This posting will remain open until filled and will begin as soon as possible. This is a regular position, budget to work 8 hours/day, for 212 days per school year.

Current District Regular or Temporary Employees:
Email a letter of interest to Jim Donnelly, Hood River Valley High School Assistant Principal at jim.donnelly@hoodriver.k12.or.us; copy Human Resources at human.resources@hoodriver.k12.or.us

External Applicants (including Substitutes and District Coaches):

Submit an electronic application through TalentEd/Recruit & Hire (link on District website or click this link https://hoodriver.tedk12.com/hire/index.aspx) All materials need to be included in your TalentEd/Recruit & Hire application

Include with your electronic application:

• Letter of interest addressed to Jim Donnelly, Hood River Valley High School Assistant Principal;
• Current resume;
• Three (3) recent letters of reference;
• Official college transcripts or test score report(s) will be required upon hire.

Job Purpose Statement: The job of “Youth Transition Program Specialist” is done for the purpose/s of assist in coordinating, planning and implementing the Youth Transition Program (YTP) for the Hood River County School District. To work in concert with the Hood River County School District Special Education Department to strengthen the YTP Program and ultimately identify community work sites that give target participants the opportunity to gain meaningful employment skills in a structured work setting. This position does not supervise others and reports to the High School Assistant Principal.

Essential Job Functions (visit the HRCSD website for a full job description):

• Identifies and refers eligible participants to vocational rehabilitation (VR) services; and as necessary or as requested by VR, assist VR in referring participants to other employment related sources of assistance.
• Complete vocational and interest assessment with participants.
• Assists participants in identifying and obtaining services to meet specific needs identified in the IEP and or summary of performance for identified participants.
• Identifies transition and career-skill readiness deficits for inclusion in participant Individual Plan for Employment.
• Assists in collaboration with the VR, provides a variety of transition activities and services such as development of work experiences, job shadows and career exploration activities, including opportunities for paid employment, consistent with the vocational goal(s) of the participants.
• Drives or arranges transportation for participants to job sites or approved activities.
• Advocates on behalf of participants, to ensure they have access to relevant training opportunities and resources to successfully transition from school-to-work or additional education and career training.
• Monitors and assists in evaluating participant progress; provides feedback to counselors and VR staff.
• Assist and encourage at-risk youth to remain in school or attain a major level of education (GED).
• Collaborates with participant, school personnel, parents and various community and governmental agencies for the purpose of improving the quality of participant outcomes, developing solutions and planning activities.
• Performs a variety of record keeping tasks including preparing recurring reports and documents as required of the program.
• Provide follow-up activities for 12 months following participant’s completion or termination of campus based secondary schooling activities, to ensure access to needed resources required for success in post-secondary training or employment.
• Maintains consistent and predictable attendance to meet the needs of the program, the students and the expectations of the District.
• Reports incidents (e.g. fights, suspected child abuse, suspected substance abuse, etc.) for the purpose of maintaining personal safety of students, providing a positive learning environment and adhering to Education Code, district and/or school policies.

Other Job Functions:

• Assists other personnel as may be required for the purpose of supporting them in the completion of their work activities.
• Participates in various meetings (e.g. conferences with parents/participants/other agencies, in-service training, site meetings, vocational rehabilitation consultants, employers, etc.) for the purpose of receiving and/or providing information as needed for the YTP program.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Job Requirements:

Education: Associate’s Degree (or possession of 72 quarter credit of college coursework) from a regionally accredited college or university, preferably in a field related to special education or vocational rehabilitation services; Bachelor’s Degree preferred. In lieu of the degree or credit requirement, can provide a passing score on the CBEST or the PRAXIS Paraprofessional Assessment exam.

Experience: Prior experience working with students and young adults in a vocational support role. Must be 21 years or older.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Knowledge: Possess an interest in developing participant programs in occupational choices; possess knowledge of district/school procedures and policies and ability to interpret to participants, parents, staff and community; Familiar with the federal and state regulations as they relate to participant employment (i.e. Wages and Hour Laws, etc.); principles of child development and behavior; laws, rules and regulations related to assigned program and activities; record keeping procedures and practices; correct English usage, grammar, spelling, punctuation and vocabulary.

Skills: Motivate students, communicate with individuals from varied educational and cultural backgrounds, direct support of personnel, and evaluate performance of participants. Possess personal integrity, maturity, collaborative skills and personal interest in working with students, staff, parents and the community; possess excellent written and oral communication skills.

Abilities: Ability to work harmoniously with others and to communicate effectively (both orally and in writing) with participants, parents, staff, and community employers; ability to understand and follow oral and written instructions; ability to work effectively with participants with ethnic, cultural and language differences; ability to maintain confidentiality; ability to work independently and effectively in an environment which can be both physically and emotionally fatiguing; perform physically demanding requirements of the job; ability to develop curricular materials and participate in designing individual plans for applicable participants; ability to develop contacts in the business community; ability perform a variety of record keeping and clerical tasks, utilizing computer, standard computer programs, telephone and other office equipment; ability to drive a district provided van; ability to attend Individual Assessment Plan meetings; ability to serve as the liaison between the district and Vocational Rehabilitation Services (VR) as well as Developmental Disabilities Services (DD); ability to perform support functions requiring independent judgment, decision making and problem solving; ability to respond to and direct participants; ability to be mobile within the community; bilingual English/Spanish speaking abilities preferred.

Testing Requirements: Any offer of employment made by Hood River County School District to an external candidate is contingent upon satisfactory results of:

• Drug screening tests for any illegal drug or substance classified in Schedules I through V under the Federal Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. 811 to 812. This includes, but is not limited to, marijuana, mind-altering substances or narcotic drugs such as hallucinogens, amphetamines, barbiturates, or any other illegal drug or controlled substance, except those federally recognized as legally prescribed by a physician and used as directed.
• ODE Fingerprinting and background clearance.
• Nationwide criminal history verification - a background check for any convictions directly related to the duties and responsibilities of the position. Unless otherwise required by law, only job-related convictions will be considered and will not automatically disqualify the applicant from employment.
• External applicants will be required to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination to Human Resources or qualify for religious/medical exception.

In addition to the hourly pay range listed below, the successful candidate will also earn an additional 5% hourly increase in pay once they pass the district's English/Spanish bilingual test.

Hood River County School District offers a comprehensive benefits package which includes medical, dental, vision, long term disability insurance, district paid retirement contributions, sick leave, personal leave and paid holidays. Visit the Hood River County School District - Business Services Department page on the district website for more detailed information.

HOOD RIVER COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER. Reasonable accommodations for the application and interview process will be provided upon request and as required in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Disabled persons may contact Hood River County School District at 541/387-5016 for additional information or assistance. Speech or hearing-impaired persons may contact Hood River County School District for assistance through the Oregon Telecommunications Relay Service by dialing 1-800-735-2900.