MASSENA — Massena Central School District officials have started from scratch to create a new position of community schools site coordinator.
Superintendent Patrick H. Brady told board of education members Thursday night that the job will be a civil service position. They have been working with the county’s Human Resources Department to create a job description.
Because it’s a civil service position, anyone under consideration would have to take a test in the fall and be reachable on the civil service list, Mr. Brady said, adding he hopes the testing requirement doesn’t scare some potential candidates away.
He has also created a local job description, which he provided to board members Thursday.
While the vacancy announcement notes that they’re looking for someone with a four-year degree, Mr. Brady said the person they hire could have different qualifications. He said the job qualifications they created “allows us some latitude” in determining who is qualified for the position.
“It looks like a position that could be a counselor position, but it doesn’t have to be,” he said.
Mr. Brady said the candidate could be someone who’s familiar with the education system, knows the community and the services that are available, works well with others, has the capacity to bring people together to make decisions and solve problems, and cares about kids and families.
“If you’re going to do something like this, you want to do the best you can (in creating the job qualifications),” board member Kevin Perretta said.
Board members approved creating the position and authorized district officials to begin their candidate search.
Mr. Brady said, in addition to the community schools site coordinator, it was important to have an advisory committee that would be appointed by the coordinator. One of that committee’s main responsibilities would be to survey the local needs and determine how they can best leverage the available state funding to meet those needs. It could be as varied as after-school programs or medical services, but in partnership with parents and the community, he said,
“Having a coordinator and advisory board is the ideal process for successfully implementing the program and is recommended by the state,” he said.
Community schools are a set of partnerships between the school and other community resources. The objective is to transform schools into community hubs that deliver co-located or school-linked academic, health, mental health, nutrition, counseling, legal and/or other services to students and their families to help maximize academic achievement by the students.
Funding for the position and program is part of foundation aid provided by the state and set aside for the community schools initiative.