Students in Temporary Living Situations Advocate Coordinator

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is the third-largest school district in the United States, serving over 340,000 students in 600+ schools and employing nearly 36,000 people, most of them teachers. CPS has set ambitious goals to ensure that every student, in every school and every neighborhood, has access to a world-class learning experience that prepares each for success in college, career, and civic life. In order to fulfill this mission, we make three commitments to our students, their families, and all Chicagoans: academic progress, financial stability, and integrity. Six core values are embedded within these commitments - student-centered, whole child, equity, academic excellence, community partnership, and continuous learning.

The CPS Students in Temporary Living Situations (STLS) Program is seeking a skilled team member and hard-working professional who is passionate about educational equity. The STLS Advocate Coordinator is responsible for supporting and providing programmatic oversight of full-time, school-based STLS Advocates. STLS Advocates are positions allocated to CPS schools with the highest population of students experiencing homelessness and are responsible for implementation of the STLS program and providing support and resources to address complex needs of students and families facing housing instability. This position will report to the STLS Manager, and will work in close collaboration with a broad range of CPS employees.

The STLS Advocate Coordinator will be held accountable for the following responsibilities:

Support STLS Advocates, Administrators, Students & Families

• Oversee and support school-based STLS Advocates' efforts to implement the STLS program and provide enhanced support for students/families experiencing homelessness, including conducting school visits, collecting, analyzing and sharing STLS data, and identifying, developing and delivering training on school-based best practices.
• Lead development and implementation of best-practice models of support for students experiencing homelessness, including providing training and technical assistance to school-based STLS Advocates, overseeing and supporting STLS Advocates' development of student Action Plans to address underlying causes of barriers to school success including attendance challenges, community resource referrals, etc., and implementation of other best practice models, programs, and efforts as needed.
• Lead Professional Learning Community of school-based STLS Advocates to continually support STLS Advocates' learning and development and refinement of student and family support practices.
• Establish strong relationships with school administration to ensure effectiveness of STLS Advocate roles across all schools with allocated STLS Advocate positions.
• Analyze district and school STLS data and performance on key effectiveness and implementation metrics on an ongoing basis to inform strategy and ensure all outcome targets and key performance indicators are achieved.
• Assist principals, network chiefs, STLS Advocates and other school-based staff as needed in CPS schools allocated STLS Advocate positions to ensure understanding and implementation of policies and supports for students in temporary living situations.
• Engage in strengths-based problem solving to assist parents, guardians, and unaccompanied youth with enrollment, transportation, fee waivers, and access to school supplies, uniforms, tutoring, and other supports.
• Mediate between parents or unaccompanied youth and schools during disputes regarding eligibility, enrollment, or transportation, ensuring information from all sides is documented, collected, and considered in a timely manner.
• Use a trauma-informed, strengths-based approach to all interactions with students and families.
• Manage competing priorities including urgent issues in need of same-day resolution.
• Oversee internal system changes that impact the daily work of the department, including updates to the student information system, CPS website, data dashboard, case management platforms, and service tracking systems.

Policy Expertise

• Demonstrate proficiency in relevant laws and policies including the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, the Every Student Succeeds Act, the Illinois Plan for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth Program, and the Salazar v. Edwards Consent Decree
• Effectively communicate federal, state, and local policies to diverse audiences; demonstrate ability to translate policy into action
• Develop and present training curriculum to designated school staff/administrators, CPS Departments, shelters and other organizations
• Identify and participate in professional development opportunities to stay current on laws, policies, and best practices that relate to students in temporary living situations, including topics of homelessness, foster care, children's mental health, trauma and stress, special education, and others

Community Outreach and Engagement

• Provide outreach to community agencies, shelters, and neighborhood organizations both citywide and local to STLS Advocates' schools to develop an awareness of rights of students experiencing homelessness and the services provided to these students; establish referral streams and processes as necessary
• Establish and maintain professional relationships with local family and youth shelters and community-based organizations
• Represent STLS Program at meetings as needed
• Identify and participate in opportunities to enroll children experiencing homelessness, ages birth to 5 years, in early childhood education

Data, Reporting, and Planning

• Demonstrate knowledge of administration and allocation of Title I STLS Set Aside Funds; monitor mandatory Title I Set Aside Funds for homeless youth and ensure that the funds are responsibly utilized
• Document requests for assistance in Service Now; Monitor STLS Advocates' student Action Plans using City Span, or similar tools, through reporting and other mechanisms of oversight; utilize other data management tools as necessary
• Bring innovative technology approach to all work in order to attain greater departmental efficiency and student outcomes

Other Duties

• Assist with any other assigned projects or collaborations that are presented by CPS, City of Chicago, and other community organizations

In order to be successful and achieve the above responsibilities, the STLS Advocate Coordinator must possess the following qualifications:

Type of Education Required:

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university
• Master's degree in Social Work, Education, or related field, preferred

Type of Experience Required:

• Minimum of five years of relevant experience in social service, urban education, or other relevant field, required
• Familiarity with city-wide social service infrastructure, preferred
• Knowledge of national and local education landscape, preferred

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Outstanding problem-solving and data analysis capabilities; ability to understand, compute, and utilize data to inform decision-making
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to work and interact with low-income youth and their families from differing cultural backgrounds, as well as all levels of CPS staff and leadership
• Excellent leadership and team management skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including high level of comfort with public speaking
• Ability to take a trauma-informed perspective while working with students and families
• Self-starter who can anticipate problems and develop preemptive solutions
• Ability to be flexible and to adapt to a continually shifting environment

Residency Requirement:

As a condition of employment with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), employees are required to live within the geographic boundaries of the City of Chicago within six months of their CPS hire date and must maintain residency throughout their employment with the district.