Student & Family Advocate – #4201

About Spring Lake Park Schools:

Welcome to Spring Lake Park Schools! We are a vibrant school community serving about 5,800 students from the suburbs of Blaine, Fridley and Spring Lake Park, in the northern Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. Our district purpose — “High expectations, high achievement for all. No excuses” – provides our focus to meet the unique and varied needs of each student.

Spring Lake Park Schools is recognized for our commitment to personalized learning, creating a culture of innovation and creativity through human-centered design thinking. We are working to create a system – a culture with a methodology and set of processes – where teachers and staff have the freedom, flexibility and invitation to design new ways of learning centered around deepening student engagement to continuously improve student success.

Position Overview:

A 1.0 FTE Student and Family Advocate (similar to a social worker) working throughout the district to connect families and students to resources and supports, to help them be successful in school and as a family unit.

The successful candidate will be an individual who …

… firmly believes…

all students can and will learn, and that their learning can be directly influenced by focusing on factors over which we have control;
in the need to work interdependently with teachers, school, and district leaders throughout the system, aligning the work of adults around improving student learning by meeting the needs, interests, and aspirations of students;
in the need to work in partnership with staff to continuously improve practices to enhance student and family engagement, creating the conditions for equity, excellence and student success; and
in personalizing learning for students, meeting academic, social, and emotional needs and aspirations so that each student feels valued and has a sense of belonging, leading to academic success.

Primary Responsibilities:

A Student and Family Advocate assists students and supports families by providing strategic services that address the social-emotional-environmental issues that may interfere with the educational process.  Working with parents/guardians, teachers, school principal, and community-based resources, the Student and Family Advocate helps remove barriers that may limit a student’s access to a fulfilled educational experience. In doing so, an Advocate implements strategies that promotes students’ positive school adjustment and creates meaningful family relationships.

Duties of this job include, but are not limited to provide…

crisis intervention services;
social work case management for students and families;
risk assessments on referred students;
liaison services with community agencies and assist in fostering communication and deepening partnerships between schools, parents/guardians, and community organizations;
location and mobilization of community resources to support the education program;
home visits and liaison services between families and the school to positively promote collaborative processes in educational planning for students by encouraging parent/guardian participation in the school setting;
parent/guardian educational opportunities on topics such as: child development, stress reduction, discipline & safety, and teacher/parent/student communication; and
collaboration with school staff and other school system personnel to implement strategies to promote student learning.

 

 

 

How to Apply:

Applications will be reviewed as received and qualified candidates will be interviewed until the position is filled. Individuals who wish to be considered for this position must apply online at https://www.applitrack.com/district16/onlineapp/default.asp.  Only qualified and appropriately licensed individuals will be considered for an interview.

For any inquiries or questions regarding the position, please feel free to contact Sarah Byrdziak, Management Assistant for Student Services at: [email protected] or 763-600-5081.

About Spring Lake Park Schools:

Welcome to Spring Lake Park Schools! We are a vibrant school community serving about 5,800 students from the suburbs of Blaine, Fridley and Spring Lake Park, in the northern Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. Our district purpose — “High expectations, high achievement for all. No excuses” – provides our focus to meet the unique and varied needs of each student.

Spring Lake Park Schools is recognized for our commitment to personalized learning, creating a culture of innovation and creativity through human-centered design thinking. We are working to create a system – a culture with a methodology and set of processes – where teachers and staff have the freedom, flexibility and invitation to design new ways of learning centered around deepening student engagement to continuously improve student success.

Position Overview:

A 1.0 FTE Dean for Student Services position working with students, with and without disabilities, at Spring Lake Park High School in grades 9-12.  This position creates conditions for continuous improvement and innovation, fostering the commitment and creativity necessary to design engaging experiences to achieve results that exceed expectations.

The successful candidate will be an individual who …

… firmly believes…all students can and will learn, and that their learning can be directly influenced by focusing on factors over which we have control;
in the need to work interdependently with teachers, school, and district leaders throughout the system, aligning the work of adults around improving student learning by meeting the needs, interests, and aspirations of students;
in the need to work in partnership with staff to continuously improve practices to enhance student and family engagement, creating the conditions for equity, excellence and student success; and
in personalizing learning for students, meeting academic, social, and emotional needs and aspirations so that each student feels valued and has a sense of belonging, leading to academic success.

Primary Responsibilities:

Responsibilities of this job include, but are not limited to…coordinates center-based special education services and leads program improvement efforts including, but not limited to: scheduling of staff (teachers and paras), ensuring due process compliance, effectively managing special education data, and collaborates to ensure appropriate, and smooth student transitions between settings;
works collaboratively with Principals to address office discipline referrals for both general education and special education students;
participates in and/or leads meetings for: Pit Crew, Child Study, Core Behavior Team and Department Tactical;
being a building leader for staff and parents when the Principals are off-site;
facilitates, in collaboration with principals, difficult parent meetings;
actively collaborates with the Student Services Director and Coordinators to ensure coherence and alignment in services between schools; has direct responsibility for assigned site-level projects, as assigned by the principals and the Special Education Director;
acts as the site-based due process expert, providing professional learning, coaching and support to licensed special education teachers, as needed;
acts as the district representative for IEP meetings, as needed;
partners with Student & Family Advocates to consider available community resources to support students and families;
provides professional learning for all staff, as determined by site and district administration;
serves on the building Learning & Equity Team;
collaborates with Case Managers, Behavior Specialists, and general education teachers to ensure that academic and behavior interventions, and accommodations, are implemented with fidelity; and
in partnership with building principals, helps create the conditions for each student to feel valued, inspired, and have a sense of belonging.