ABOUT THE BALTIMORE LEADERSHIP SCHOOL FOR YOUNG WOMEN

BLSYW, a public charter school within the Baltimore City Public School System, stands out as a college preparatory institution that strongly emphasizes leadership and academic excellence. Our unique single-sex environment fosters enrichment, while our program showcases a robust commitment to math, science, and technology – areas where women are underrepresented and where Maryland needs to cultivate a strong knowledge base and workforce. We also value the arts and humanities, which equip our students with the critical thinking skills to appreciate and engage with the world they will lead.

Salary: $70,000 

Time Frame: 11 Months with one (1) week of mandatory training each summer. 

Note: The first year of employment for this position is 12 months. This includes attending required training and development, conferences, and educational events during the first year of employment.

Start Date: July 1, 2024 

Position Type: Full-Time, In Person 

Work Schedule: 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. OR 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (*occasional night and weekends)

Reports to: Director of Whole Girl Wellness 

POSITION SUMMARY: 

This position offers a unique opportunity to collaborate on implementing a ground-breaking program. It leverages our unwavering, strategic commitments to students' mental and emotional health and our positive community reputation, making it an exciting prospect for those passionate about social and emotional learning. 

The School Climate Associate facilitates students’ social and emotional learning. They are not just a staff member but a crucial part of our community. By seeing the students as human and striving to know and understand themselves, they can encourage students to achieve a sense of well-being. Through extensive Restorative Practices and Trauma Informed Care training, and an equity focus, the School Climate Associate will learn a wide variety of skills to assist students in finding a stronger sense of self-worth. 

THE ROLE: 

Supports Student Leadership and Their Social Emotional Learning (30%)

• Builds relationships with students, focusing on those referred to the Wellness Suite and, develops an understanding of their needs, and provides appropriate support.
• Assists students in developing awareness of and the ability to manage their behavior, including providing strategies and cultivating skills for self-calming
• Assists staff in welcoming a student back to their assigned classroom and assists students who have been in the Wellness Suite to transition back to the classroom successfully
• Continues to build relationships with referred students by checking in with staff and students through non-intrusive but consistent classroom visits.
• Cultivates a positive school culture and climate by supporting new and transferring students and co-facilitating family orientations, back-to-school nights, and other school events.
• Provides supervision for students during grade-level breakfast and lunch times 

Supports Student Learning and Leadership (30%)

• Partners with grade-level teachers to ensure that missed assignments for referred students are completed
• Provides grade-level teachers in identifying and integrating effective strategies for social-emotional learning and whole girl education competencies while supporting the implementation of behavior plans where relevant

Facilities professional development & team meetings (10%)

• Facilities and participates in monthly professional learning opportunities, coaching sessions, and meetings at the network, district, and school levels.
• Collaborates with the Director of Whole Girl Wellness to identify and attend targeted professional learning sessions to deepen their understanding of best practices in single-sex and urban education, trauma-informed care, and social-emotional learning and share best practices with instructional, non-instructional, and clinical staff

Manages grade-level-specific processes, operations, and coordination with other staff (30%)

• Collects, documents, monitors, and analyzes grade-level-specific data associated with student referrals to ensure adequate reporting and data use to support the implementation of schoolwide whole girl wellness competencies
• Maintains log of all student, teacher, school leader, and family communication for the assigned grade level
• Maintains a detailed work log highlighting tasks performed (e.g., interventions implemented, referrals addressed/managed, and other supports provided) and reports on work, as required
• Meets regularly with the Director of Whole Girl Wellness, school leaders, and other key staff to share student needs, behaviors, referrals, room use, and resource access trends.
• Co-Facilities and participates in grade-level collaborative planning meetings, as requested, to support problem-solving and develop proactive strategies for meeting students' needs, especially those referred to the Wellness Suite.
• Facilities grade-level Student Support Team (SST) meetings in collaboration with the grade-level administrator
• Serves as a member of the school's Whole Girl Wellness Team
• Maintains the Wellness Suite as a tranquil space.
• Performs and promotes all activities in compliance with equal employment and nondiscrimination policies; follows federal, state, and school board policies and professional standards.

The Ideal Candidate: 

Above all, you are committed to improving the social, emotional, and physical health and well-being of urban young women of color to promote healing and support them to succeed. You are skilled at engaging stakeholders and collaborating to identify needs, crafting and articulating a vision, and effectively applying your knowledge of how schools operate, creativity, and leadership expertise to develop, assess, and administer responsive, wellness-centered programs. 

Additionally, you possess many of the following skills and experiences:

• A minimum of seven years of professional experience with at least three years spent in an urban educational setting, with responsibilities including team collaboration, mental/emotional/physical health programming for children, and community outreach and engagement
• A Bachelor's or Master’s Degree in Social Work, Psychology, School Counseling, Educational Leadership, or a related area (preferred)
• Experience or exposure to trauma-informed practices appropriate for middle and high school girls of color
• The ability to identify and leverage city-wide resources and develop productive local and national partnerships that support the social and emotional needs of black and brown girls and BLSYW staff
• Demonstrated ability to lead, cultivate, and retain relationships with a diverse group of team members, recognize and leverage their talents in a way that inspires commitment, cohesion, and a collaborative, high-functioning culture of continuous learning and improvement
• Strong organizational skills, with the ability to track intricate details and prioritize multiple initiatives and timelines in a fast-paced work environment
• Ability to establish and maintain productive working relationships built on effective communications with school leaders and staff, program administrators, and parents/caregivers
• Strong analytical skills and problem-solving abilities
• A willingness to take an iterative, innovative, and diverse approach to the work that promotes curiosity and centers learning while aligning fiscal and programmatic resources to meet student needs
• The lived or professional experience that informs your understanding of the circumstances faced by BLSYW students
• An understanding (ideally) of the Baltimore social and education landscapes as well as a local professional network that would facilitate your ability to perform the duties of the role

WORKING CONDITIONS AND PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• This position routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, laptops, and smartphones. The physical demands described below are representative of those that an employee must meet to perform the essential duties of the job successfully:

• Prolonged periods of using a computer
• Ability to maintain concentration and work performance with frequent disruptions
• Ability to lift up to 20 pounds of office supplies or materials
• The work environment may become noisy at times and requires the ability to concentrate and maintain productivity
• While performing this job, the employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, sit, use hands and fingers, handle or feel objects, tools, or controls; reach with hands and arms; stoop, kneel, crouch, talk or hear
• Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus

SALARY and COMPENSATION PACKAGE:

The salary for this position is $70,000 for 11 months. Benefits include healthcare premium coverage, 403(b) retirement savings benefit matched at 3%, a professional development stipend, 15 days of Paid Time Off in addition to 10 federal holidays, Winter and Spring Breaks, and a parking allowance.

APPLY: 

Interested candidates should forward their resume and position-specific cover letter to recruitment@blsyw.org. Priority Applications should be submitted by May 2, 2024. 

At BLSYW, we are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organization where we give a voice to and meet the needs of the students we serve. We believe in lifelong learning and continuous improvement, and we are ever-evolving the processes through which we select and support team members and foster a culture of universal belonging and empowerment. BLSYW encourages applications from individuals of diverse backgrounds and lived experiences, especially people of color and members of other historically marginalized groups. BLSYW is committed to the principles of equal employment opportunity for all employees and applicants for employment.