High School Graduation Coach

Job Qualifications

Department or

Location:

School-Based

Position Type: Certified / Contracted

Job Title: High School Graduation Coach

FLSA Status: Exempt

Reports To: Principal

Days Worked: 190 Days (10 months)

Education: The applicant must hold a Bachelor’s degree.

Certification or Licensure: Meets Georgia state certification requirements in the appropriate field of education preferred. Eligible for Georgia certification.

Skills: Knowledge of middle school course requirements and high school graduation requirements, ability to communicate with and motivate students. Applicants must demonstrate the ability to communicate effectively with youth and adults, the ability to analyze testing data; to develop, implement, and track intervention plans and strategies, and to understand the multiplicity of social services available in the community to support students at risk of not graduating.

Work Experience: The applicant must have at least three years of successful experience working with children.

This position is responsible for working to ensure smooth transitions of middle school students to high school and high school students into post-secondary options or work. High School Graduation Coaches will identify youth at risk of dropping out due to academic and/or psycho-social barriers. Once students have been identified the coach will connect students to intervention programs to prevent grade retention, Georgia High School Graduation Test (GHSGT)/End of Course Test (EOCT) failure while ensuring a solid academic foundation that promotes the successful transition out of high school.

• Identify at-risk students.
• Utilize the components of a profile of characteristics of potential dropouts to identify high school students at risk of dropping out. These characteristics include:
• History of school failure, retention, and/or overage for the grade.
• Low CRCT scores, reading, and/or math achievement.
• Failure of the GHSGT or EOCT.
• Special education/disability.
• Attendance problems/truancy.
• Behavioral problems, history of suspensions, high-risk peer group.
• Disengagement from school, low expectations, lack of extracurricular involvement.
• Family status or risk factors: economically disadvantaged, high mobility, non-native English speakers.
• Generate School Support and Develop Graduation Team(s).
• In collaboration with a school’s existing leadership, develop a Graduation Team(s) that includes administrators, teachers, advisors, counselors, school social workers, and/or any other relevant service providers. The Graduation Team(s) will help identify at-risk students, assess school and student needs, and develop/coordinate appropriate interventions.
• Graduation team(s) may utilize existing school-based teams, such as School Leadership, Improvement, and/or Student Support Teams.
• Develop School-wide Support and Interventions. Work with faculty and administrators to develop credit recovery and alternative options and to adapt curriculum and differentiate instruction to meet the needs of identified at-risk students.
• Attend, participate in, and redeliver as appropriate all required High school Graduation Coach training provided by the Department of Education.
• Provide training and/or support to middle school and high school teachers on support measures that work with youth identified as at risk of not graduating.
• Provide Direct Service and Case Management. Develop and implement individual, small group, and whole school intervention and prevention strategies to increase the likelihood that students will stay in school and graduate.
• Work with students to develop a graduation and career plan (Peach State Pathways) to include the best program to meet academic and post-secondary goals.
• Develop Transition Programs and Vertical Teams with Middle and High Schools. Collaborate with feeder middle school(s) to identify incoming middle school students at risk of high school failure.
• Conduct quarterly vertical team meetings among middle, and high school faculty and staff to develop action steps to improve individual student and subgroup transition success rates.
• Collaborate with teachers, counselors,…