Student Placement Specialist: Reengage Students

District of Columbia Public Schools; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

DCPS seeks a Specialist, Student Placement to identify suitable school placements for students, coordinate placement meetings, and collaborate with families and schools to ensure timely enrollment decisions.

The role requires experience with disengaged students, strong data analysis, and excellent communication, writing, and presentation skills. Safety-sensitive position with reporting to the Director, Student Placement. Apply via the district's job portal.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and three to five years of related work experience.
• Master's degree preferred.
• Previous exposure to or experience in the education sector or youth development is preferred.
• Demonstrated success working with high school students who are struggling with academic and/or behavioral issues, including students who are potential and/or recent dropouts.
• Knowledge of research-based best practices and programs to promote engagement in school and demonstrated success with implementing these practices and programs.
• Strong interpersonal skills, including experience and confidence in facilitation and/or mediation.
• Results-oriented with the ability to collect and analyze data and evaluate program outcomes.
• Excellent communication, writing, and presentation skills.
• Flexibility, team orientation, positive attitude, and willingness to contribute at all levels to ensure successful implementation.
• Demonstrated ability to efficiently solve problems and resolve organizational roadblocks.

Responsibilities

• Conducts placement meetings with students, parents, advocates, and/or other key stakeholders to determine the best educational setting to meet the academic needs of the student.
• Identifies school placement options and facilitates enrollment of students in assigned schools.
• Responds to inquiries from over-age students, parents, advocates, and government officials regarding alternative schools and programs, comprehensive high schools, and public charter schools within the District of Columbia.
• Facilitates development of individualized student-centered re-engagement plans through inventory of competencies and challenges of disengaged students to address educational and socio-emotional needs and helps identify supports and resources required to drive student progress.
• Assesses curriculum, programming, and credit needs for disengaged students in identifying school placement options to ensure optimal placement setting for sustained re-engagement and integration in meeting graduation requirements.
• Builds and establishes relationships with key internal and external stakeholders to leverage supports and resources for effective and targeted engagement of disengaged students.
• Facilitates collaborative engagement of school, family, and community stakeholders to address challenges impacting academic success for disengaged students to support successful immersion in new school placement.
• Analyzes disengaged student data and provides informed recommendations to school leadership and senior management on strategies for prevention of disrupted enrollment, recruitment, and inducements for disengaged students.
• Confers and collaborates with school administrators and staff and central office teams to improve the support and outcomes for disengaged students; and collaborates with other members of the team to analyze placement team data and refine best practices for recruitment and school retention.
• Maintains data on student demographics and placement meeting outcomes. Helps to manage the analysis and presentation of data and progress of data-driven initiatives for internal and external audiences; communicates progress to key stakeholder groups; and incorporates their input.
• Anticipates, identifies, and resolves complex obstacles to the success of the overall program, as well as specific projects.
• Applies deep content knowledge and relevant expertise to projects and general operations, advises senior management in specific areas of focus, and helps build competency in others.

Skills

Data analysis

Communication

Stakeholder engagement

Facilitation

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree preferred

Education sector experience

Job description

DCPS seeks a Specialist, Student Placement to identify suitable school placements for students, coordinate placement meetings, and collaborate with families and schools to ensure timely enrollment decisions.

The role requires experience with disengaged students, strong data analysis, and excellent communication, writing, and presentation skills. Safety-sensitive position with reporting to the Director, Student Placement. Apply via the district's job portal.