School Network Staff Director of College Access + Persistence
Job Description
Who We Are
RePublic Schools is a network of high-performing public charter schools based in Nashville, TN and Jackson, MS with a mission to reimagine public education in the South and prepare all of our scholars to graduate from college. In addition to providing a world-class traditional academic curriculum, we empower our students to be change-makers by teaching them to code – starting in Kindergarten.
Despite the fact that our scholars come from traditionally underserved communities (approximately 85% identify as low-income, and nearly 95% as students of color), we have seen them defy the odds to achieve outstanding results. RePublic’s schools have scored in the top 5% of all open-enrollment public schools across the state of Tennessee for both student growth and absolute achievement – making ours the first (and only) charter schools in state history to achieve this dual distinction.
At RePublic, we cultivate a cohesive community of families, staff, and scholars committed to doing whatever it takes to ensure our scholars succeed. We are looking for a Director of College Access and Persistence to lock arms with our school team at RePublic High School for the 2019-20 school year and beyond. Candidates must share our unwavering belief that all children can achieve at high levels and change the world. Sound like you?
What You’ll Do
Overview
RePublic’s mission is to ensure that 100% of our scholars are not only able to get accepted to and attend the highest-quality colleges and universities across the nation – but able to succeed once there, and graduate ready to serve as the change agents of their generation. The Director of College Access and Persistence at RePublic High School is responsible for ensuring that our scholars and their families have the technical and interpersonal skills, resources and tools, and knowledge to apply to make this promise a reality. The Director of College Access and Persistence will serve on the school’s leadership team, report directly to the Principal, and will consult with network leaders on topics related to college and career access, readiness, and persistence.
Responsibilities
- Provide College Access and Persistence (CAP) Team with consistent management, professional development, support and feedback:
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- Support the College Access and Persistence Team at RHS in developing, aligning, delivering and continually refining the curriculum and programming for the 11th and 12th grade college preparation classes
- Develop national and local relationships and research to learn and share promising practices that promote positive student outcomes in college access and persistence
- Remain informed of relevant developments concerning all aspects of college placement (including financial aid, scholarships, applications, and admissions standards) and leverage this to set direction for the CAP team at RHS
- Drive student academic achievement and character development results through providing best-in-class instructional coaching to RePublic teachers that demonstrably moves teacher practice
- Develop and provide strategic support for recent RePublic HS alumni:
- Design and implement a data-driven approach to alumni support and execute cycle of support that will best meet the needs of our first graduating classes (starting immediately with RHS’ first graduating class during the 2019-20 school year)
- Devise and implement plans to actively combat ‘summer melt’
- Proactively build relationships with academic advisors, academic success programs, opportunity programs, financial aid officers, and deans at key colleges and universities to connect students directly to available support services at their schools
- Develop strong relationships with key colleges and universities:
- Establish and maintain strong relationships with colleges, universities, scholarship programs and community based organizations that support scholar access to / persistence in college
- Develop and maintain relationships with campus “champions” to build positive relationships and understanding of RePublic Schools and our alumni
- Become familiar with the academic and social environments at the various colleges alumni are considering in an effort to recommend best scholar matches
- Build strategic partnerships with key players on campus to connect to our alumni and our college access department
- Use strong data management to support RePublic-wide strategic planning
- Research & identify bright spots and gaps in current alumni in college re: course load, non-cognitive skills, academic skills, socio-emotional skills, etc. and make recommendations to CAO and high school leadership team in changes to RePublic Schools’ program to better prepare students to persist in college
- Manage and maintain Alumni tracking database, which includes current contact information, current transcript information, and course selection for all RePublic alumni
- Conduct quarterly strategic planning to drive towards quarterly metrics for college persistence
Who You Are
Our ideal Director of College Access and Persistence will have an unwavering belief that our students can achieve at an exceptionally high level. Beyond that, a successful candidate is:
- Deeply committed to serving our kids. You have elected to work with historically underserved students, and do this work because you believe that all students, regardless of background, are capable of excellence – and that it’s on us as adults to get our kids there. You can speak knowledgeably about our mission, and demonstrate a commitment to our educational model. You understand that educational inequity is more pronounced in the South than anywhere else in the nation, and you want to work with RePublic in part because of our commitment to this region.
- A people developer. You’ve led, directly managed, and coached teams and individuals to achieve wildly impressive results for scholars. You love and actively seek opportunities to develop others through ongoing coaching, clear expectations and accountability, strong inspirational and motivational skills, high leverage feedback, and targeted professional development.
- …and a people leader. Let’s be real – managing people is hard. You’ve coached, directly managed, and demonstrably moved the effectiveness of other adults before taking this job. You build relationships across lines of difference, inspire and motivate others to buy into your vision, navigate challenging conversations with finesse, make tough calls, communicate effectively in all formats, give and receive feedback fluidly, and model/hold a high bar for adult excellence and exuberance.
- A systems builder. You’re comfortable with ambiguity, and thrive in situations where you get to build something out of nothing, or create order out of chaos. You choose start-up over bureaucracy any day.
- A masterful executor. You appreciate big picture, but you know it’s all in the details. Your organizational systems ensure you get things done. You manage projects fluidly, fiercely prioritize, and track timelines, data, and information in an organized and systematic fashion. When you say you’ll follow up with someone, you do it – and you are known as someone who doesn’t drop balls.
- A growth-minded tinkerer. You are self-aware and humble enough to understand where you rock, where you need to pick up your game, and how this impacts the people you lead. You seek feedback constantly because you’re hungry to get better, and you take extreme initiative and ownership of the outcomes of the people you coach and manage.
- A strong communicator. You’ve got a knack for speaking and writing clearly, succinctly and persuasively such that expectations are clear, timelines are delineated, and excellence is defined. People would describe you as someone who is able to build relationships across lines of difference that allow you to motivate and inspire from a place of authenticity.
- A gritty problem-solver. You keep it cool when things are crazy, approach problems with viable solutions, and know when you need to roll up your sleeves to support your team.
- Other qualifications:
- All candidates must have a Bachelor’s degree; Master’s degree is preferred.
- Expertise and passion for content area is a must – a teaching certification/license in the state of Tennessee (or from a state with reciprocity with Tennessee state certification requirements) is strongly preferred, but not required for this role.
- 3-5 years of prior experience working in the K-12 space in roles that relate to college readiness, access, or persistence required.
- Prior experience teaching, experience teaching or working in a low-income community, and a demonstrated ability to raise achievement levels of traditionally underserved students are highly preferred.
How to Apply
To Apply
- Submit your resume and an optional cover letter online: http://www.republiccharterschools.org/careers.
- Questions? We’re happy to chat. Contact us: careers@republiccharterschools.org.
