The Opportunity

The Bilingual Director of School Culture is a multi-faceted role, responsible for serving as the leader of efforts to proactively build and maintain relationships with scholars, teachers, adult supporters, Scholar Support Staff, administrative staff, and other community organizations. The Director of School Culture manages the school’s Restorative Justice behavior and discipline policies, and serves as the lead consultant for such policies to teachers, staff, scholars, and the wider Phoenix community. In addition, the Director of School Culture is responsible for launching and coordinating school-based and community-based programming initiatives, promoting opportunities for continuous positive youth development, facilitating the creation and support of scholar groups and organizations, and fostering the communication and collaboration necessary for the success of these efforts.

Qualities of a Phoenix staff member:

• Unwavering Belief in Phoenix Scholars - Phoenix staff operate with the deeply held belief that all young people want to and can succeed even in the face of what can seem like insurmountable barriers and societal constraints.

• Ability to Put Scholars First - Phoenix staff go above and beyond to ensure mastery of the skills and development of positive self-identity that will ensure success for college, careers and beyond. Phoenix staff find every opportunity to engage in teaching and learning with scholars, using conflict to build supportive relationships with scholars and never taking things personally.

• Eager to Learn Under Pressure - Phoenix staff must be able to learn as they go in a fast paced, ever evolving, urgent environment. They have the desire to receive direct feedback and the ability to implement the feedback into practice quickly.

• Humility - Phoenix staff approach problem solving with curiosity and desire to understand the perspectives of others. They carry an internalized sense of “I can always learn more” from others, and know that adults at Phoenix must model the qualities of being open-minded and willing to make mistakes and learn from them.

• Experience with Low Income Communities - Staff have the proven ability to work across cultures and experience serving low-income communities and/or academically-disconnected adolescents.

• Ability to Find Inspiration In the Small Things - In the face of challenge and hard work, Phoenix staff must have the ability to find humor, inspiration, success and joy in the day to day interactions with scholars and the larger Phoenix Community.

• Personal Commitment to Cultural Proficiency and Ongoing Development - Phoenix staff are ongoing learners about diversity, equity and inclusion and seek to understand the ways that their self-identity and experiences impacts and interacts with their daily work, colleagues and scholars.

School Culture and Leadership

• Lead JOY in the community, by planning and executing a joyful day-to-day culture, as well as events, incentives, weekly community meetings, and Advisory and academic community building activities.

• Oversee, train, and manage members of the Student Support Team.

• Facilitate professional development on scholar-teacher relationships, classroom management, adolescent development and parent partnership and school culture

• Oversee the training of staff on all school wide safety procedures.

• Ensure school wide consistency regarding building practices as outlined in the scholar handbook.

• Manage building wide coverage planning and day-to-day accountability, ensuring the adults are engaged and helping scholars meet Phoenix’s high expectations.

• Lead structured school entry, arrival, lunch, dismissal, and transitions to ensure they are safe, respectful, and welcoming.

• Conduct regular school culture walkthroughs including classroom observations to help staff maintain a culture of high expectations and support.

• Manage, train and support staff across roles in key Phoenix Restorative Justice practices such as circle backs, class re-entry, de-escalation, and coverage.

• Lead formal discipline hearings, in consultation with with the Head of School.

• Lead the school in recognizing scholar success and a culture of celebration.

• Serve on the school’s Leadership Team and Statewide Leadership Team, contributing to decision-making at the school and network levels.

Scholar Attendance and Retention

• Partner with school leadership to establish annual school enrollment, attendance and retention goals.

• Oversee strategic school wide interventions focused on attendance and retention with relentless focus on reducing truancy and increasing learning time.

• Collaborate with leadership team to conduct school wide outreach (phone calls, texts, home visits).

• Lead data informed meetings and planning processes to improve school wide practices to support individual and collective attendance and retention.

• Coordinate with adult supporters and community partners to increase scholar attendance and retention.

Scholar Supports

• Accurately monitor and analyze daily scholar attendance records; oversee the creation of new systems and structures to anticipate school needs

• Work in partnership with the Director of Curriculum and Instruction to create a balance between relentless scholar support and rigorous academics

• Coordinate and implement Phoenix’s model of Restorative practices

• Manage the creation of individual behavior plans for scholars who are experiencing behavioral challenges.

• Coordinate with external partners including DYS, DCF, Juvenile Court, health centers, and sending districts to maximize coordination and resources to support scholars

• Coordinate staff oversight of enrichment programming including athletics, clubs, celebrations.

• Develop external partners to bring in scholar support groups and programming

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree required; Master’s degree preferred

• 5+ years of experience working with hard to reach youth in alternative education settings

• Minimum of 2 years experience managing adult accountability

• Bilingual skills in Spanish or Portuguese required

• Experience teaching preferred

Who We Are

Phoenix Charter Academy aims to show the world what all young people can do, and to defy the limitations of societal assumptions, classism, and racism. Phoenix Charter Academy was founded on the unwavering belief that all students can succeed at high levels. While this mantra is typical of high-performing schools, particularly those in the charter sector, Phoenix truly endeavors to reach every student, focusing on a growing number on the margins of the traditional public district education system: students who have dropped out of high school, students who are parenting children of their own, students who are or have been involved with the juvenile justice system, students who are older and new to the country and cannot gain access to public schooling, and students who are under-credited relative to the number of years they have spent enrolled in high school. We believe that these students, like all students, are completely capable of developing the skills necessary to set themselves up for lifetimes of economic prosperity and success. We support our students with individually tailored and academically rigorous curricula and push them to succeed at the highest levels by providing them with the resources and mentoring that they need to reach their full potential.

Why Our Work is Important

Students across America are dropping out of high school at an alarming rate. Dropping out of high school has a substantial impact on a young person’s life. Over the course of their lifetime, an individual who drops out of high school is more likely to have reduced earning power, greater social service dependency, increased rates of criminal involvement, and shorter life expectancy. Phoenix Charter Academies addresses this trend by creating environments where students can demonstrate their talent and resilience and prepare themselves for success through high school, college, and beyond.

Commitment to DEI

At Phoenix, we recognize the importance of forming a school community inclusive of all visible and invisible identities. We act to ensure that our students and staff always see reflections of themselves and their communities.

At Phoenix, we aim to break down systemic barriers by providing access to resources, experiences, and differentiated supports for historically marginalized groups.

At Phoenix, we solicit, value, understand, connect, and leverage multiple perspectives and experiences. We invite all perspectives except those that perpetuate oppression or dehumanization.

At Phoenix we do not just accept difference - we celebrate it, support it, and thrive on it for the benefit of our scholars and the communities we serve. We believe difference makes us stronger. Phoenix Charter Academy is an equal opportunity employer and as such, we do not discriminate against any team member or candidate because of race, creed, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, disability, age, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, or any other basis protected by federal, state or local law. Phoenix Charter Academy is committed to making any reasonable accommodation necessary to support an individual's employment.

Qualities of Phoenix staff member:

• Unwavering belief in our students - Phoenix staff operate with the deeply held belief that all young people want to and can succeed even in the face of substantial systemic barriers and societal constraints.
• Continuous Improvement - Phoenix staff approach problem solving with curiosity and desire to understand the perspectives of others. They carry an internalized sense of “I can always learn more” and know that adults at Phoenix must model the qualities of being open-minded and willing to make mistakes and learn from them. Phoenix staff members embody “lifelong learner” mindsets and strive for constant improvement.

• Eager to Learn - Phoenix staff must be able to learn as they go in a fast paced, ever evolving, urgent environment. They have the desire to receive direct feedback and the ability to implement the feedback into practice quickly.

• Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion - Phoenix staff commit to understanding the ways that their self-identity and experiences impact and interact with their daily work, their colleagues, and their students, and work toward furthering initiatives that promote a more equitable society.

**The Network retains the right to modify this job description at any time, for any reason, at the Network’s sole discretion**