SMS Student Success Specialist

Battle Creek Public Schools; Battle Creek (MI); On-site; USD 23,000 - 32,000; Full time

Job summary

Battle Creek Public Schools is seeking a Title I Student Success Specialist to work at Springfield Middle School. The role focuses on direct student support, engagement, attendance, and learning readiness interventions aligned with the schoolwide Title I plan.

You will collaborate with teachers and staff, implement trauma-informed and restorative strategies, and monitor intervention data to improve instructional access and outcomes.

Qualifications

• High School Diploma required.
• Experience working with diverse students and families.
• Ability to implement restorative, trauma‑informed approaches.

Responsibilities

• Provide direct, supplemental support to students identified as at risk of not meeting standards.
• Build positive relationships to increase engagement, attendance, and academic success.
• Provide supplemental check-in/check-out support for students needing additional academic, attendance, behavioral, SEL, or engagement support.
• Coordinate and staff a supplemental Student Success Center for short-term interventions and re-entry support.
• Collaborate with school staff to support students with behavioral, attendance, SEL, or engagement needs.
• Use trauma‑informed, restorative, culturally responsive strategies to support student regulation and readiness to learn.
• Participate in MTSS/SST/problem-solving meetings to identify supplemental supports.

Skills

Student engagement

Communication skills

Cultural awareness

Time management

Interpersonal skills

Collaboration

Education

High School Diploma

Job description

Position Description

Location: Springfield Middle School

The Title I Student Success Specialist works directly with identified students to provide supplemental engagement, behavior/SEL, attendance, and learning-readiness interventions connected to the schoolwide Title I plan. The position supports students whose engagement, attendance, behavior, or social-emotional skill needs interfere with access to instruction and academic success.

The Specialist helps students develop skills necessary to participate successfully in the classroom, including self-regulation, problem-solving, conflict resolution, help-seeking, task completion, positive peer and adult interactions, and readiness to learn.

Please note: This position is employed by Edustaff, the district's staffing partner.

Responsibilities

• Provide direct, supplemental support to students identified through school data as failing or at risk of failing to meet state academic standards.
• Build positive, supportive relationships with students to increase engagement, classroom participation, attendance, and academic success.
• Provide supplemental check-in/check-out support for students identified as needing additional academic, attendance, behavioral, SEL, or engagement support.
• Coordinate and staff a supplemental Student Success Center designed to provide short-term, skill-building intervention and re-entry support so students can return to classroom instruction as quickly and successfully as possible.
• Ensure that the Student Success Center is used for supportive intervention, skill-building, problem-solving, regulation, reflection, and re-entry planning, and not as an in-school suspension room or disciplinary consequence space.
• Work collaboratively with the Principal, Behavior Interventionist, Bearcat Coach, teachers, and other school staff to support students whose behavioral, attendance, SEL, or engagement needs interfere with access to instruction.
• Implement non-clinical, trauma-informed, restorative, culturally responsive, and student-centered strategies that support student regulation, conflict resolution, problem-solving, and readiness to learn.
• Support students in developing skills related to emotional regulation, recognizing triggers, expressing feelings appropriately, active listening, asking for help, task completion, empathy, personal space, and positive peer/adult interactions.
• Collaborate with school staff to implement proactive intervention strategies that reduce classroom removals, increase instructional time, and support successful classroom reintegration.
• Support successful student re-entry to the classroom following a short-term intervention by helping students identify next steps, repair relationships when appropriate, and return to learning.
• Collect and maintain data on student interventions, referrals, time in the Student Success Center, frequency and duration of support, return-to-class rates, repeat referrals, attendance, engagement, and other indicators connected to the schoolwide plan.
• Use student data to monitor intervention effectiveness and adjust supports in collaboration with building staff.
• Participate in student support, MTSS, SST, or problem-solving meetings to help identify supplemental supports for students who are at risk of not meeting academic expectations.
• Collaborate with families, when appropriate, to support student engagement, attendance, and successful participation in the school environment.
• Attend professional development related to restorative practices, culturally responsive practices, trauma-informed schools, positive behavior interventions and supports, MTSS, student engagement, and strategies that improve access to instruction and academic success.
• Support the implementation of schoolwide Title I strategies identified in the comprehensive needs assessment and schoolwide plan.

Qualifications

• High School Diploma required

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:

• Demonstrated success in working with students and families of diverse backgrounds.
• Ability to quickly establish and maintain cooperative and effective professional relationships, build trust in a limited time, and engage with a broad range of school‑based staff.
• Ability to demonstrate effective communication skills in group facilitation, managing individual students and groups of students.
• Cultural awareness and ability to navigate and promote sensitivity with issues of race and equity and knowledge of racial equity and racial justice in the context of public education.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing, to a broad range of audiences.
• Ability to balance multiple priorities with proven ability to anticipate challenges, solve problems and maintain a calm demeanor in high‑pressure situations.
• Strong time management, organizational and interpersonal skills.

Pay

$20/hour

SCHOOL SAFETY CLEARANCE:

The successful candidate will be subject to a fingerprint and background check as a condition of employment. All fees required for this check (estimated $73) will be the responsibility of the successful applicant.

The Battle Creek Public School District is an equal opportunity employer and will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, handicap, sex, age, religion, national origin, weight, height, or marital status in its employment practices.