Reengagement Specialist

DEPARTMENT OVERVIEW

The Reengagement Specialist will work on the Reengagement team. The Reengagement team is dedicated to supporting young people who have left school without earning a diploma. The team provides support to students in Denver Public Schools, Englewood School District, and Aurora Public Schools. Through targeted outreach, the team works to reconnect disengaged students with educational opportunities, including school re-enrollment or GED programs. The team offers comprehensive case management, guiding students through the intake and enrollment process and providing continued support for up to one year to address barriers to attendance and ensure long-term success.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Reengagement Specialist will work with Central Region in Denver Public Schools, CYC Staff, as well as other nonprofit and service orientated agencies supporting youth with the goal of graduating high school. The Reengagement team contacts over 2,000 youth who have left school through phone, text, email, and home visit outreach, connecting with approximately 400 hundred out-of-school youth per calendar year, in order to help 55 youth return to school. The Reengagement Specialist will help facilitate student enrollments, provide support services, and case management so students can successfully obtain credits and/or graduate. The Reengagement Specialist tracks their outreach, enrollments, and case management using CYC’s data management systems. This position is a hybrid of working out in the community, from CYC’s Denver office, and from home– the split of this varies on the time of year, need of students, meeting schedules, etc. This position is full-time with benefits. Hourly salary is $20.68 and bilingual hourly salary is $20.92.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Outreach

• Outreach as a team to a minimum of 2,000 youth over the course of the year via phone calls, text messages, emails, and home visits.
• Quickly build relationships with youth and families while determining their interest in returning to school through an intake process.
• Quickly build relationships with school and district staff while determining potential school options for students.
• Build relationships with other case managers in the student support system.

Reengagement

• Address barriers for youth by connecting them with community service providers so that they may focus on school.
• Help and engage youth in a school exploration process to find appropriate schools where they might return.
• Support youth through school registration processes by helping with paperwork, as well as obtaining any necessary documents such as birth certificates, transcripts, etc.

Case Management

• Provide follow up case management for students for ten to twenty months following enrollment in school. Case management services include twice per month contact with students and continued individualized support to ensure their ongoing success and eventual graduation.
• Track all students’ progress within CYC’s database and other spreadsheets in timely manner.
• Report on student progress weekly at team meetings, supervisions, and with school partners.

Commitment to Organizational Culture and Values

• Commit to operate within a framework that centers CYC’s organizational values of growth, community, integrity, and systemic transformation.
• Contribute to an inclusive and equitable work environment and provide inclusive and equitable services to the community. This includes demonstrating:
• A commitment to learn and engage in antioppression trainings and conversations; including a willingness to unpack personal biases and identities.
• The ability to put antioppression framework into practice within specific role at CYC; including a willingness to interrupt systems of oppression to create more equitable, inclusive environments for staff, AmeriCorps members, and students.
• The ability to cultivate inclusive and equitable relationships with students, staff, AmeriCorps members, and community members with varied identities and life experiences.
• A desire to share the organizational responsibility of creating an environment that supports antioppression accountability.

Other Duties

• Attend and participate in staff meetings and trainings.
• Attend community events, such as resource fairs, as required/relevant.
• Speak on behalf of the organization when appropriate.
• Attend relevant community and school meetings and events.
• Run errands as needed using personal transportation.
• Perform other duties, responsibilities and special projects as assigned.
• Support CYC fundraising and storytelling efforts when applicable.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Work independently and remain organized in multiple settings.
• Experience with and dedication to engage students, families, AmeriCorps members, and staff across social identities and life experiences.
• Computer skills in Microsoft Word and Excel with an emphasis on the ability to create spreadsheets and tables in order to capture data.
• Work collaboratively with internal staff and external partners.
• Find and stay informed about beneficial resources for youth throughout the DenverMetro community.
• Learn and navigate Denverbased alternative, charter, traditional schools, and GED programs.
• Contribute to a positive morale.
• A passionate and committed belief that students deserve access to quality education resources and support.
• Appreciation of clear and appropriate boundaries with youth, AmeriCorps members, and staff.
• Dependable transportation and being insurable as a driver on the auto liability policy of Colorado Youth for a Change.

BENEFITS

• Three weeks of paid vacation per year
• 9 days of paid sick time per year
• Paid winter and spring breaks every year
• Employee premiums for medical and dental insurance paid by CYC
• Retirement plan with CYC matching up to 3%
• Company paid parking
• Plus other great benefits!

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Two years minimum experience working with youth who are traditionally underserved by the education system.
• Ability to build trusting relationships with youth, families, school staff, and other stakeholders.
• Strong organization, data tracking, and time management skills.
• Bilingual in Spanish preferred.

About Colorado Youth for a Change

Colorado Youth for a Change (CYC) is an educational nonprofit organization with a statewide scope. CYC addresses barriers to learning by providing individualized support throughout pivotal stages of students' education journeys. We provide a continuum of services from kindergarten through high school to help students find success through tutoring, case management, and outreach to help in-school youth remain in school or out-of-school youth return to school. We envision an equitable education system where each student has access to resources they need to maximize their own learning and growth. CYC’s organizational values are growth, integrity, community, and systemic transformation.