School Psychologist (For Maternity Leave)

Gillen Brewer is seeking a Psychologist to fill in for a full-time staff member who will be going out on maternity leave in mid-March/April 2021 through July/August 2021.  This is a temporary position working 40 hours per week until our Psychologist returns from leave.  The Gillen Brewer School is a private, special education school on the Upper East Side of Manhattan dedicated to the education of children with challenging, and often multiple disabilities, including language-based and nonverbal learning disabilities.  All applicants will be required to submit a resume, cover letter, and two reference letters.

Summary

The Psychologist is a critical part of the child's learning experience at Gillen Brewer.  The Psychologist reports to the Head of the Psychology Department, who reports to the Assistant Head of School.  The Psychologist will work as part of an integrated team with Teachers, Occupational Therapists, and Speech-Language Pathologists in a therapeutic school setting.  Gillen Brewer expects Psychologists will conduct themselves in a professional manner with regard to attitude, participation, communication, and interactions with staff, children, and parents.  Psychologists are expected to understand the school’s policies, procedures, and guidelines as set in the staff handbook, located on the school’s shared Google Drive.  As a part of the school community, Psychologists are encouraged to participate in school community events, join committees, and be a part of a positive working environment for children, families, and colleagues.  Responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:

Duties and Responsibilities

• Participate in team meetings
• Create well-thought-out therapy sessions, demonstrating an understanding of the child's needs
• Conduct informal/formal assessment of children as well as implement, update, and create progress reports
• Maintain office upkeep and housekeeping
• Create, implement, and model behavioral plans and interventions recommending visuals and necessary support when warranted.  Seek feedback on effectiveness
• Co-treat with other therapists purposefully
• Coordinate and communicate with outside therapists as needed
• Support the children's physical, emotional, sensory, academic, and language needs
• Recommend and implement therapeutic programs into the classroom and assist/train teachers and other staff in how to use them
• Collaborate with teachers to plan and co-lead group activities in the classroom when within your domain
• Maintain parent communication as needed
• Support teachers with visuals and classroom arrangement and upkeep
• Follow appropriate procedures for handling issues with other staff members
• When mandate schedule allows, provide classroom support as needed
• Maintain an open and honest line of communication with the Department Head and the Head of the School.  Take an active role in supervision, learning, and training.  Actively seek out information and resources appropriate to the school
• Provide classroom staffing support as needed 
• Participate in arrival/dismissal duties as needed
• Provide staff and parent in-services as needed 
• Contribute to schoolwide website as needed 

Planning and Recordkeeping

• Take daily anecdotal notes in regard to each student’s progress and/or behavioral data as needed
• Informal/Formal assessment of children:  collect evidence of outcome based curriculum assessment at least four times per year (October, January, June, and August) in all content areas and keep in a systematic way
• Write Mid-year and End-of-Year Integrative Reports collaboratively with team

Professional Development

The school is a community of learners.  In addition to staff development and training at Gillen Brewer, employees are encouraged to pursue educational goals through conferences and various workshops.  Psychologists are required to attend all staff development workshops, staff, team, and supervision meetings.  Staff is also encouraged to attend all school functions listed on the school calendar.

Supervision & Support

The Head of the Psychology Department will oversee and analyze all aspects of the department through the use of observation cycles, in-office sessions, team meetings, conversations with staff, lesson planning, curriculum development, student progress, and report writing.  Staff development and support through modeling and coaching will be provided which will include in-house and outside professional opportunities.  Frequency of observations and feedback sessions will be determined by the Department Head, Assistant Head of School, and Head of School.  The Head of the Psychology Department will conduct two formal evaluations a year using this job description and the Psychology Evaluation checklist as a guide.  Evidence of effectiveness will be collected through observations, discussions, and products.

To Apply

To be considered, interested applicants MUST submit a cover letter, resume, and two reference letters.  Please submit materials directly via email to HR@gillenbrewer.com.  Please include your name and the position of interest in the subject line of your email (i.e., Susan Peters - School Psychologist (Maternity Leave).

No telephone inquiries or recruiters please. Replies will only be sent to qualified applicants.