Company Description

KIPP
KIPP Public Schools is a national network of tuition-free public schools educating 120,000 students in grades Prek-12 across 21 states and Washington, DC. While each of our schools is as unique as the community to which it belongs, we are united around a shared promise: Together, A Future Without Limits. You can learn more at www.kipp.org.

KIPP Jacksonville Public Schools
KIPP Jacksonville Public Schools  is part of the KIPP national network. Together with families and communities, we create joyful, academically excellent schools that prepare students with the skills and confidence to pursue the paths they choose – college, career, and beyond – so they can lead fulfilling lives and build a more just world. As an organization that serves a student population that is over 90% Black, we center and value the experiences and perspectives of students, families, staff of color and the surrounding community. We also work to dismantle white supremacy.

In the 2024-25 school year, the KIPP Jacksonville region will be comprised of four schools educating more than 3,000 students, kindergarten through twelfth grade in the North and West sides of Jacksonville, Florida.

• KIPP Impact Academy: Kindergarten - 4th grade, 6th - 8th grade 

• KIPP VOICE Academy: Kindergarten - 8th grade 

• KIPP Bessie Coleman Academy: Kindergarten - 8th grade 

• KIPP Bold City High School: 9th - 12th grade

For the current school year, teachers at KIPP Jacksonville Public Schools work the following hours Monday through Friday and may have occasional meetings or special school events outside of these hours. Hours for teachers and students may vary slightly by school.

• K-8 Staff: 7:30am - 4:30pm K-8 Students: 8:00am - 3:30pm, Wednesday K-8 dismissal is at 1:30pm 

• High School Staff: 6:45am - 3:45pm, High School Students: 7:15am - 2:30pm, Wednesday High School dismissal is at 12:30pm. 

Every Wednesday is a student early release day, which allows teachers to participate in weekly professional development and content team meetings. *This doesn’t include Wellness Wednesdays when all staff leave at student dismissal. 

To support these schools, we will employ more than 300 full-time staff members. We seek educators and colleagues that represent our core values of high expectations, growth mindset, commitment to team, trust, joy, and sustainability. To learn more about what it is like to work and teach at KIPP Jacksonville Public Schools, please visit www.kippjax.org/teach where you can also view all of our job postings.

Job Description

Reports to: School Leader, HS

Position Type: Full-Time; Salaried; Year-Round

Team: Bold City High School

JOB SUMMARY
What You’ll Do:

The Director, College and Career Counseling (DCCC) is responsible for developing and managing a college and career counseling program and team that will ensure that every student deepens their knowledge about themselves and their top careers of highest aspiration and builds and executes a strong plan that will allow them to make the best postsecondary choice.

School Leadership Team Responsibilities  

•  Participate on the School’s Leadership Team and grade-level leadership team to share crucial college and career knowledge and keep leaders aware of students’ goals and progress towards their postsecondary plans 
• Lead department meetings and professional development related to KIPP Forward. Includes: 2x a month meeting with Counseling team to review data
•  Facilitate Monthly Match Meetings with high school leadership, KIPP Forward leadership, regional leadership, and the counseling team
•  Facilitate and encourage strong communication between high school and KIPP Forward staff, teams and departments to continually improve outcomes 

College and Career Counseling Leadership

•  Lead execution of Counseling and Match strategy, including support of an Early Decision cohort and development of a strong personal statement for every Senior 
• Establish system to ensure every Junior and Senior meets 1:1 with their counselor 2x per year
•  Effectively plan the organization and time management of the team in planning parent nights, college visits, guest speakers, career exploration trips, and other postsecondary access programming
•  Implement and manage special initiatives and programs that grow college and career readiness skills and exposure for students 
•  Maintain established relationships/partnerships with colleges and universities, summer programs, and scholarship organizations
• Serve as main point of contact for college admissions representatives, actively managing those relationships, building new relationships that could serve students, and advocating on behalf of students with additional appeals for admission and financial aid when necessary
•  Maintain current knowledge on policies and updates on postsecondary education, financial aid, and special populations (undocumented students, students with special needs, IEPs) and share implications and changes that impact our students 
•  Be knowledgeable to advise and coach all students, including all postsecondary pathways and students with unique circumstances through the postsecondary planning and application process 
• Organize family engagement workshops related to postsecondary education options 
• Support Nudge for Match program, including opt-in campaigns and incorporation of content into counseling

Team Management  

• Develop an inclusive, positive, and effective team culture by developing ambitious team goals, building the team’s competencies 
• Create a collaborative team with consistent communication with key stakeholders, teammates, and families 
• ·Provide professional development to College and Career Counselors and College Readiness Teachers in the form of department meetings, and when beneficial, outside workshops, conferences, visits or trainings, as well as co-planning mid and end of year team step backs
• Provide training to high school staff on how to support students in the college application process, including writing letters of recommendation
• Directly manage junior and senior college and career counselors, supporting with student postsecondary guidance, coaching, and goal setting to define success for the semester/year and beyond 
• Observe counselors conducting 1:1s with students 2x per year and provide feedback 
• Conduct weekly one-on-one check-ins with direct reports and participate in weekly one-on-one check-ins with the School Leader and the Regional Managing Director of KIPP Forward (or Director of Postsecondary Match) along with mid-year and end-of-year evaluations 
•  Progress monitor all postsecondary access goals 
• Oversee KIPP Forward campus team expenditures 

  Goals and Data Management  

• Collaborate with KIPP Forward Director and High School leader to set yearly student-centered bottoms-up goals, aimed at increase in BA/BS enrollment, ECCC, and overall postsecondary enrollment 
• Maintain constant and consistent communication on the data progress of students with key stakeholders including but not limited to: KIPP Foundation, College personnel, CBOs, Career Partners, school and regional leadership, and state leadership, along with students and families 
• Plan and lead cyclical data review at Monthly Match Meetings with leadership to compare progress against milestones, assess areas for improvement and adjust plans to achieve intended outcomes 
• Set up, utilize, train, and support counselors with various student management platforms to track, progress monitor, and submit student data, including, but not limited to Salesforce, Overgrad, Google suite, etc. 
• Ensure pertinent data is collected, entered, and updated not limited to: college matriculation, expected HS graduation year, enrollments, GPAs, wish lists, applications submitted, contact owners, etc. 
•  Successfully maintain all required systems and data management (Overgrad, Salesforce)

Instructional Leadership

• Collaborate with high school leader to ensure year-long Junior and Senior seminars are scheduled and staffed
• Observe seminar at least 1x a week and provide feedback to seminar instruction
• Serve as lead for KIPP’s College Knowledge and Career Success Curriculum; Manage seminar curriculum development and revision
•  Ensure implementation of seminar assessments and regularly review data with seminar instructors 

Other Responsibilities:

• Serve as the main liaison to the KIPP Foundation on HS Match and College and Career Counseling initiatives, including: scholarships, personal statements, College Knowledge and Career Success Curriculum, Early Decision, You Science
•  Attend monthly Director of College Counseling meetings with KIPP Foundation

COMPENSATION

• The starting salary for this school administrative role is $62k and is adjusted for experience and/or education
• Free individual health benefits (including medical, dental and vision)
• 403(b) retirement program with a company match
• All staff members receive individualized support and professional development These offerings are subject to change and would be outlined in an offer, if extended

Qualifications

REQUIREMENTS

• Master’s Degree
• FL DOE Certification in Counseling
• Six (6) + years of experience in a role relevant to college and career readiness, including academic advising, and/or college and career counseling
• 3+ years of experience managing other adults
• A deep commitment to KIPP Jacksonville’s mission, vision, and values, including modeling inclusive language and beliefs in the ability of all students to be successful
• Proven record of success and commitment to working with issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

HIGHLY PREFERRED

• Prior experience working with families, particularly those with first or second generation college students
• Prior experience working with students specifically 9-12 or college-aged students

Additional Information

APPLY
Please complete an application and upload a resume via our job board. No applicants will be considered that submit resumes through other job postings.  Link here: https://careers.smartrecruiters.com/KIPP/jacksonville 

If you're a current KIPP Jax team member, you should:

1) Inform your current manager of your interest in the role and

2) Complete the online application

QUESTIONS

If you have questions about positions at KIPP Jacksonville Public Schools, please email Emma at ekosanda@kippjax.org. Please understand that resumes and/or cover letters are not accepted via email and you will be redirected to apply via the website.

KIPP Jacksonville Public Schools is committed to a policy of equal treatment for all individuals applying for employment at our schools. KIPP Jacksonville Public Schools does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, handicap, age, religion, sexual orientation or national or ethnic origin.