Educational Life Coach- Excel Center Decatur

Teach Indy; Indianapolis, Northern (IN, KY); Hybrid; USD 46,000 - 55,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Full benefits

PTO and holidays

401(k) retirement plan

Job summary

The Excel Center in Indianapolis (Decatur campus) seeks an Educational Life Coach to promote student engagement, advocate for learners, and connect them with resources to remove barriers to educational progress.

Responsibilities include goal setting, relationship building, and data-driven interventions, with a focus on helping adults achieve Indiana Academic Standards and post-secondary opportunities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in psychology, human relations, social work, rehabilitation counseling, education, or related fields.
• Proven ability to engage students and communicate clearly across formats.
• Demonstrated meeting facilitation and conflict management skills.
• Experience building relationships with students and staff to remove barriers to progress.
• Working knowledge of student information systems.

Responsibilities

• Meet with students one-on-one to set goals, create action plans, and connect to resources within timelines.
• Develop and adjust student goals and action steps to reduce barriers.
• Build and sustain networks with community partners to connect wrap-around services.
• Collaborate with College and Career Readiness Specialist to connect students to post-secondary opportunities.
• Track and analyze student data to drive improvement and evaluate outcomes.

Skills

Student engagement

Communication skills

Meeting facilitation

Building collaborative relationships

Adaptability

Decision making

Organizational aptitude

Counseling and mentoring

Education

Bachelor’s degree in psychology or related fields

Tools

G Suite

MS Office

Job description

Educational Life Coach- Excel Center Decatur

This position is located on the southwest side of Indianapolis at the Decatur Excel Center (address is 5106 S High School Rd., Indianapolis, IN 46221) and the general range of this position is $46-$55K and includes full benefits (below):

The Coach promotes continued student engagement in the Excel Center and serves as a student advocate. The Coach guides student learning and productivity by coaches building relationships with students and providing resources to remove barriers from their educational progress. Coaches triage their caseloads by managing their core duties while also being reactive to student crises as they arise. The position works with all academic teams and the College and Career Readiness Specialist in meeting educational goals and adhering to the Indiana Academic Standards.

Example Duties and Activities

• Meets with students one-on-one to set goals, creates action plans, connects to resources, and ensures all is met within a provided timeline. Utilizes coaching strategies to build rapport with students to influence decision-making.
• Makes modifications to academic, personal, and employability goals by assessing student performance, availability, and life challenges to help students reach their full potential. Partners with students and staff to identify specific action steps to reduce academic barriers preventing optimal student performance.
• Builds and maintains networks with key community partners including Goodwill staff (community agencies, educational institutions, financial liaisons, and employers) to connect students to wrap-around services.
• Works with the College and Career Readiness Specialist to connect students to post-secondary opportunities.
• Identifies and tracks relevant student/school data to set improvement and/or achievement goals and to drive future evaluation and feedback.
• Evaluates data to inform decision-making, drive outcomes and develop interventions for students.
• Develops personal professional/performance goals and action plans to reach goals. Reflects on prior goals and makes adjustments to professional practice and goals.
• Contributes to the overall achievement of school-wide goals around graduation outcomes, enrollment needs, student achievement, retention, etc.
• Sets and maintains a high-performance culture for staff and students.
• Participates in student recruitment, enrollment, and outreach efforts.
• Degree and Credential Requirements – Bachelor’s degree in psychology, human relations, social work, rehabilitation counseling, education, or related fields.
• Communication Skills – Articulates thoughts and expresses ideas effectively using oral, written, visual, and non-verbal communication skills, as well as listening skills to comprehend others’ needs. Delivers information in person, in writing, and in a digital world.
• Meeting Facilitation – Adept at scheduling, coordinating, and managing productive meetings of large and small groups; professionally manages conflict and commitment; ensures follow-through of participants.
• Student Engagement – Takes a strengths-based, student-centered approach to developing relationships at all levels while establishing appropriate boundaries. Adept at delivering feedback that is constructive and unbiased. Creates and maintains a safe environment for open discussions.
• Building Collaborative Relationships – Develops, maintains, and strengthens partnerships with others inside or outside the organization who can provide information, assistance, and support.
• Technical Knowledge – Has working knowledge of G Suite and MS Office, as well as student information systems.
• Adaptability – Maintains effectiveness when experiencing shifts in priorities; adjusts effectively while maintaining a positive learning environment.
• Informed Decision-Making – Identifies and comprehends issues, problems, and opportunities; compares data from different sources to draw conclusions; uses effective approaches for choosing a course of action or developing appropriate solutions; takes action that is consistent with available facts, constraints, and probable consequences.
• Organizational Aptitude – Plans and attends to details and pursues quality in accomplishing multiple tasks in an organized and timely fashion. Exhibits careful attention to detail and follow-through.
• Industry Standards – Displays a working knowledge of the Indiana Academic Standards, Common Core State Standards, and 21st Century Skills and knowledge of disciplinary literacy.
• Counseling Expertise – Provides academic, career, college/certification access, and social-emotional mentoring, counseling, or advising ideally to high school-age students in a nontraditional, and/or in an adult education setting.
• Established Contacts – Maintains and grows a professional network of community resources, health care providers, employers, and others as appropriate to the organization.

Other Requirements

• Is willing to travel to participants’ homes, workplaces, community centers, and other venues at times that are convenient to individuals being served.
• Background Screening – All candidates must pass a pre-employment background check. Must have a valid driver’s license, up-to-date auto insurance, and a good driving record.

Benefits: Full-time employees may participate in a comprehensive benefits program that includes:

• Continuing education and leadership development as well as tuition reimbursement
• Paid time off (PTO) and paid holidays
• Life, dental and vision insurance
• Short- and long-term disability plans
• Parental and sabbatical leaves
• Nationally recognized preventive health and wellness program
• Section 125 pretax health spending account, dependent care spending account, and premiums
• Retirement plan with generous match or contribution into Teachers’ Retirement Fund for eligible employees
• Eligible for the Public Student Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program

Goodwill Education Initiatives

Goodwill strongly believes it is essential to raise education attainment levels in Indiana. Not only are the lifetime earnings of high school graduates significantly higher than those of dropouts, children of high school graduates are 50% less likely to drop out of high school than the children of dropouts are. Goodwill provides opportunities for adults (The Excel Center) and youth (Indianapolis Metropolitan High School).

The Excel Center Model

The Excel Center is operated by Goodwill Education Initiatives, Inc., a not-for-profit organization formed by Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana.

Recognizing that nearly a half million working-age Hoosiers lack a high school diploma, Goodwill opened The Excel Center for adults in 2010. The Excel Center is a tuition-free public high school for adults offering an Indiana Core 40 high school diploma.