Position Overview
The mission of the Office of School Improvement and Supports (OSIS) is to ensure we support our schools and our students to succeed and to meet the Goals of our Strategic Plan. The Office works to dramatically accelerate the number of excellent schools through school transformation, including design, partnerships, Connected Schools, and Comprehensive School Planning (CSP). The Office develops, aligns, and delivers high-quality supports to ensure students, particularly students furthest away from opportunity, are in school, able to engage in rigorous learning, and have a joyous educational environment. The Office ensures our schools have excellent leaders, educators, and staff who are prepared to meet the diverse needs of the young people we serve.
Divisions/Teams
School Improvement
School Performance: Promotes data-driven decision-making through a cycle of continuous improvement to develop, implement, and monitor the comprehensive school plan designed to move schools toward a consistent standard of excellence.
Design: Designs innovative school models that transform learning for our students furthest from opportunity and supports District workstreams to be more grounded in community voice by anchoring in data, community engagement and understanding, and elevating and integrating student voice.
Connected Schools: Supports schools in implementing the DCPS Connected Schools Model. Connected Schools take a whole child, whole school, whole community approach by making schools spaces that support not only a student’s academic development, but also the student and family’s overall wellbeing through access to resources related to health, employment, housing, and more.
Student Supports
School Mental Health: Ensures that students' behavioral and social-emotional needs are met to increase access to the curriculum, strengthen emotional regulation and prosocial skills, and respond to school communities in times of crisis.
Student Placement: Ensures every student that requires a change in school assignment based on housing status, military transition, community release or other special circumstance receives a placement that considers their unique needs for school success.
Learning and Development Sciences
Learning and Development Sciences Division (LDS) is charged with supporting the district’s Strategic Plan goals on Safety and Belonging. Grounded in the latest science of learning and development and powered by lived experiences, the district’s approach is a long-term vision that incorporates critical system shifts, codifies the most effective evidence-based practices, and supports individual schools to implement systems and practices that create favorable conditions for learning.
Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS): DCPS’s approach to tiered supports is grounded in a commitment to serving the whole child. The MTSS team supports schools to understand student and staff strengths and needs holistically and supports their implementation of aligned evidence-based best practices across academics, social-emotional learning, attendance, and behavior.
IMPACT: IMPACT is DCPS’ effectiveness assessment system for all school-based staff. IMPACT endeavors for all school-staff members to receive timely and accurate feedback on their performance and to have that performance recognized and rewarded. The ultimate goal of IMPACT is to ensure that all students, at all schools, have access to a highest quality staff members across all roles.
IMPACT Operations: The team coordinates across DCPS to develop guidance for individual components that reflect DCPS’ priorities, manages external vendors for the accurate and timely production of scores for various components, manages a helpline where all staff can reach out with questions about their evaluation, supports managers to ensure all evaluations are conducted with fidelity, and produces data analysis to support the mission of other teams across DCPS.
IMPACT Design: This team gathers and responds to feedback from DCPS leadership, staff and other central services teams. This team uses this feedback to consider possible adjustments to IMPACT to ensure the evaluation system remains accurate and aligned to DCPS priorities. The team also liaises with other states, districts, education groups, and researchers to learn from the best practices and lessons learned in the field of staff and school leader evaluation.
School Mental Health: Ensures that students' behavioral and social-emotional needs are met to increase access to the curriculum, strengthen emotional regulation and prosocial skills, and respond to school communities in times of crisis.
Student Placement: Ensures every student that requires a change in school assignment based on housing status, military transition, community release or other special circumstance receives a placement that considers their unique needs for school success.
The Specialist, Student Placement will work with students and families to identify schools or programs that are aligned with the student’s academic strengths and educational goals, facilitate placement in the educational setting that best meets the academic needs of the student, and monitor the progress of students receiving placement services. The Specialist will be an expert at working with secondary school students who are struggling with academic and/or behavioral issues, including students who are potential or recent dropouts and students who have been involved with the juvenile justice system. This position will work closely with students and families in special placement situations where military status, out-of-boundary, and safety factors must be considered.
This position has been designated as Safety Sensitive. Pursuant to section 410 of Chapter 4 of the D.C. Personnel Regulations; in addition to the general suitability screening, individuals applying for or occupying safety sensitive positions are subject to the following checks and tests: Criminal background check; Sex Offender Registry check; Pre-employment drug and alcohol test; Traffic record check (as applicable); Reasonable suspicion drug and alcohol test; and Post-accident or incident drug and alcohol test.
The Specialist, Student Placement will report to the Director, Student Placement.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
The below statements are intended to describe the general nature and scope of work being performed by this position. This is not a complete listing of all responsibilities, duties, and/or skills required. Other duties may be assigned.
Conducts placement meetings with students, parents, advocates, and/or other key stakeholders to determine the best educational setting to meet the academic needs of the student.
Identifies school placement options and facilitates enrollment of students in assigned schools.
Responds to inquiries from over-age students, parents, advocates, and government officials regarding alternative schools and programs, comprehensive high schools, and public charter schools within the District of Columbia.
Facilitates the development of individualized student-centered re-engagement plans through inventory of competencies and challenges of disengaged students to address educational and socio-emotional needs and helps identify supports and resources required to drive student progress in meeting prerequisites for graduation and post-graduation career and/or employment readiness.
Assesses curriculum, programming, and credit needs for disengaged students in identifying school placement options to ensure optimal placement setting for sustained re-engagement and integration in meeting graduation requirements.
Builds and establishes relationships with key internal and external stakeholders to leverage supports and resources for effective and targeted engagement of disengaged students.
Facilitates collaborative engagement of school, family, and community stakeholders to address challenges impacting academic success for disengaged students to support successful immersion in new school placement.
Analyzes disengaged student data and provides informed recommendations to school leadership and senior management on strategies for prevention of disrupted enrollment, recruitment, and inducements for disengaged students.
Confers and collaborates with school administrators and staff and central office teams to improve the support and outcomes for disengaged students; and collaborates with other members of the team to analyze placement team data and refine best practices for recruitment and school retention.
Maintains data on student demographics and placement meeting outcomes. Helps to manage the analysis and presentation of data and progress of data-driven initiatives for internal and external audiences; communicates progress to key stakeholder groups; and incorporates their input.
Anticipates, identifies, and resolves complex obstacles to the success of the overall program, as well as specific projects.
Applies deep content knowledge and relevant expertise to projects and general operations, advises senior management in specific areas of focus, and helps build competency in others.
Qualifications
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Bachelor's degree and three to five years of related work experience.
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Master's degree preferred.
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Previous exposure to or experience in the education sector or youth development is preferred.
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Demonstrated success working with high school students who are struggling with academic and/or behavioral issues, including students who are potential and/or recent dropouts.
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Knowledge of research-based best practices and programs to promote engagement in school and demonstrated success with implementing these practices and programs.
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Strong interpersonal skills, including experience and confidence in facilitation and/or mediation.
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Results-oriented with the ability to collect and analyze data and evaluate program outcomes.
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Excellent communication, writing, and presentation skills.
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Flexibility, team orientation, positive attitude, and willingness to contribute at all levels to ensure successful implementation.
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Demonstrated ability to efficiently solve problems and resolve organizational roadblocks.
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STUDENTS FIRST: We recognize students as whole children and put their needs first in everything we do.
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COURAGE: We have the audacity to learn from our successes and failures, to try new things, and to lead the nation as a proof point of PK-12 success.
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EQUITY: We work proactively to eliminate opportunity gaps by interrupting institutional bias and investing in effective strategies to ensure every student succeeds.
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EXCELLENCE: We work with integrity and hold ourselves accountable for exemplary outcomes, service, and interactions.
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TEAMWORK: We recognize that our greatest asset is our collective vision and ability to work collaboratively and authentically.
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JOY: We enjoy our collective work and will enthusiastically celebrate our success and each other.
We are an equal opportunity employer and are committed to creating an inclusive, accessible workplace. We welcome and encourage applications from individuals with disabilities. Accommodation and/or application assistance is available upon request at all stages of the application and employment process. To request accommodation, please contact [email protected].
