Director of Student Services and Community Schools

THE ORGANIZATION

Lighthouse Community Public Schools

At Lighthouse Community Public Schools we are engaged in an educational movement that goes beyond our classrooms working to disrupt inequities by providing our students and families exceptional educational opportunities every day. Grounded in our core values of community, integrity, agency, love, and social justice rooted in the EL Education Model, LCPS is a leader in fostering innovative schools achieving exceptional student outcomes where each child is at the center of their own learning. Our mission is to prepare diverse students for college, a career of their choice, and to be lifelong changemakers. Founded in 2002, LCPS operates two high-achieving K-12 public charter schools--Lighthouse and Lodestar--serving nearly 1,500 students in East Oakland. Lighthouse is a beacon for public education and our graduates fulfill the promise of a better, brighter Oakland. Learn more at www.lighthousecharter.org.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Director of Student Services and Community Schools

Competencies and Qualifications

1. LCPS seeks a dedicated, equity-focused Director of Student Services and Community Schools who demonstrates an unwavering commitment to young people and their full potential. This leader will be responsible for the planning, development, management, and implementation of all Student Services and Community Schools programs across our organization which includes 2 TK-12 schools. In this highly collaborative and innovative role, the Director will have the exciting opportunity to design and build systems that strengthen four critical pillars of our organizational infrastructure:
2. Attendance and Chronic Absenteeism Strategy and Case Management, including leading the strategy for raising overall attendance and addressing chronic absenteeism across our schools and for target sub groups.
3. Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS), including supports for students with or in need of 504 plans and the COST process
4. Community Schools Model, which encompasses crisis response, coordinated case management, and services for homeless, foster, and other high-risk students. The Director of Student Services and Community Schools will also lead the implementation of our California Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP) grant and manage a number of essential community partnerships that support student success.
5. Compliance and Program Oversight, including ELOP, which encompasses before and after school programming as well as extended learning programs that operate on weekends, breaks, and during the summer, mental health and wellness programs and staffing for students with 504 plans alongside our Senior Director of Special Education and Specialized Programs.

Ideal candidates will bring strong knowledge and experience in attendance strategy, MTSS, and case management, including relevant policies and laws; exhibit initiative and creativity; and demonstrate strong leadership and change management skills. This leader must be passionate about doing the work alongside and with staff onsite, invested in shared decision-making, data-informed improvement, and building systems that eliminate disproportionality, ensure compliance, and improve outcomes for all students.

This is a unique opportunity for a dynamic, innovative, and mission-driven leader to contribute meaningfully to transformational growth for students, families, and staff within our Team of Schools and the broader Oakland community.

LCPS LEADER CORE COMPETENCIES

As a strategic and visionary leader for equity:

• Inspire a shared vision of college and career readiness by making high-impact decisions, setting clear academic priorities, and developing strategic plans.
• Ensure an exceptional education for all by articulating, fostering, and monitoring an academic program and by facilitating data-driven and equity-focused teams.
• Encourage the heart by promoting and courageously leading a joyful organizational & school culture that attends to the needs of the whole child and adult.
• Empower and engage the community by mobilizing families, students, staff, and other community stakeholders as partners to achieve our vision.
• Enable others to act by ensuring processes and systems of development and distributed leadership are in place that result in the recruitment and retention of diverse and high-performing staff.
• Innovate and problem-solve by exhibiting persistence, creativity, flexibility, motivation to make change, and the ability to imagine new approaches and opportunities for impact.
• Model the way as a leader for equity through skilled and culturally competent collaboration, communication, and relationship-building.
• Embody LCPS’ core values of community, integrity, love, social justice, and agency

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Creation, oversight and implementation of Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) Vision and Structures including Attendance, Behavior and Academics:

• Lead the strategy and implementation of multi-tiered system of supports with a particular focus during the current strategic plan on an overarching strategy to increase overall attendance and reduce chronic absenteeism and on improving the COST process
• Manage the MTSS District Program Coordinators for COST/504 and Attendance and any related roles ensuring the efficacy of their work in service of the vision and strategic goals for MTSS
• Providing professional development for APs of Culture and Expanded Learning Coordinators, Teachers and Teachers-inTraining, families, and caregivers in tier 1 and 2 support systems for socio-emotional, behavioral, and culture programs.
• Collaborating with Senior Director of Special Education, school leaders, MTSS Coordinators, teachers, and other staff and partners to identify and assess student needs, identify students not making adequate academic progress and ensure appropriate interventions.
• Monitoring the efficacy of tier 1, 2, and 3 academic and behavior supports, services, interventions, and resource and staffing allocations to ensure they are based on need and resulting in increased access and outcomes for students.
• Considering the interaction between discipline processes tiered supports and early interventions
• Case manage highest risk students

Management of Student Services, Crises, Compliance, and Complaints

• Oversee and lead the students and family services department and our community schools partnerships.
• Serve as lead for responding to serious student and family crises and complaints, including serving as a Title IX coordinator for LCPS in conjunction with the Chief of Staff/ombudsperson and Chief Operating Officer
• Support principals and other site admin in managing and navigating student and family issues as they arise
• Manage services for youth experiencing housing instability and foster youth
• Guiding, directing, and participating in serious discipline processes, including student suspensions and expulsions
• Collaborate with school leaders, MTSS Coordinators, teachers, and other staff and partners to identify and assess student needs, identify students not making adequate academic progress and ensure appropriate intervention with a focus on attendance systems and 504 compliance

Oversight and implementation of LCPS’s ELOP programs including after-school, weekend, break, and summer programs funded by ASES, ASSETs, Expanded Learning, and other grants.

• Set the vision, staffing model and schedules, and program articulation for LCPS’s after-school and summer programs.
• Collaborate, support, coach and lead alongside school leaders, APs of Culture and Expanded Learning, teachers in training, and K-12 ELP coordinators to ensure strong program articulation, execution, and oversight, including promoting and verifying student enrollment in after-school programming.
• Improve and Align our After-School programming with core Academic Model, lead the yearly CQI and Annual Outcomes process for our grants, and support our grant renewal cycles as needed.

External Partner & Community Stakeholder Communication & Management, including co-leading our California Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP) grant in partnership with LCPS Senior Director of Special Education.

• Developing vision and systems for intake, case management and quality review of integrating academics, health and social services, youth and community development, and community engagement.
• Provide oversight and program monitoring to ensure we are fulfilling our commitments to all students aligned to our California Community School Partnership Program, ASSES and ASSETs guidelines, and Education Code.
• Managing partnerships with community agencies and local governments to align community resources to improve student outcomes.
• Managing and monitoring of budget and fiscal resources related to student services programming, including from state/federal grants, to ensure that LCPS and program resources are efficiently and effectively utilized and to improve student achievement for all students
• Supervising a team of people responsible for case management to include identifying resources, providing technical assistance, and expanding the support network of students and families in crisis.’

Oversee and build aligned Tier 1 site-based culture systems that include Restorative Justice, Community Schools, and Expanded Learning Programs.

• Provide leadership and vision to ensure compliance in student discipline, alternative education, child welfare and attendance, guidance services, and school safety.
• Monitor and ensure LCPS compliance with ADA, OCR, CRDC, education code, and federal and state regulations and ensure that all practices in the district are legal and ethical for each student/family so that each child has the opportunity to achieve at a high level and be prepared for post-secondary success
• Ensure an exceptional education for all students by coaching, monitoring, developing, and facilitating data-driven and equity-focused teams toward the Restorative Justice Program to include social-emotional learning, community building through the crew, classroom management, and school and organizational response systems.
• Ensure aligned implementation of core components (K-12 Crew structures and curriculum, Social Emotional Learning, Student Engaged Assessment Wednesday, Student-Led Conferences, Passage, celebrations of learning, etc) of the LCPS academic program and create strong improvement cycles of our school and student culture practices.
• Use data to monitor the efficacy of tier 1 and 2 academic and behavior supports, services, interventions, and resource and staffing allocations to ensure they are based on need resulting in increased access and outcomes for students.

Student Services Teams’ Supervision & Management:

• Manage and support hiring alongside team and supervise a high-performing student services team including, but not limited to, Family Engagement Coordinators, Athletics Director, K-12 Expanded Learning (ASP) Coordinators, MTSS Coordinators, Attendance Coordinator, Attendance Clerk and future roles related to the Community Schools grant, and coaching of Assistant Principals of Culture and other to ensure high quality services and support for families, students, and our community schools programs and partnerships.
• Collaborate closely with other directors and program specialists on the academic, special education and other teams as needed to support effective supervision and program and legal compliance.
• Provide consistent, high quality onsite feedback, evaluation, coaching and support to all direct reports in order to grow and develop over time.
• Serve as point of escalation for student, family, and safety issues
• Support staff to provide training and professional development for student supervision staff (Teachers in Training) and other roles across our family of schools
• Other duties as assigned by supervisor

QUALIFICATIONS:

• At least 5-7 years of successful pupil services, and/or school or district leadership experience required
• Experience working in urban education serving students of color from low-income backgrounds
• MA in education or related field, required; administrative credential, preferred
• Appropriate CA credential (Pupil Services or Administrative credential, e.g.)
• 2+ years of supervisory & management experience
• Knowledge and experience of overseeing compliance with Educational Code, MTSS and effective intervention and acceleration systems, and other populations of students disproportionality under-achieving and/or under-resourced or accessed.
• Experience working in Oakland schools preferred; charter school experience, a plus,
• EL Education or Linked Learning experience, a plus.
• Spanish fluency, preferred,

SUPERVISION

This position reports to the Senior Managing Director of Teaching and Learning.

TIME COMMITMENT

This position is a full-time salaried exempt 12-month position that follows the 233-day school year and summer schedule. Includes approximately 5 weeks of paid holidays/breaks during the school year in addition to 10 days of PTO available to 12-month staff typically taken in the summer, but able to be used at other times with supervisor approval.

This role will be onsite at schools 50-80% of day to day and in a shared services office.

COMPENSATION

Commensurate with experience. Competitive benefits package and generous time off and vacation policies. Salary range is $105-135K

TO APPLY

People of color and bilingual candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

Interested candidates should submit:

• Resume
• Cover letter describing your interest in this position and why you are an optimal fit
• 4-5 references with Name, Email, Phone Number and Title/nature of working relationship

Application submission screening and initial phone interviews will be completed on a rolling basis. In-person interviews and performance tasks will take place on-site.

Lighthouse Community Public Schools is an equal-opportunity employer committed to diversity at all levels.

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