**2018-2019 Positions Available in Lawrence and Chelsea**

Job Title: Student Support Specialist (Bilingual Spanish Speaker Preferred)

Philosophy

Phoenix Charter Academy's mission is to challenge young people in our area with an academically rigorous and individually tailored curriculum. Phoenix scholars will have the support, resources and training needed to succeed academically in high school and college, and become economically secure in their future. Phoenix Charter Academy is named after a mythological figure of strength, healing and renewal.

Phoenix schools challenge resilient, disconnected young people with rigorous academics and relentless supports, so they take ownership of their futures and succeed in high school, college, and as self-sufficient adults.

Role Summary

The Student Support Specialists serve as the bridge between the academic support efforts and the scholar support efforts embedded in the Phoenix Charter mission.  Student Support Specialists are tasked upholding the Student Code of Conduct, and implementing related programming and initiatives designed to address the socio-emotional needs of individual scholars and the scholar body as a whole.

This role requires strong communication and mediation skills, as well as the the ability to foster and maintain genuine relationships with all scholars and staff in the school in order to create an environment where continuous positive youth development is the norm, rather than the exception.

Commitments

All staff acknowledge that we each seek – through formal and informal feedback – to dramatically improve our own progress and that of our scholars.  

Qualities of a Phoenix staff member:

• Unwavering Belief in Phoenix Scholars - Phoenix staff operate with the deeply held belief that all young people want to and can succeed even in the face of what can seem like insurmountable barriers and societal constraints.

• Ability to Put Scholars First - Phoenix staff go above and beyond to ensure mastery of the skills and development of positive self-identity that will ensure success for college, careers and beyond.  Phoenix staff find every opportunity to engage in teaching and learning with scholars, using conflict to build supportive relationships with scholars and never taking things personally.

• Eager to Learn Under Pressure - Phoenix staff must be able to learn as they go in a fast paced, ever evolving, urgent environment. They have the desire to receive direct feedback and the ability to implement the feedback into practice quickly.

• Humility - Phoenix staff approach problem solving with curiosity and desire to understand the perspectives of others.  They carry an internalized sense of “I can always learn more”  from others, and know that adults at Phoenix must model the qualities of being open-minded and willing to make mistakes and learn from them.

• Experience with Low Income Communities -  Staff have the proven ability to work across cultures and experience serving low-income communities and/or academically-disconnected adolescents.  

• Ability to Find Inspiration In the Small Things - In the face of challenge and hard work,  Phoenix staff must have the ability to find humor, inspiration, success and joy in the day to day interactions with scholars and the larger Phoenix Community.

• Personal Commitment to Cultural Proficiency and Ongoing Development - Phoenix staff are ongoing learners about diversity, equity and inclusion and seek to understand the ways that their self-identity and experiences impacts and interacts with their daily work, colleagues and scholars.

Specific Responsibilities

Student Affairs Responsibilities

• Seek to create personal, warm relationships with ALL scholars, sending a clear message that the academic work is central to the mission of the school and all relationships in the school are in place to support the academic success of scholars in college and post-secondary endeavors.
• Work with scholars to help them realize their potential through adult supporter meetings, one-on-one conversations, action plans, meeting with teachers, etc.
• Coordinate communication with state and local agencies to ensure scholars are receiving the services they need.
• Assist with relevant intakes and reporting, including counseling intakes and Medicaid paperwork.
• Serve as the connection between the academic support team and the scholar support team.
• Lead an advisory.
• Coordinate leaves with scholars and manage their transitions back to school after leaves.
• Attend court as directed by Dean.
• Go on home visits as needed.
• Ensure all scholars on long term leave from school (suspension, maternity leave, medical leave, etc) have access to academic work.
• Serve as mediator for scholar disagreements and manage and lead circle backs as needed.
• Run re-entry meetings as directed by the Director of School Culture.
• Create and implement behavior and academic plans to help scholars remain engaged in school
• Serve as liaison between the Student Support Team and AST.

Student Support Team Responsibilities

• Internalize mission and make it central to all decisions and actions inside and outside of the school in addition to upholding the scholar code of conduct at all times.
• Serve as primary Student Support Center member as assigned by the Director of School Culture.
• Participate in all Student Support Team meetings, Student Support Team check-ins, etc.
• Participate in every absent out/partial credit cycle.
• Meet with Dean of Students weekly for supervision.
• Manage detention as necessary.
• Work as part of Student Support Team during summers, focusing on retention, re-engagement work and training new staff.
• Organize and lead at least one, ongoing engagement activity to build a positive academy culture throughout the year.
• Attend and help run each new scholar orientation.
• Commitment to growing professionally through consistent and constant feedback and reflection; remain humble and relentless.
• Commitment to developing through feedback, tackling challenging tasks, and professional development meetings/trainings.

**It is understood that this Job Description is a summary of the primary duties and responsibilities of the position. It is not intended to be a complete and total description of each and every duty and responsibility. As such, this job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by this employee. He or she will be required to follow any other instructions and to perform any other duties requested by his or her supervisor.

It is also understood that the Network retains the right to modify this Job Description at any time, for any reason, at the Network’s sole discretion**

We seek a diverse workforce. Phoenix Charter Academy is an Equal Opportunity Employer. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, Phoenix Charter Academy is committed to providing equal opportunity to staff and applicants in all areas of employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status, or any other area protected by federal, state or local law. Phoenix Charter Academy is committed to making any reasonable accommodation necessary to support an individual's employment.