Social Worker

Sulam@JDS at the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School

For the 2025–2026 School year

10 months (school year) from 8:15am to 3:15pm.

Salary Range

Full time salary range $35K–$40K  (commensurate with qualifications/experience)

Our Mission

Sulam provides inclusive, high quality, special education support for diverse learners in grades K-12 within Jewish day schools, and offers consultation across the Greater Washington area and beyond to enhance educational inclusion.

Our Mission

Sulam aspires to create an educational approach where diverse learners are recognized as vital contributors to the world, and are integrated naturally into the fabric of their school, their community, and broader society.

We Believe 

  • Every Sulam student deserves a rigorous Jewish education alongside their peers. 

  • Every Sulam student is a valuable member of the Jewish community and society.

  • Everyone benefits from an inclusive classroom environment in which there are diverse learning styles.

  • Every student has strengths, wants to be successful, and deserves a team of advocates who facilitate their academic, social and emotional growth.

  • Parents are experts on their children and a strong home school partnership forms the basis of an excellent educational program.

  • Inclusion is a Jewish value and a communal responsibility.

Job Description

The role of Social-Emotional Specialist is an exciting opportunity to enable the social-emotional growth of Sulam students and to work with a team of dedicated professionals who are passionate about facilitating the success of every individual student. 

Specific responsibilities include:

Providing real-time, push-in social and emotional support to students across the school day, both in and out of the classroom, and throughout the day.

  • Meeting individually with students, as needed, to proactively build school-based social and emotional skills 

  • Responding to social and emotional challenges reactively to support students in getting back to their school day

  • Developing social-emotional growth plans and individualized goals for students 

  • Delivering practical strategies for staff to use in their daily work with students

  • Creating materials for staff and students to support implementation of strategies 

  • Planning and facilitating social-emotional learning groups for students

  • Designing behavior intervention plans, as needed

  • Evaluating and reporting on student progress

  • Participating in weekly team meetings; providing a social-emotional perspective on student performance

  • Communicating with parents and outside service providers (e.g. therapists, physicians)

  • Collaborating and planning with partner school 

  • Planning and facilitating staff development around social-emotional learning

  • Completing duties as assigned by the Division Director

The Social-Emotional Specialist will possess the following qualifications and characteristics:

  • Master’s degree in Social Work, School Counseling or Special Education

  • Five years of school-based experience

  • Expertise in a range of approaches to social-emotional learning

  • Confidence and experience managing and responding to student behaviors in a supportive manner, both proactively and reactively

  • Personal belief in every child’s desire to do well

  • Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written

  • Exemplary organizational and time management skills

  • Strong interpersonal and relationship-building skills

  • Collaborative working style; a “team player”

  • High emotional intelligence and maturity; ability to navigate complex dynamics and nuanced situations

  • Flexibility to adapt to circumstances and challenges in the moment

  • Positive energy and enthusiasm; passionate commitment to inclusion

Please send a cover note and resume to: DJ Kaplan at dkaplan@cesjds.org