Social & Emotional Learning Specialist

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Oct 20, 2025, 4:31:52 PM

Central-11424 S Western Ave (Network 13)

CPS Non-Union Job Grade : S08

76,000.

Position Type :
Non-Union Position

Exempt

JOB DESCRIPTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is one of the largest school districts in the United States, serving over 320,000 students in 600+ schools and employing approximately 40,000 people, most of them teachers. CPS has set ambitious goals to ensure that every student, in every school and every neighborhood, has access to a world-class learning experience that prepares each for success in college, career, and civic life.

In order to fulfill this mission, we make three commitments to our students, their families, and all Chicagoans: academic progress, financial stability, and integrity. Six core values are embedded within these commitments – student-centered, whole child, equity, academic excellence, community partnership, and continuous learning.

Located within the Office of College and Career Success (OCCS), the mission of the Office of Social & Emotional Learning (OSEL) is to partner with schools and Networks to establish and sustain supportive learning communities founded on caring relationships and multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) for students’ social, emotional, and behavioral needs. OSEL supports training, coaching, and implementation of research-based strategies to foster positive school and classroom climate development, trauma-informed practices, restorative approaches to discipline, social and emotional skills instruction, and targeted social, emotional, and behavioral interventions.

Job Summary:

The Social & Emotional Learning (SEL) Specialist, Instructional Support will guide the implementation of all strategies included in the district’s Tier 1 SEL approach, with a specialized focus on SEL instruction and integration, adult SEL, cultivating supportive classroom environments, and improving school climate through school wide implementation. This will include identifying best and promising practices for universal equity-focused and trauma-engaged SEL and developing the professional learning and systems necessary for those practices to be implemented with fidelity across CPS.

Additionally, this will develop systems to measure the impact on desired student and school outcomes and collaborate with CPS departments and community partners to improve reach and impact. The Social & Emotional Learning (SEL) Specialist, Instructional Support will report to the Manager of SEL Instruction and Assessment.

The Social & Emotional Learning Specialist, Instructional Support will be held accountable for the following responsibilities:

• Develop the capacity of schools, CPS departments, networks, and community partners to ensure high-fidelity implementation of evidence-based Tier 1 (universal) SEL approaches or promising practices through activities including, but not limited to:
  • Supporting schools with training, coaching, documentation, technical assistance, and evaluation as part of their school-level school wide professional development plan for staff
  • Creating and implementing an adult SEL competencies professional learning model including training, coaching, and support, to increase capacity to model and support student SEL competency development.
  • Coordination and collaboration within OSEL and other CPS departments to incorporate consistent language and SEL best practices across key district priorities and initiatives
  • Designing and delivering high-quality professional learning opportunities, tools, and resources to schools, colleagues, and across CPS departments, and coordinating with partner agencies engaged in this work
  • Monitoring and assessing the effectiveness of professional development and making (or recommending) adjustments.
• Assist schools and OSEL with coordinating and carrying out programmatic…