ABOUT US

The Primary School is expanding the boundaries of traditional education. Our holistic model weaves together education, health, and family support services to ensure underserved children have the care system they need to lead meaningful, emotionally, mentally, and physically healthy lives. The Primary School was founded in 2015 and received seed funding from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a major national philanthropy.

Our approach has three defining characteristics:

We start early. We begin working with parents and enroll children into our program as early as birth to reach them at their most critical stage of development.We work with—not around—families. We know that parents and caregivers are the most important people in a child’s life. We partner with them to enhance the education and health of their children.We integrate multiple systems to serve the whole child. Our unique model united health care and education, building a multi-disciplinary team and a holistic system of care around a child's needs.

In 2016, we opened our flagship school in East Palo Alto, California, with our first class of four-year-olds. We have since grown to serve nearly 300 children and their families through a 0-3 parent/child program, a preschool,  and an elementary and middle school.

Our ultimate goal is to create a game-changing system of care for children that can be replicated across the country. To that end, we are building a model that can be effectively implemented in diverse communities and sustained through public funding. We are currently expanding our student and family population in East Palo Alto. It’s an exciting time to join the team!

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Primary School Health Fellowship is an opportunity to understand the inner workings of an innovative nonprofit, as well as explore the K-12 education, early childhood, healthcare, and family support fields as they relate to children and families. Fellow roles typically last 12 to 36 months, depending on the interest of the Fellow, but we ask that Fellows stay for at least one year in the role.

• The Health Fellow will focus on the integrative health services and practices within the school, early childhood, and parent engagement programs. This requires the ability to thoughtfully work across diverse teams and to always ask how health programming, services, and support can be effectively woven into program content and planning.
• The Health Fellow will plan, manage, and/or lead a variety of projects and priorities, including health program creation and implementation, direct service delivery, and community learning and partnership. Some specific projects could include:
• Supporting student and family program enrollment as they relate to health.
• Ensuring asthma plans are developed and placed in the appropriate classrooms.
• Overseeing and coordinating the Virtual Dental Home and vision screenings for school-aged students and Birth to Three children throughout the year. This includes leading the coordination, communication, and execution of work with outside partners, internal program leads, and students and families.
• Developing and leading the implementation of approximately three health-related focus areas per year, such as nutrition, media health, physical activity, sleep, and dental care.
• Collaborating with multiple teams to incorporate the above efforts into regularly scheduled programming, such as school-based units, parent group content, and/or community-wide events.
• Participating in the year-long case management process with other teams at TPS for identified students.
• Direct student support: Fellows will spend time in the classrooms and/or infant/toddler program, working directly with children and families in some capacity.
• Additional responsibilities include: participating as needed in ad hoc projects and meetings depending on needs throughout the organization, and occasionally with Ravenswood Family Health Center, our clinic partner; providing administrative and coordination support to other EPA teams as needed.
• Participating in monthly data review and program implementation check-in meetings with our learning team; creating and/or using effective systems for tracking health-related data, such as immunization and testing, in a way that supports our health policies and guidelines.
• If applicable, in partnership with the school Admin and Operations team, Health Fellows will participate in the planning, execution and tracking of vaccination efforts, and communicating updates and notifications of our protocols to families and staff.

BENEFITS

• Health Fellows will participate in organizational and site-based events and development.
• Additionally, TPS is a continuous learning organization that values community and excellence; therefore, all staff, including Health Fellows, will engage in peer-to-peer feedback for the purpose of growing our professional skills.
• Health Fellows will also participate in the TPS annual performance support and review processes and receive coaching and mentorship from their direct manager and the VP of Health and the Medical Director.
• TPS is committed to improving and learning in our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion work across the organization. Our Fellows are able to participate in our organizational DEI development and programming and may also participate as committee members, volunteers, and contributors as desired.
• Health Fellows may have the opportunity to work directly with our Ravenswood Clinic partner. In this case, TPS will support the Fellow in identifying ways to integrate into the clinic and gain exposure to other healthcare systems.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Hardworking and persistent
• A strong commitment to and interest in developing professional excellence in communication, cross-team collaboration, meeting management, and the quality of work products
• A deep commitment to working in service of the East Palo Alto community and/or experience and connection to the East Palo Alto community
• Passion for working with young children
• Highly reliable with deadlines and detail-oriented
• Strong oral and written communication skills
• Comfortable with data systems and platforms, with an interest in building expertise in this area
• Able to manage multiple priorities simultaneously
• Collaborative and excited to work with an interdisciplinary team
• Able to excel in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial, and innovative organization
• Belief in the mission of The Primary School and the conviction that all children and families are capable of extraordinary things
• Spanish or Tongan speaking preferred

COMPENSATION

$21- $23/hr commensurate with qualifications and experience, plus excellent health benefits, a 401(k) retirement plan, a flexible spending account (FSA), a dependent care FSA, and generous paid time off, including a competitive paid parental leave benefit. Additionally, you will be entitled to approximately 15 paid company holidays per year in accordance with The Primary School’s standard calendar.

HOW TO APPLY

TPS values diversity, and people of all backgrounds are encouraged to apply. Please complete the following 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 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!