Family Advocate

Job Overview and Requirements

Are you ready to transform the educational experience of incoming and repeat 9th grade students in high school who haven’t yet found academic success? Do you want to work in a cutting-edge program that can ensure disengaged students are on track to graduate? Are you looking to be challenged, have fun, work hard, and incorporate student feedback into the model as we continue to refine it? Domus is looking for several Family Advocates, some of whom are fluent in Spanish, to implement a program for disengaged students.

The Family Advocate works alongside school staff at Westhill High School or Stamford High School with a caseload of up to 25 students who are disengaged at enrollment with the goal of helping them to re-engage in their school community, graduate from high school and enroll in a post secondary opportunity or obtain employment on the path to self sufficient income.

REPORTS TO: Director of Domus Vikings or Domus Knights

OUR HIRING PROCESS & TIMELINE:

• We will review applications on a rolling basis until the positions are filled. Our goal is to have all positions filled as soon as possible.
• To apply, you must submit a resume and a cover letter.
• Candidates will interview with Domus staff. In addition, all finalists will be required to meet with high school staff; we will make an offer shortly thereafter.
• Candidates should note that this job requires you to meet in person with students, and their families and you are based on site at the high school. All candidates should be aware that this is an in-person job.

Domus is an equal opportunity employer. People of color and bilingual Spanish speakers, especially those from Stamford, are strongly encouraged to apply.

Essential Responsibilities:

Relentless Relationship Building with Students – Typical time spent: 60%

• Engage students in 1-1, face to face, positive, life changing relationships and become a trusted, go-to resource
• Utilize teachable moments to teach/model interpersonal communication skills
• Provide skills building “on the hoof” (in real time)
• Use method of assertive friendliness – actively seeking contact with students rather than waiting to be greeted, or for a student to ask for help
• Address students’ past and current traumas and stressors as they relate to the underlying drivers of current behavioral challenges
• Utilize Thoughts, Emotions and Behaviors (cognitive behavioral skills) to build students emotion management and resilience
• Use Domus’ core principles to build relationships, most importantly never giving up and giving many chances
• Connect students who need it with tutoring, mentoring and other community supports
• Create Student Success Plans (long- and short-term goals) with students
• Document SSP goals and progress towards those goals
• Document daily face to face interactions with students as well as any behavioral or attendance challenges the students may have

Collaborating with School Staff - Typical time spent: 25%

• Conference with teachers to monitor progress of students and troubleshoot when necessary
• Work with teachers to identify any missing class/homework and coordinate with students to complete work assignments and hand it in
• Provide crisis intervention in the classroom
• Attend any student meetings including PPT meetings, SST meetings, staff meetings, etc.
• Document any interactions with school staff in support of program students

Collaborating with Families – Typical time spent: 15%

• Assess ongoing needs of the household and provide connections to resources as necessary
• Communicate consistently with families, and connect with each student’s family to plan together for the success of the students
• Connect students who need it with tutoring, mentoring and other community supports
• Document monthly family engagement targets

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and/or experience working with target population preferred.
• A great sense of humor
• Willingness to work within systems, with a nuanced understanding of the balance of building relationships and advocating within an institution that is not operated by Domus.
• Commitment to the Domus mission, values and core principles.
• Certified or able to become certified in CPR.
• Valid driver’s license in good standing.

Skills

Required:

• A strong work ethic
• High emotional intelligence, able to easily develop deep, trusting relationships with diverse individuals from many different backgrounds
• General computer literacy, prior experience with Word, Excel, and Outlook
• Ability to receive and respond to constructive feedback
• Ability to collect required data and respond to the data
• Flexibility and adaptability, able to shift styles to fit the needs of a wide range of cultures, people, and organizations
• Ability to work in a program where we will be learning together as we continue to adapt our program model to help students reach their short and long-term outcomes
• Strong written and oral communication skills
• Ability to help young people repair relationships, using a variety of methods including a restorative justice model
• Maintain relationships with outside community supports and connections as appropriate for students

Preferred:

• Spanish speaking

Core Program Beliefs

The following beliefs are essential commitments for our staff team:

• We believe that within each of us is a desire to move towards health and achievement, under the right conditions. It is our job to provide young people with those conditions.
• We believe that every young person wants to love and be loved. It is our job to love these young people, and to help them learn to love themselves and others.
• We believe in the power of belonging. It is a core human condition to want to be missed when we are gone. We will miss young people when they are absent, and we will express that: “We didn’t see you yesterday. We missed you. We are glad you are back”. We will make sure every young person belongs in our community. No matter what. “She drew a circle to shut me out. Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout. But love and I had the wit to win. We drew a circle that took her in” (Edwin Markham)
• We accept young people for who they are. Right here. Right now. They do not have to change to be respected and loved and valued and be a member of our community. Behavior is not a condition of their worth as human beings.
• We believe that every young person wants to be in charge of their own life. To that end, we will give young people a voice in this program, and choices of how to best accomplish their goals.
• We are hungry to understand if our interventions are having the intended impact. We will be meticulous in our data entry, and ruthless in our hunt to understand the data and learn from it. If what we are doing is not working, we will set aside our egos, intentions and preconceived notions and we will change what we are doing.
• We believe that the young people with whom we work deserve our full attention and our best selves. Therefore, we will: NOT allow our personal beliefs or baggage to interfere with our work; we will commit to doing excellent work all the time on behalf of our young people; we will be honest and transparent with ourselves, our colleagues and our partners. To be very clear, by working in this program we are committing to:Engaging in self-care outside of work so that our personal issues don’t interfere with our ability to focus on our young people;
• Open communication - Bringing all issues directly back to the person OR to the group session in a way that fosters a healthy team;
• Learning our craft before practicing on our youth;
• Giving and receiving honest feedback, even if it is uncomfortable to hear or say

Working Conditions

• Work will be performed inside of Stamford High School or Westhill High School or alternative venue as established by the Director
• Home visits and community outreach work will be performed in environments not controlled by Domus, some of which may be high risk at times.
• Expect to work a school day/year as established by the Director and at times a non-standard workday. This is a 12-month position.
• Work will be under the supervision of the Director with periodic performance appraisals
• Will be working with faculty, staff, and administrators in a team-teaching approach as well as at school organized or sponsored events