About the job
Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is the third-largest school district in the United States, serving over 350,000 students in 600+ schools and employing nearly 36,000 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.
The Office of Student Supports and Engagement (OSSE) provides comprehensive supports to help students become more connected to and engaged in school. We provide re-engagement services for out-of-school youth; resources to eliminate barriers for students in temporary living situations; attendance and truancy guidance for families, schools, and networks; and extended learning opportunities to enhance all students’ core academic experience while engaging parents and community members in school-led activities.
The Graduation and Resource Coordinator will play a key role in developing systems of support for students re-entering school, progressing toward graduation from high school and preparing for post-secondary success. This position will work closely with the high school network transition specialists to monitor re-entry intervention and transition plans. This will include reviewing and responding to engagement, transfer, drop out and off-track data for key groups including students enrolled in Student Outreach and Re-Engagement (SOAR), Students in Temporary Living Situations (STLS) and Juvenile Justice Reentry programs. Additionally, the Graduation and Resource Coordinator will be responsible for designing templates and monitoring tools for graduation and transition plans appropriate for the challenges, interests and profiles of dis-engaged and under-engaged students. The Graduation and Resource Coordinator will work closely with teams managing key Office of Student Support and Engagement (OSSE) initiatives, including re-engagement for disconnected youth. This position will work with key stakeholders, including principals and school leaders, parents, students, vendors, and community-based organizations, and will report to the Program Manager, Student Support & Engagement.
The Graduation and Resource Coordinator will be held accountable for the following responsibilities:
· Develop resources and establish an information clearinghouse pertaining to post-secondary planning and options for OSSE team, students, families, and school staff
· Collaborate with external stakeholders, including post-secondary partner organizations and community-based program providers
· Manage vendor relations for centralized school-based engagement supports
· Maintain a comprehensive list of program partners and their associated services for reference by schools and other CPS stakeholders
· Develop graduation and transition guidance for schools in alignment with CPS graduation standards; work with network teams to deliver appropriate training to counselors on graduation plans for re-engaged youth
· Work with the Office of Student Counseling and Postsecondary Advising (OSCPA) as well as the Office of Equity to ensure alignment with graduation planning, school-based interventions, and other best practices
· Regularly engage with OSSE team members to ensure consistency across workstreams as they relate to graduation and transition planning
· Oversee OSSE compliance with graduation action planning, case management practices and mandates
· Report on OSSE graduation planning outcomes and continuously improve the OSSE case management and post-reengagement monitoring and supports strategy
· Provide reports as requested to internal and external project stakeholders including, but not limited to, CPS Leadership, the Mayor’s Office, various Community Based Organizations
· Other duties as assigned
In order to be successful and achieve the above responsibilities, the Graduation and Resource Coordinator must possess the following qualifications:
Education Required
· Bachelor’s Degree in School Counseling, Education, or related field from an accredited college or university
· Master’s degree preferred
Experience Required
· Minimum of five (5) years of experience in a position responsible for coordinating or managing complex projects, including the following, is required:
· Experience working with Community Based Organizations, City Colleges, or other education or youth development organizations serving youth in Chicago
· Experience developing training strategies across a broad range of stakeholders
· Experience working with CPS central office and school stakeholders preferred
Knowledge, Skills, And Abilities
· Strong knowledge of high school graduation requirements, vocational education, and post-secondary pathways
· Able to proactively and expertly manage simultaneous workstreams and set appropriate priorities when faced with multiple important tasks
· Ability to navigate ambiguity and independently solve problems
· Excellent written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills; capable of collaborating with individuals at all levels of CPS staff and leadership
· Self-starter with the ability to lead cross-functional teams to achieve project goals
· Competency in data collection and analysis
Conditions of Employment
As a condition of employment with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), employees are required to:
· Establish/Maintain Chicago Residency - Employees are required to live within the geographic boundaries of the City of Chicago within six months of their CPS hire date and maintain residency throughout their employment with the district.
· Be Fully Vaccinated or Submit to Weekly COVID-19 Testing - Employees are required to be fully vaccinated within 30 days of their hire date. Full vaccination is defined as at least two weeks after your second shot of a two-shot vaccination course, or at least two weeks after a one-shot vaccination course. Unvaccinated staff must submit to weekly testing.
Apply here.