High School Bridge Counselor
Chicago students have the right to a well-resourced high school education, but the placement process is complicated to navigate alone. High School Bridge (HSB) helps students attending elementary schools in communities impacted by systemic disinvestment find and succeed in their best-fit high schools. We advocate for 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th graders and their families as they build the foundation for their success in high school, after high school and the start of their careers.
Over the next seven years, the High School Bridge Program will grow to serve 1,800 students from 18 different elementary schools in seventh through tenth grades as they chart their unique path by accompanying them through their transition to best-fit high schools.
The responsibilities of the HSB Counselor include but are not limited to: developing and maintaining relationships with partner elementary schools; working directly with families in the high school application and decision-making process; and developing best practices to support high school and postsecondary access for first-generation, low-income and under-represented students in Chicago through the implementation of a HSB program at partner schools.
The person in this position reports to the Director of the HSB Program and works closely with the HSB Team. Applicants for this position must be committed professionals who take initiative to creatively identify and solve problems. Strong applicants are excited about the start-up nature of the work. The position occasionally requires non-traditional work hours for evening or weekend events to respond to student needs as they arise.
This position is based at Chicago Jesuit Academy, but requires regular travel to partner elementary schools and high schools.
The High School Bridge Counselor will:
- Demonstrate fluency in both English and Spanish
- Work with a core group of elementary schools to implement a high school transition program and with the HSB Team to support high school and postsecondary access for students and alumni of each school.
- Support students and families in the high school application and decision-making process by developing relationships with students and families as the trusted advisor through individual and group meetings with students, alumni, parents and other stakeholders of each partner school.
- Accompany alumni from our partner schools as they matriculate to high school by designing and implementing creative opportunities for relationship building such as social media campaigns and alumni-meet-ups to stay in contact with alumni as they navigate ninth and tenth grades.
- Conduct individual and group parent meetings with current students and alumni.
- Coordinate services and supports for various alumni issues, including high-school success, tutoring, transfers, crisis management, and application support for jobs, internships and summer programs.
- Visit students at their current schools and assess the level of care being provided by these schools.
- Update and maintain the confidentiality of student information in the College-Persistence Salesforce database on a regular basis.
- Actively communicate with and engage families in events and programming.
- Work in partnership with the HSB Team and Notre Dame’s Lab for Economic Opportunities to evaluate the impact of this intervention on students in Chicago.
- Support CJA’s development efforts by sharing his or her work with friends and benefactors who support the scholarship needs of CJA students and the ongoing needs of CJA alumni.
- Model the ideal of a “person for others” in the Jesuit tradition.
- Execute other duties as assigned.
The successful candidate will believe in the long-term care of students and an education that forms the whole person — cura personalis in the Jesuit tradition. This person will have strong communication and organizational skills. Experience teaching or in a social-services organization is preferred.
Candidates are strongly encouraged to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 upon commencing employment.
Mission: Chicago Jesuit Academy is a loving and academically rigorous tuition-free Catholic elementary school for students and families from resilient communities impacted by historical disinvestment. We accompany our students and alumni from enrollment through the start of their careers as they develop their gifts and grow as men and women for others.
Means: Located in Austin on Chicago’s West Side, CJA admits students to all grades in our lower and middle school without regard for their race, ethnicity or religion, and CJA enrolls 3rd-, 4th- and 5th-grade students without regard for their past levels of academic achievement.
We use small class sizes, extended school days and an 11-month school year to give personal care to our students and help them develop as whole persons.
We accompany our alumni on their unique paths to meaningful employment and support them throughout high school, their post-secondary education and the start of their careers, always welcoming them back as leaders at CJA and in the broader community.
CJA students, alumni, parents, faculty, staff, volunteers and benefactors listen to and learn from one another and make disciplined sacrifices to accomplish our shared mission.
We partner with other schools and the broader community to create access to better educational resources, confront systemic racism and remove obstacles to educational equity.
We call one another to find God in all things and be men and women for others who are open to growth, loving, religious, intellectually competent and committed to doing justice.
Chicago Jesuit Academy, in accordance with our Jesuit tradition, is committed to fostering a diverse community of outstanding faculty, staff and students, as well as ensuring equal educational opportunity, employment, and access to services, programs and activities, without regard to an individual’s race, color, national origin, religion, age, disability, sex, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, predisposing genetic characteristic or military status. Employees, students, applicants or other members of the CJA community (including but not limited to vendors, visitors, and guests) may not be subjected to harassment that is prohibited by law, or treated adversely or retaliated against based upon a protected identity.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $45,000.00 - $55,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Health savings account
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Parental leave
- Professional development assistance
- Retirement plan
- Tuition reimbursement
- Vision insurance
Grade levels:
- 10th grade
- 7th grade
- 8th grade
- 9th grade
Schedule:
- Monday to Friday
- Weekends as needed
Application Question(s):
- Are you authorized to work in the United States?
Education:
Work Location: Multiple locations