Job Abstract

The Primary School is creating a new school model that brings together all of the adults in a child’s life, including parents, educators, and medical and mental health providers, starting from a very early age. We recognize the entrenched racism that exists within our public systems and the unjust impact this has had on families of color. Our aim is that children and families most impacted by systemic poverty and racism receive the multidisciplinary support they deserve to be well, learn, and thrive.

Long-term, we hope to create a game-changing model that can be replicated across the country. As we continue to learn and grow, we plan to share what we’ve learned and pursue policy and systems change on a local, state, and national level. We are supported by a growing coalition of philanthropic partners, building on the generous support of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

Our approach has three defining characteristics:

• We start early. We start working with children as young as 12 months and provide full-time school starting at age three to reach them at a critical stage in development.
• We partner with parents. We believe that when parents thrive, children thrive, so we support the wellness and growth of parents alongside the growth of their children.
• We integrate services. Our unique model unites health care and education, building a multi-disciplinary team and holistic system of care around a child’s full needs.

In 2016, we opened our flagship school in East Palo Alto, California, with our first class of four year olds. We have grown to serve over 400 children and their families through our Early Family Foundations program, parent wellness program, full-day preschool, and elementary/middle school, which will grow through eighth grade. In 2021, we opened our second site in the East Bay.

We opened our second site with a founding class of four-year-old children and families who started preschool in August 2021, and continue to serve preschool students in our year round, full day school program. We also added an Early Family Foundations program in 2023. Drawing on key learnings from our first site, core components of the model include our parent program - partnering closely with parents throughout their child’s development and providing wellness programming for caregivers; our Early Family Foundations program - coordinating early developmental screenings and intervention services; and our medical home partnerships - working with existing health care providers in the community, including Kaiser Permanente in the East Bay, to coordinate care for children.

The Bilingual Translation Support Assistant (Mandarin and/or Cantonese) is an on-call, hourly position that works in partnership with families and supports their well-being and their child’s healthy development. The Bilingual Translation Support Assistant will partner with the Parent Wellness Coach and other staff to support in facilitation of parent and parent-child groups when translation is needed, translate visually appealing and informative resources for families that support their child’s learning and growth and provide translation services at school wide/program events.

This role reports to the Senior Manager of Parent Program and Early Family Foundations and will be a part of the Parent Program and Early Family Foundations team.

Job Type: Part-time [on-call]

Work Location: Hybrid

Work schedule: Flexible, based on your availability

• Partner with staff to provide translation supports while completing evidence-based developmental questionnaires, such as the ASQ-3 and ASQ:SE 2.
• Support facilitation of Children’s Circles in partnership with the Parent Coach and other team members by providing translation.
• Assist the Parent-Wellness Coach in conducting monthly 1:1 coaching calls with families to provide translation as needed.
• In partnership with the coach, support the family to make referrals to external service providers for further evaluation and/or services, this includes supporting the Parent Wellness coach with translation to follow up with families and providers as needed to ensure that children receive the necessary evaluation(s) and support. Identify any gaps and barriers to accessing services.
• Translate materials provided to Chinese within a reasonable time frame, to be determined in partnership with the Senior Manager.
• Support with organizing and participating in family events including but not limited to, monthly materials distribution, community nights and other events.
• Support enrollment of incoming cohorts when translation services are needed. This includes supporting information sessions, collecting enrollment forms and meeting 1:1 with the Parent Wellness Coach or other members of the East Bay team or in small groups with families to answer questions and/or provide support to complete paperwork.
• Participate in and contribute to the universal activities of the Early Family Foundations experience at The Primary School when translation services are needed.
• Other duties consistent with the role may be required and/or requested by the manager.

Professional skills + experience

• You value the importance of the parent as the child’s first teacher
• You possess strong oral and written communication skills in English and Chinese .
• You are proficient using Google Suite and comfortable learning new programs, applications and tools
• You have an ability to work with a high degree of independence and as part of a team

Personal qualities

• You speak English and Mandarin and/or Cantonese and feel confident communicating with children and families in both languages.
• You see yourself as a life-long learner, you approach your work with curiosity, you value collaboration and are excited to work with and learn from all families and The Primary School team members.
• You are respectful, warm and welcoming with parents: able to foster an environment that is a safe space.
• You believe in the mission of The Primary School and that all children and families are capable of extraordinary things.
• You are able to communicate clearly and in a timely manner via multiple modes of communication (phone, email, in person, etc)
• You recognize that working with families will require occasional work on evenings and weekends.
• You are a natural problem solver and possess a “Can do attitude.”
• You enjoy crafting written communications suited to the audience, whether a concise text or a visually appealing newsletter

This is a part-time, non-exempt position. Hourly pay begins at $17.00/ hour.

TPS values diversity (please see our commitment to DEI); people of all backgrounds are encouraged to apply. Please complete the online application and submit your most recent resume. These short-answer questions are designed to replace a cover letter, so take your time with them and copy in your answers from a separate document. If you feel that the questions do not accurately capture what you have to offer The Primary School, you are also welcome to attach a cover letter. Applications are being reviewed on a rolling basis so we encourage you to submit yours soon. We look forward to reading your application!

The Primary School provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, amnesty, or status as a covered veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws. The Primary School complies with applicable state and local laws governing non-discrimination in employment in every location in which the organization has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including, but not limited to, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.