Occupational Therapist

ESY - Occupational Therapist (Summer 2026)**THIS IS A SUMMER POSITION. EMPLOYMENT IS SEASONAL AND TEMPORARY**Important Notice: Mandatory Safety Care Certification for ESY Employment:To be eligible to work Extended School Year (ESY), a Safety Care Certification is required. You must present a valid certificate at your interview or provide proof of enrollment in a Safety Care training no later than June 1, 2026. Failure to meet this requirement will result in the rescinding of your job offer. Please note, that Safety Care Certification is a mandatory prerequisite for this position, and we do not offer compensation for fulfilling this requirement.PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:Extended School Year (ESY) offers specialized services to students with disabilities. The decision to provide ESY is made by the IEP Team, who assesses the necessity to minimize substantial regression and reduce substantial recoupment. The IEP Team evaluates each student's level of needs and recommends specific IEP services during ESY based on individual student requirements.REPORTS TO:The position reports to the Senior Director of Related Services and Site Coordinator, who works in close collaboration with the Director of Extended School Year and Expanded Learning in the Office of Specialized Services. For questions about this position, please email View email address on click.appcast.io you are hired to work the Extended School Year (ESY) program, you are committing to the entire duration of the program. This means that your assignment may involve working at different sites, as staffing needs arise. Flexibility in location is an essential requirement of the position, and by accepting this job offer, you agree to be available for reassignment to various sites as needed throughout the program.PROGRAM SCHEDULE:The instructional hours for students are 5 hours per day, 5 days per week, for 5 weeks from July 6 to August 7, 2026.The Occupational Therapist is expected to:Commit to working all 25 days of the program.Attend Professional Development on (Dates TBD)Work a 6-hour day, 5 days per week, for 5 weeksIndependently plan lessons to prepare for rigorous instruction.Complete Progress Reports RSD ESY 2026 Progress Report Payment GuidelinesRESPONSIBILITIES:Occupational Therapists in this program provide students with rigorous instruction that demonstrates the BPS core competencies for effective teaching listed below. Due to the short duration of ESY and the critical need to boost student learning during this time, it is particularly important that teachers in ESY:Provide direct individual, small group, and/or large group instruction to address students' IEP goals/objectives specifically in occupational therapyPrepare demanding and therapeutic lessons (requires some planning work outside of regular program hours).Differentiate instruction.Establish a productive learning environment and classroom culture in which all students are respected.Maintain timely student attendance and progress records.Consult with teachers and other related service providers to address students' needs.Provide students, families, site coordinators, and program staff with relevant and timely data, including monitoring and reporting student's progress to prevent regression as outlined in the program.Participate in all scheduled professional development.Care for program materials and resources.Engage as a partner in planning and problem-solving.Provides support during arrival and dismissal, as outlined by the site coordinator.Performs other related duties as requested by the ESY Site Coordinator or Director of Operations & Service Implementation.Adhere to ESY handbook policy and ensure compliance with policy across the siteCORE COMPETENCIES:Using the Rubric of Effective Teaching, the Office of Human Capital has identified priority skills and abilities that all Occupational Therapists 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 KnowledgeDemonstrate mastery of and enthusiasm for the content area and the pedagogy it requires.Demonstrate understanding of 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 EngagementEngage with families and build collaborative, respectful relationships in service of student learning.Professional Reflection & CollaborationRegularly 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.QUALIFICATIONS - REQUIRED:Master's degree.Occupational Therapy Professional License.Current Safety-Care certification.Experience in one or more of the following areas: Autism, Intellectual Impairment, Multiple Disabilities, Physical Disabilities, Specific Learning Disability, Emotional Impairment, Early Childhood.Demonstrated ability to meet the Core Competencies of Effective Teaching established by the Boston Public Schools as outlined above.Current authorization to work in the United States. Candidates must have such authorization by their first day of employment.QUALIFICATIONS - PREFERRED:Current occupational therapist in the Boston Public Schools.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.TERMS:The individual who is hired to this position agrees to the 2026 BPS Summer Employment Terms.All staff must sign the 2026 ESY Job Description Sign Off Form to acknowledge their understanding of the expectations and terms.This position is paid hourly at a rate of $56 per hour of instructional time on the Boston Public Schools bi-weekly payroll schedule.This position is paid hourly at a rate of $40 per hour for the time estimated to complete all non-instructional responsibilities.Additional work hours that exceed the (6) hours in a day will require approval from the Director of Extended School Year & Expanded Learning.Please be advised that pursuant to Massachusetts and Federal law, BPS considers site coordinators to be professional employees (or exempt employees), and they are expected to work as long as necessary to complete the required work.The individual who is hired to this position consents to electronic sign-in procedures on site, that is retained by BPS exclusively for audit and sign-in verification (payroll).Failure to report to work on a given day of instructional time will result in a loss of pay for that day.Job offers are conditional and based on sufficient student enrollment/attendance.NONDISCRIMINATION