Education Specialist

Responsibilities

• Provide individual education counseling services to youth who are at risk of failing or dropping out of school; advocate for these youth within the public education system to ensure that they are accepted into the most appropriate educational setting.
• Communicate regularly with foster parents and birth parents about youth’s academic performance, attendance, etc.
• Communicate regularly with school personnel to obtain updates on student attendance, progress and behavior in the classroom.
• Monitor educational DOE data and send notifications to agency staff and parents about youth performance, attendance, etc.
• Refer students to NYF tutoring programs for academic support.
• Identify students in need of special education supports and make appropriate referrals for evaluations as well as ensure appropriate services are in place within the classroom setting.
• Provide assistance and guidance in the college application process (college selection and admissions application, admissions essay writing, financial aid application, work study, scholarship selection and application process, room and board, etc).
• Provide support for college students through monthly check in phone calls to assist with transitioning to college life, class registration, financial aid issues, etc.
• Refer out-of-school youth for HSE and Vocational programs and provide on-going support and guidance to them as they work towards their goals.
• Document all interventions performed in the Education Specialist Intervention online form.
• Develop contacts with relevant community resources.
• Conduct workshops on varying topics to enhance youth and parent engagement.
• Provide continuing education and support to case planners regarding educational related issues and how to best advocate for the youth on their caseload.
• Perform monthly case consultation with unit case planners and supervisors at Education Week meetings to ensure advocacy and planning for all students on our rosters.
• Actively participate in educational meetings/conferences with foster and birth parents.
• Complete other job related tasks, as required.

Qualifications

• Two years in direct care position preferred (case planning/community service).
• Experience in youth/child welfare and/or NYC public school system preferred.
• Degree in Social Work, Psychology, Sociology Required.
• Knowledge of the NYC DOE system, college admissions and financial aid process, high school enrollment process, and alternative educational settings.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to evaluate and aggregate educational data, put together reports and summaries and present information to other stakeholders.
• Ability to collaborate with other program staff and community resources in meeting client needs.
• Ability to engage hard-to-reach youth in academic services and provide them with guidance and support.
• Microsoft office suite proficiency (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).