ABOUT US

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. 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.

ABOUT OUR EAST BAY SITE

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. 

ABOUT THE ROLE

The School Operations Associate, reporting to the Director of Operations, plays a pivotal role in supporting our California State Preschool Program (CSPP) This position is responsible for supporting recruitment efforts and ensuring a seamless transition, while also managing or supporting compliance and reporting requirements. 

Job Type: Full-time

Work Location: In-person

RESPONSIBILITIES

Recruitment

• Manage recruitment for the Preschool program and supporting recruitment of Early Family Foundations  including, but not limited to  reaching out to prospective families, holding information sessions, and attending community events.
• Support collection of student interest and waitlist forms for Pre-K
• Prepare family communication (e.g., newsletters, bulletin boards, text messages, etc.) in collaboration with the Manager of Partnerships and other program staff.

Enrollment

• Manage all aspects of implementing and developing (when needed) eligibility and enrollment processes and/or forms for CSPP Full-Day students and families.
• Ensure that the family data file is accurate and up to date, including completion of all required contractor and agency enrollment forms.

Operations

• Support federal and state compliance reporting; and ensure the school upholds all licensing regulations.
• Work in conjunction with the Director of Operations and Finance Department for submission of monthly billing and reconciliation.
• Translate and distribute recruitment and enrollment correspondence. 
• Performa  data entry and reporting of student data. 
• Support student health services including meeting annual key performance indicators (KPI’s) for reporting classroom hygiene practices e.g. handwashing, submission of annual vaccination reporting, and administer basic first aid as needed.
• Support opening and/or closing of school grounds daily.
• Assist in preparing facilities for the upcoming school year.  
• Perform administrative tasks in support of school (e.g., file, copy, fax, produce letters, document translation). 
• Support collaboration and communication with external community and health organizations.
• Work with other program staff to ensure organizational-wide processes, systems, and procedures are implemented with consistency and efficiency. 
• Perform other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Ability to apply knowledge of California State Preschool Program requirements and early childhood development toward administrative tasks and protocols.
• You are fluent in Spanish (written and oral) and have at least two years of experience in an operations, coordinator and/or administrative role.
• You have practiced habits of organization and project management, and can quickly move back and forth between the 30,000 foot and on-the-ground levels.
• You can juggle multiple priorities and take pride in consistently meeting deadlines.
• You are a natural problem solver, fixer and finder of resources; when the going gets tough, you are calm under pressure and show excellent judgment.
• You get joy out of building efficient, user-friendly and results-oriented work flows and processes.
• You have the ability to motivate peers and colleagues to get things done - with or without the leadership title.
• You are extremely self-aware and self motivated, and have a strong desire to learn.
• You are comfortable in ambiguity and environments that change rapidly.
• You want to work with and learn from all The Primary School team members, from early childhood education to parent coaching to community engagement.
• You believe in the mission of The Primary School and that all children and families are capable of extraordinary things.

A Plus If

• You have experience supporting children and families managing the effects of trauma 
• You have ties to the East Bay

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions. While performing the duties of this position, the employee is regularly required to talk, hear, and communicate with both adults and children. The employee frequently is required to use hands or fingers, handle or feel objects, tools, or controls. The employee is frequently required to stand, walk, sit, and reach with hands and arms. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this position include close vision, distance vision, and the ability to adjust focus. The noise level in the work environment is moderate to high.

COMPENSATION

Annual salary range begins at $68,640-$71,390; compensation is commensurate with qualifications and experience, plus excellent health benefits (medical, dental, and vision), 401k retirement plan, flexible spending account (FSA), dependent care FSA, and generous paid time off, including a competitive paid parental leave benefit. TPS will cover 93% of the total premium cost for individual team members in our HMO and PPO plans, and 95% for individual team members in our HDHP plan. TPS also covers 50% of enrolled partners and/or dependents' costs on all three of our medical plans (HMO,PPO, HDHP). Please note that in order to be considered for this position, you must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. We are unable to offer sponsorship. 

To ensure fair and equitable compensation for all of our employees, The Primary School has a no-negotiation policy on all offers extended. Final offers are determined using role descriptions, job market data, internal parity, and semi-annual benchmarking. Our goal is that this policy, paired with ongoing transparency in our compensation process, will make TPS a more fair, inclusive, and diverse workplace. 

HOW TO APPLY

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.