About Communities In Schools of Memphis

The mission of Communities In Schools of Memphis (CIS of Memphis) is to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life. The vision of CIS of Memphis is to strengthen our communities by addressing non-academic barriers to ensure schools have equitable access to services and interventions, empowering students to graduate from high school prepared for post-secondary opportunities. The organization’s core values are passion, diversity, innovation, community and integrity.

At CIS of Memphis, we are “all-in” for kids. It is our passion – it is our mission. At CIS of Memphis, we partner with Shelby County Schools, the Achievement School District, Charter Management Organizations, and Independent Charter Schools, to provide tailored resources and create communities of caring adults who work hand-in-hand with educators to make sure young people have the tools they need to stay in school and achieve in life.

Through the implementation of our evidence-based model of Integrated Student Supports, we provide targeted interventions and services by bringing community resources into schools, thus mitigating and eliminating non-academic barriers to student achievement. CIS of Memphis embeds full-time Student Support Specialists in schools to individually case manage students as well as connect the whole school to services. We achieve this mission by hiring bright, creative, and innovative team members who have a passion for what we do. Going forward, the organization is preparing to deepen its reach and impact and to thrive amid a resulting period of significant organizational growth.

At CIS of Memphis, we are proud to be an equal-opportunity employer for the benefit of our employees and community.

Brief Job Summary:

The SSS will be responsible for the overall planning, managing, and implementing the Communities In Schools Integrated Student Support Services Program Model at a school-based site. We are looking for passionate individuals who want to work with adults and students in a school environment.

Student Support Specialist Major Duties:

• Coordinate widely-accessible, school-wide services to help address identified needs or to build and reinforce student assets. Additionally, targeted and sustained services will be coordinated and provided at the school site for a caseload of students who are identified as having the greatest risk of eventually dropping out of school. This includes ongoing case management and direct support for students, including goal setting and individual/group sessions and some opportunities for individual, intensive support services.
• Build, lead and/or integrate into an existing support team that works closely with school administrators, staff and teachers in the implementation of the Communities In Schools model, in conjunction with broader school improvement plans already underway. The support team may include school members from across various Shelby County Agencies as well as the school sites and neighborhood community partners. This process will include the building and nurturing of school staff relations, relationships with school and community partners, and the engagement of volunteers for the delivery of services.
• Lead the annual needs assessment process. This process will be based on multiple data sources including data collected by schools as part of overall school improvement initiatives; surveys and discussions with staff, parents and students; and evaluation results from the previous year.
• Develop and implement a school support plan based on the needs assessment. The plan will include measurable objectives, as well as procedures for delivering school-wide services, targeted and sustained services, monitoring and adjusting services, and evaluating and reporting effectiveness.
• Build trusting relationships with students, parents, school staff and partners.
• Obtain consent from parents to provide program support.
• Develop case managed student needs assessments and implement support plans that build on student assets and address barriers to success
• Conduct SEL assessments and groups for case managed students
• Evaluate the effectiveness at achieving school and student individualized goals. The Student Support Specialist will implement the CIS systematic data collection plan to evaluate the effectiveness of services in achieving school-wide goals and individualized student goals. Regular reports will be provided to school and affiliate leadership to guide planning site services for the upcoming and future programming years. The Student Support Specialist will also contribute to affiliate-level reports for local and the Communities In Schools national office.
• Assist with other organizational and project activities as needed.