Kirsten Baleno
Peabody,MA
Summary
Dedicated special education administrator and social worker committed to utilizing extensive therapeutic and teaching capabilities to guide staff, promoting a collaborative, strengths-oriented approach to elevate students' social, emotional, and academic progress.
Overview
26
26
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Assistant Director of Special Education
Lynn Public Schools
Lynn, MA
07.2022 - Current
- Directed special education programming at my buildings across the district to enhance student services.
- Coached staff in strategies for managing high-need behavioral students.
- Oversaw compliance with state and federal regulations for special education.
- Led professional development workshops on best practices in special education.
- Monitored program effectiveness, recommending adjustments to optimize outcomes.
- Developed a procedure manual governing the provision of special education services in the district.
- Evaluated performance of school employees, providing necessary feedback and support.
- Cultivated relationships with parents and staff to promote student success.
Administrator and Chairperson of Therapeutic Programming K-8
Peabody Public Schools
Peabody, MA
09.2017 - 06.2022
- Promoted into a newly developed position to continue aspects of my previous work in managing the Choices Therapeutic Program K-5, while expanding to a district-wide influence.
- Collaborative advisor in weekly consultation team meetings at the eight elementary schools in the district to develop and monitor behavior intervention/support plans for struggling students.
- Provided direct coaching and modeling to staff in General Education and Special Education, incorporating strategies such as Social Thinking®, Zones of Regulation®, Brain Gym®, think sheets, and non-violent crisis intervention.
- Developed regrouping spaces in each building to support students' regulation and process time-out situations.
- Sought to maintain students in their neighborhood schools, while ensuring that tiered, appropriate interventions were in place should a child need to transition to the Choices Program.
- Developed entrance and exit criteria, as well as program milieu expectations, levels, data collection systems, and positive behavior interventions for the program.
- Evaluated and supervised staff in conjunction with the building principal.
- Served on multiple hiring committees.
- Transitioned into Chairperson role in 2019, expanding to administration of the Choices Program K-8 in order to develop increased consistency from elementary to middle school levels.
- Coordinated evaluation teams, monitored timelines, reviewed IEPs, held rejection meetings to find common ground, and coached newer staff in special education regulations and procedures.
Program Administrator/School Adjustment Counselor - Choices Therapeutic Program
West Memorial School
Peabody, MA
09.2008 - 06.2017
- Served as the Administrator/Clinical Social Worker for three substantially separate Therapeutic Program classrooms for students with emotional disabilities and behavioral difficulties, including bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorders, ADHD, autism spectrum disorders, and developmental delays.
- Provided weekly individual, dyad, and group counseling services for all K-5 students on IEPs within this public elementary school.
- Provided supervision to master's-level social work interns, and coordinated consultation and support for the entire SAC department of Peabody Public Schools.
- Utilized home visits to collaborate with families and complete Home and Social Assessments.
- Incorporated case management and advocacy skills while collaborating with medical, mental health, and Department of Children and Families professionals, including serving on multiple wraparound CSA teams.
- Worked collaboratively with the principal, teachers, and paraprofessionals to implement leveled consequences, develop reward systems, and collect and analyze data to provide information to collaterals, and to inform practice with individual students.
- Provided a monthly newsletter with data analysis to staff and parents.
- Utilized a time-out space within my office, and CPI crisis intervention as needed.
- Created two school-wide sensory stations for students’ use in modulating their body regulation and de-escalating.
- Developed and modeled child-specific behavioral and sensory-processing intervention strategies, and provided consultation and support to teachers in both Special Education and General Education.
- Completed Functional Behavior Assessments, Social-Emotional summaries, and classroom observations, and provided consultation and support district-wide to assist teams working with students struggling with behavioral issues in local elementary schools.
School Social Worker
Lowell Community Charter Public School
Lowell, MA
09.2007 - 06.2008
- Coordinated therapeutic services in a newly organized disciplinary support services department addressing the needs of 550+ kindergarten through third-grade students in an urban charter school whose mission involved active support of the Hispanic and Cambodian populations of Lowell.
- Collaboratively created the structure and procedures for a time-out space for students displaying behavioral or emotional difficulties, while incorporating a processing component to improve coping skills.
- Completed classroom observations, provided consultation and training to teachers, implemented incentive-based behavioral charts, and developed Functional Behavior Assessments (FBAs) for the school’s Special Education Department.
- Worked closely with area counseling agencies to implement three social skills groups, and refer numerous children and families for therapy support and/or Family Stabilization Team services.
- Participated in the Student Support and Child Study Teams.
Special Education Teacher
Beebe Elementary School
Malden, MA
09.2003 - 06.2007
- Served as lead teacher for two paraprofessionals and eight to twelve students in Grades 1 and 2, placed in a self-contained, substantially separate Individual Management classroom for children with behavioral and/or emotional disabilities.
- Created lesson plans, provided staff supervision, implemented Individualized Education Programs, developed a behavioral modification program, coordinated mainstreaming services, collaborated with specialists, and executed the daily activities for this classroom.
- Worked with grade-level colleagues to develop curriculum and project-based units in a collaborative, common planning time model.
- Served one year as a member of the Beebe School Council.
School Adjustment Counselor/IEP Team Chairperson
Beebe Elementary School
Malden, MA
09.1999 - 06.2003
- Managed Special Education services for approximately 110 students in grades K-4 at an urban public elementary school.
- Initiated IEP evaluations, chaired TEAM meetings, and prepared Individualized Education Plans or 504 Plans as needed.
- Led the collaboration among therapists, teachers, parents, and administrators to determine students' specialized needs, and implement appropriate modifications.
- Provided weekly individual, dyad, and group counseling to both General Education and Special Education students regarding issues such as anxiety, behavior management, divorce, mood, peer relationships, selective mutism, and school functioning.
- Developed and modeled classroom behavior modification programs, and provided consultation and support to teachers.
- Completed home and social assessments as part of initial team evaluations.
- Handled crisis intervention situations at both the student and building levels.
- Organized and participated in the Student Support Team, Child Protection Team, and Crisis Response Team; co-authored the Beebe School Emergency Response Manual.
- Participated in a three-year effort to prepare Special Education and 504 records for review by the MA Department of Education’s Coordinated Program Review (Audit) Team.
Education
Masters - Special Education
Salem State College
Salem, MA05.2007
Masters - Social Work, Clinical Concentration
Boston University
Boston, MA05.1999
B.S. - Human Development & Family Studies
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY01.1997
Skills
- Crisis Intervention Strategies: SafetyCare Specialist, CPI Nonviolent Crisis Intervention- Instructor
- Staff Training and Development: IEP Development, Educational Technology, Special Education Compliance, Mental Health and Behavioral Strategies
- Leadership Skills: Interpersonal Communication, Empathy, Reliability, Time Management
- SEL Expertise and Program Development: Referral Processes, Therapeutic Program Creation, Program Fidelity and Evaluation, Clinical Supervision and Evaluation
Certification
• Professional Certification as School Adjustment Counselor PreK-12 (SAC), #357368, MA
• Professional Certification as Special Education Administrator PreK-12, #357368, MA
• Sheltered English Immersion Administrator Endorsement
• Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW), #111158, MA
• Certified School Social Work Specialist (C-SSWS) through the National Association of Social Workers
• Professional Certification as Special Education Administrator PreK-12, #357368, MA
• Sheltered English Immersion Administrator Endorsement
• Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW), #111158, MA
• Certified School Social Work Specialist (C-SSWS) through the National Association of Social Workers
Additional Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education, Instructional Leadership Certificate - Universal Design for Learning, 06/01/25
Timeline
Assistant Director of Special Education
Lynn Public Schools
07.2022 - Current
Administrator and Chairperson of Therapeutic Programming K-8
Peabody Public Schools
09.2017 - 06.2022
Program Administrator/School Adjustment Counselor - Choices Therapeutic Program
West Memorial School
09.2008 - 06.2017
School Social Worker
Lowell Community Charter Public School
09.2007 - 06.2008
Special Education Teacher
Beebe Elementary School
09.2003 - 06.2007
School Adjustment Counselor/IEP Team Chairperson
Beebe Elementary School
09.1999 - 06.2003
Masters - Special Education
Salem State College
Masters - Social Work, Clinical Concentration
Boston University
B.S. - Human Development & Family Studies
Cornell University