, Roxbury, Hyde Park and Jamaica Plain. We may ask the Specialist to move sites to provide program coverage due to teacher absences and also support supervision on field trips.

Summer Early Focus Specialists are asked to also attend PD on June 29th, and classroom setting on July 6th, rotating to visit each site that day, work all required program hours, as well as complete all required wrap up duties. Specialists are expected to work every day, as we will not have substitutes. They will be expected to inform both Site Coordinator of their assigned site coordinator for that day as well as the Program Director if they expect to be absent.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Professional Development and Program Planning

• Teacher either Visual Arts, Dance, Physical Education.
• Build and maintain a safe, fair, and respectful learning environment for children, adults, and families, placing the value of relationships at the core.
• Participate in the Professional Development on June 26th via zoom, and Classroom-setting on July 6th by visiting the schools ,meeting the team, reviewing the schedule and setting up the space.
• Prepare cognitively-demanding lessons, assignments and enrichment activities (requires some planning work outside of regular program hours)
• Plan for 30 minutes each morning.
• Exhibit professional behavior that addresses job responsibilities, district policies and procedures, and the expectations of professionals working in a multilingual, multicultural, and economically diverse community.
• Attend mandatory central training sessions and online modules
• Prepare space to be conducive to developmentally appropriate learning

Instruction and Classroom Management

• Differentiate instruction so that all students complete rigorous academic work.
• Establish a productive learning environment and classroom culture in which all students are respected.
• Demonstrate a commitment to excellence, equity, and high expectations for all children with an emphasis on building on the strengths that children bring to the teaching/learning process and closing the achievement gap.
• Employ a wide range of strategies that address children's various learning styles and align with the Universal Design for Learning framework.
• Provide students, families, site coordinators and program staff with relevant and timely data.
• Reinforce classroom discipline code.
• Care for program materials and resources.

Collaboration and Evaluation

• Initiate, develop, and maintain consistent partnerships with families and welcomes families into the classroom throughout the program.
• Work with site coordinator and other program staff to ensure all outcome goals are on track to be met, including academic outcomes and social-emotional skill development outcomes.
• Receive feedback from Summer Early Focus Site Coordinator, Program Director, and classroom teachers to improve instruction and classroom management.
• Participate in organized staff meetings.
• Participate in mandatory feedback interviews with evaluators in order to support program wide evaluation through an outside observer to measure program quality and compare to other summer programs for future programming.
• Perform other related duties as requested.

CORE COMPETENCIES:

Using the Rubric of Effective Teaching, the Office of Human Capital has identified priority skills and abilities that all BPS teachers should possess:

Accountability for Student AchievementSet ambitious learning goals for all students, create cognitively demanding tasks, and model the belief that all students can master challenging material through effective effort. Assess student understanding regularly with ambitious learning goals in mind and take ownership of making necessary adjustments to instruction to reach goals despite setbacks. Display passion and optimism about students, content, and the teaching profession. Communicating Content Knowledge

• Demonstrate mastery of and enthusiasm for the content area and the pedagogy it requires.
• Demonstrate understanding for how subject matter applies in real-world settings and connects to other content areas and relevant standards.
• Convey content in creative and engaging ways that align to standards.

Equitable & Effective InstructionScaffold and differentiate instruction so that all students do complex thinking and rigorous academic work. Use instructional practices that are likely to challenge, motivate, and engage all students and facilitate equitable, active student participation. Build a productive learning environment where every student participates and is valued as part of the class community. Cultural ProficiencyActively create and maintain an environment in which students’ diverse backgrounds, identities, strengths, and challenges are respected. Parent/Family Engagement

• Engage with families and build collaborative, respectful relationships in service of student learning.
• Professional Reflection & Collaboration
  • Regularly reflect on practice, seek and respond to feedback, and demonstrate self-awareness and commitment to continuous learning and development.
  • Participate in and contribute to a collaborative adult learning community.
    

TERMS:

• Compensation: Hourly rate of $54. Anticipated total of 124 hours including professional development( June 27th), classroom setting (July 7th), on-site program time, and additional duties, for an estimated total amount of up to $6720. This position is paid hourly at a rate of $40 per hour for the time estimated to complete all non-instructional responsibilities (PD/Prep)
• Payroll will be processed on a biweekly basis after receipt of completed timesheets in accordance with BPS summer payroll schedule.n is set based on hours of work, including professional development, on-site program time, and additional duties. Staff will not be paid for time not worked.
• All employees must read and agree to the 2026 BPS Summer Employment Terms. See BPS terms of employment for stipend dissemination guidelines (stipend includes pre-summer training and PD, on-site planning, summer programming, and any “wrap up” duties).
• Payroll will be processed on a biweekly basis after receipt of completed timesheets in accordance with BPS summer payroll schedule.
• HR/payment overseen by Solange Marsan of BPS Department of Early Childhood. Human resource-related questions should be directed to [email protected].

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Worked with K0,K1, K2, 1st, or 2nd grade children in a formal teaching role within the last three years.
• Completion of Equitable Literacy Training
• Experience with the Department of Early Childhood’s supported curriculum (Focus on K0, K1, K2, Focus on First and second) and/or instructional practices.
• Experience in Teaching either Visual Arts, Dance, Physical Education or Music
• Experience with working with children with special needs (e.g, inclusion setting).
• Demonstration of culturally and linguistically sustaining practices.
• Willing to explore student learning in a non-traditional setting and connect student learning to project-based, experiential learning.
• Willing to work in close collaboration with the Department of Early Childhood on shared goals in a student-centered, school-aligned, results-focused initiative.
• Focused on whole-child approaches (academic and social-emotional development).
• Experience working within a Summer Learning partnership such as Summer Early Focus preferred.
• BPS values linguistic diversity and believes that candidates who speak another language bring added value to the classroom, school, and district culture and diversity. BPS is particularly interested in candidates who are fluent in one of BPS' official languages: Spanish, Creole (Cape Verdean), Creole (Haitian), Chinese, Vietnamese, Portuguese, & Somali.

NONDISCRIMINATION POLICY

The Boston Public Schools, in accordance with its nondiscrimination policies, does not discriminate in its programs, facilities, or employment or educational opportunities on the basis of race, color, age, criminal record (inquiries only), disability, homelessness, sex/gender, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, genetics or military status, and does not tolerate any form of retaliation, or bias-based intimidation, threat or harassment that demeans individuals’ dignity or interferes with their ability to learn or work.