Educational Support Professional; ESP-Sail Program

Educational Support Professional (ESP-3) Sail 1 Program

Bedford Public Schools – John Glenn Middle School, Bedford, Massachusetts.

Job : 5758550

Position Control: 300148

Final date to receive applications: Posted until filled

Posted Date: Jun 03, 2026 7:07 PM (UTC)

Position Type: Full-time

Bedford Public Schools invites applications for the position of Educational Support Professional – Sail 1 Program (ESP-3) for FY27. The ESP is responsible for providing direct support to students diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder or related disorders in a sub‑separate classroom, implementing individualized academic and behavior programs. The ESP will provide instruction using the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis, including discrete trial task analysis and naturalistic teaching.

The ESP will be trained to utilize de‑escalation strategies and to take data on academic and behavioral support plans. A Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and a certified Special Education Teacher supervise ongoing training and support of all ESPs.

Note:

Five days of additional specialized training before the start of school is provided to ESPs serving SAIL 1 students.

• Support classroom routines and procedures; reinforce the principles of social interaction programs by modeling positive behavior (Responsive Classroom, RULER, PBIS) and assist with providing behavioral support to students in accordance with school expectations.
• Provide supervision and/or student support services in all environments of the school for activities including recess, lunch, arrival, dismissal, field trips, and escorting students to designated areas throughout the building (activities, fire and crisis drills) with guidance from teaching/counseling/administrative staff.
• Provide small group or individual instructional support with guidance from teaching/counseling staff aligned with student goals, benchmarks, IEPs, and related behavior plans.
• Consult with teachers in preparation for daily classes to become familiar with learning targets, success criteria, and other classroom expectations.
• Support academic programs (reteaching, reinforcing, reviewing, assessing, scribing, note-taking, data collection) and behavioral programs (data collection, cueing, providing motor breaks, implementing behavior plans).
• Provide regular feedback to teaching/counseling staff on progress and challenges experienced by assigned students in addressing their goals.
• Work in conjunction with the classroom teacher to support learning experiences in the classroom, focusing first on identified priority students and then for the broader group of students.
• Support implementation of behavior intervention plans and social skill facilitation across various school settings.
• Support crisis intervention as needed in a culturally responsive manner, including verbal de‑escalation/processing of events with students and staff and, when trained, the application of physical intervention methods to reduce risk of injury.
• Adapt to varying needs of students.
• Perform other job‑related tasks or duties at the discretion of administrators.

• Integrate into the classroom setting when appropriate, working under the direction of administrative/teaching/counseling staff to support student engagement and learning.
• Collect, record, and analyze data across multiple data points.
• Record data into spreadsheets and provide graphs to visually display student progress using Google tools.
• Acquire new skills and knowledge consistently to support student engagement with learning activities, behavior interventions, social interactions, and the school day.
• Maintain flexibility in day‑to‑day priorities to reflect changing student needs.
• Work in multiple classrooms or environments during the school day.
• Maintain confidentiality and professionalism expected of teaching staff.
• Anticipate and address unforeseen events associated with large groups of children.
• Maintain positive relations with students, parents, staff, and the public.

• Passion for working with children/students.
• Knowledge of child growth and development.
• Knowledge of basic learning strategies.
• Knowledge of…