Operations / Administration Community Schools Director
Job Description
Community Schools Director
The Urban Assembly Unison School
Background on The Urban Assembly Unison School:
The Urban Assembly Unison School is a small middle school located in the Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn in a shared building with an elementary school. Unison, as we are fondly called, is in its fifth year and in its fourth year under the current principal, Emily Paige. This year, Unison is undertaking an innovative shift to become a unique Community School serving the school’s neighborhood, families and larger community. The school has an ambitious plan to transform into a thriving middle school that offers its students an enriched, hands-on curriculum shaped around career exploration labs and also offers its students and their families with a wide range of supports and services to ensure that each and every student at Unison is able to take his or her rightful seat at the table in school and in their worlds.
Community Schools Director Position:
We are actively seeking a Community Schools Director that will, with leadership and guidance from the school administration, collaboratively develop a plan and then oversee the actual transition to becoming a community school. This will include managing school services partnerships, developing and operating a Family Resource Center in the school building and overseeing the curricular job exploration partnerships through the Urban Assembly. The position will be staffed through Unison’s Community School Community Based Organization partner, The Urban Assembly.
Background on The Urban Assembly:
The Urban Assembly (UA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering underserved youth by providing them with the academic and life skills necessary for post-secondary success. It creates and supports unique, small public schools that are open to all students, scales up promising programs, and coordinates with hundreds of partner organizations in the private, public, non-profit and higher education sectors. The UA serves over 9,000 students in its 21 existing small district middle and high schools in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Responsibilities:
● Collaborate with key stakeholders (students, families, school staff and community members) to develop a needs assessment and then to create and implement a community school plan
● Develop and lead a Community School Team of stakeholders to implement the plan and monitor progress
● Create and implement a robust parent and community engagement action plan
● Communicate and build relationships with community partners, key-stakeholders, and volunteers
● Form partnerships with community agencies aligned with school goals, and bring services into the school (i.e. health, mental health, dental, after school, GED, arts etc.) for students and parents
● Create and implement a Family Resource Room action plan
● Manage the Family Resource Room
● Provide oversight and coordination of programming during the school day and extended day hours for students, families and the community
● Track program activity and progress and use data and evaluation to strengthen the program
Qualifications:
● Bachelor’s Degree required, Masters in social work, education, public administration or another related field preferred
● Five years of relevant experience as a community school director or in education, youth development, social work, community organizing or another related field
● Demonstrated ability to build and maintain effective working relationships with key stakeholders in the school
● Understanding of high-needs communities and schools and knowledge of community organizing principles
● Ability to work with a high degree of autonomy, and in a school under a dual reporting structure
● Ability to track and manage a program budget as well as negotiate agreements with other organizations
● Ability to work in fast-paced environment, flexible, organized and can-do attitude
● Interest in and comfort with working with data to inform practice
● Strong presentation and communication skills (oral and written)
● Bilingual (Spanish) a plus
● Must be able to pass background check and clearance by NYC Department of Education
Salary, Location and Hours:
● School-based position at The Urban Assembly Unison School, 170 Gates Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11238, 3rd Floor
● Full-time, some weeknight and Saturday hours
● Year-round position
● Salary commensurate with experience
● Urban Assembly and DOE are Equal Opportunity Employers
