Associate Director of College and Career Access

Associate Director, College and Career Access

Role Type: Full-Time

Location: Washington, DC

FLSA Status: Exempt

WHO WE ARE

DC Prep is a high performing network of public charter schools serving over 2,100 preschool through 8th-grade students across six campuses in Wards 5, 7, and 8. We’re proud of  the high bar we set for ourselves to achieve results–our students deserve our best! We recognize that how we support our students to be successful is just as important as the results we achieve, which pushes us to reflect on questions such as: 

• How can we facilitate our students’ academic, social, and emotional development?  
• How can we support our team members’ professional growth and personal ability to do this work long-term? 
• How can we engage our students’ families as our own? 

While this work is hard, it’s worth it – we believe in the transformative power of education, the can-do-itness of our students and staff, and the joy that comes from engaging in meaningful work with people we care about and trust!  

Here’s how we drive results: 

• Rigorous academic focus.  Our Preppies receive the highest level of academic preparation through standards-based instruction, daily targeted interventions, and meaningful assessments.

• Social-emotional learning. We have always had a dual mission of academic and social-emotional skill development.  Our research-based SEL curriculum is integrated into daily instruction, helping students leverage their personal values to strengthen their self-awareness, social awareness, and responsible decision-making skills and create a school-wide culture of empathy and reflection.

• Commitment to reflection and refinement.  Our results tell us that we are moving in the right direction, but there’s further to go to ensure that every student receives a transformative education. As a team, we regularly reflect on our programmatic model to see what’s working and where we can get better.  

Are you interested in learning more about the DC Prep Way? If so, check out our website to find out more about what we’re working towards and how we’re doing it.

The Opportunity

In order to deliver on DC Prep’s mission and commitment to students and families, the PrepNext team provides holistic support to graduates of DC Prep as they pursue success in high school and college. Beginning in the spring of students’ 8th grade year, PrepNext works with students and families to support a strong transition to 9th grade; continued academic and personal success through high school; and robust college access counseling. PrepNext’s post-secondary team then continues to support students’ success through college. We are successful if our students build the knowledge, skills, and confidence to lead self-sufficient, choice-filled lives. Achieving this goal requires an incredible team, and we need a dynamic Associate Director of College and Career Access with a wide set of skills and passions to support our team as we evolve as a program.

The Associate Director will lead our college and career access program to include managing one Associate, providing holistic support to a caseload of 11th and 12th grade students at high schools across the DC region, and delivering evidence-based college and career counseling to expand access to higher education for our 11th and 12th grade students. The Associate Director will think creatively and proactively about how to best reach and impact our students, while leveraging college access expertise to ensure that all advising is nuanced, accurate, and effective. 

The Associate Director of College and Career Access will collaborate closely with the Director and PrepNext team to deepen our students’ understanding of their post-secondary options and support our students in developing strong, financially feasible, and individualized post-secondary plans to be implemented upon high school graduation. 

Key Responsibilities Include:

• Providing intensive, individualized college and career counseling, as well as high school graduation support, to a caseload of approximately 120 seniors and juniors, both virtually and through consistent and frequent visits to students’ high schools and in-person meeting locations (including DC Prep campuses).
• Support provided to seniors should result in a strong, financially feasible, and individualized post-secondary plan upon graduation that continues to build their skills and provides a solid foundation for their future career aspirations.
• Building trust and engaging with parents and guardians as partners throughout the college application process.
• Refining, managing, and implementing college and career access group programming grounded in a research-based approach and reflecting current trends, including the facilitation of key workshops for students and families on topics such as financial literacy and FAFSA, college essays, and the broader post-secondary landscape. 
• Leading the College and Career Access (CCA) team, including: 
• Management of an Associate of College and Career Access.
• Fostering strong relationships with school-based contacts at high schools across the DC region
• Cultivating relationships with college admissions offices
• Researching best practices in the college access field, and staying updated on shifts and trends in the college admissions landscape
• Consistently inputting and analyzing Salesforce data, and making programming adjustments accordingly, to ensure CCA team stays on track to meet annual goals 
• Building and implementing college access resources, systems, and tools to strengthen quality of college advising 
• Collaborating with the College Success and High School Transition Teams to facilitate data sharing between all PrepNext teams, to foster a warm handoff of students between teams, and to ensure programmatic interventions meet student need.  

Who You Are + Qualifications

1. 4+ years of college access experience, including financial literacy and college application knowledge, as well as an understanding of the high school and post-secondary educational landscape. 
2. Passion for working with young people and their families, and a willingness to provide deep, nuanced support grounded in an understanding and commitment to uprooting historic and current racial and economic injustices. 
3. A team player mentality, with willingness to proactively and positively confront challenges and obstacles; comfort taking initiative and thinking creatively to provide strong, scaffolded support to students; and the ability to thrive in circumstances involving ambiguity and nuance.
4. Experience designing and implementing trauma-informed interventions to help young people create and reach their post-secondary goals. 
5. Strong written and verbal communication, interpersonal, analytic, and organization skills to support strong relationships and program management. 
6. Ability and willingness to work flexible hours, including evenings for meetings with students and parents.
7. While flexible, this role requires the applicant to be based out of DC and to be physically present across the DC area daily, primarily for high school visits.
8. A deep belief in DC Prep’s mission and values and in the power of all young people. 
9. A bachelor's degree.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS 

• All DC Prep staff perform clerical duties related to instructional supplies, student reports and records, attendance reports, assessments, etc.
• DC Prep staff regularly perform morning, lunch, and afternoon duties as assigned by their principal
• Additional responsibilities may arise during the school year.  This could include: attending staff and student field trips, after school events, family-teacher conferences, home visits, and other events involving parents and students, as needed. This list is not exhaustive. DC Prep will communicate mandatory events outside of school hours with ample notice.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands and environmental conditions described below are representative, but not exhaustive, of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the role.  All of these physical requirements should be able to be performed with clarity, coherence and connectedness to DC Prep’s vision.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.

• Must be able to sit and work at a desk/computer for extended periods of time
• Must be able to spend the majority of the day standing or mobile throughout the classroom, as well as talk, hear, grasp, reach and lift up to 30lbs with or without accommodations
• Ability to concentrate in active and noisy environments such as cafeterias and playgrounds, to more moderate situations such as classrooms or large group professional settings
• Must be able to have repetitive wrist/hand/finger movement to work on computer and/or related office equipment
• Ability to handle potential high stress conditions

JOIN US

Do you believe that Learning Has No Limits? Are you eager to join a supportive, innovative, and collaborative community of educators? Are you committed to growing your strengths as an educator through individualized professional development and coaching? Apply today!

We’re an equal opportunity employer and hire without consideration of race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, or disability. We strongly encourage diverse candidates to apply.