Assistant Director of Student Access, Attendance & Engagement, Office of Student Support Services; C124-2627

Assistant Director of Student Access, Attendance & Engagement, Office of Student Support Services

The Assistant Director of Student Access, Attendance and Engagement provides district wide leadership for student attendance, enrollment access, re-engagement, educational stability, and family outreach. The Assistant Director develops and manages coordinated systems designed to ensure that every student is enrolled, connected to school, attending regularly, and meaningfully engaged in learning.

Grounded in equity, empathy, whole-child development, and relational practice, the Assistant Director leads district efforts to identify and remove barriers that interfere with student access and attendance. The position oversees attendance intervention systems, chronic absenteeism strategies, home-visit protocols, re-engagement services, McKinney-Vento compliance, educational continuity for justice-involved students, safety transfers, and other supports for students experiencing mobility, instability, or disconnection from school.

The Assistant Director works collaboratively with school leaders, families, district departments, community agencies, state partners, and service providers to strengthen attendance outcomes, protect student rights, and ensure that vulnerable students receive timely, coordinated, and legally compliant educational services.

Responsibilities:

• Develop, implement, and monitor a comprehensive district wide strategy for student attendance, engagement, enrollment access, and re-engagement.
• Establish clear procedures, service standards, decision-making protocols, and accountability measures for attendance and access-related functions.
• Lead district efforts to reduce chronic absenteeism and improve daily attendance, student retention, and school connectedness.
• Align attendance and engagement initiatives with the district's strategic priorities, school improvement plans, student support framework, and equity commitments.
• Identify systemic barriers affecting student attendance, enrollment, and participation, and recommend policy, programmatic, operational, or resource-based solutions.
• Serve as the Executive Director's designee, as assigned, for matters related to attendance, student access, educational stability, and re-engagement.
• Direct district wide attendance intervention and re-engagement systems, including Attendance and Community Engagement teams, early-warning processes, attendance reviews, case management, and targeted outreach.
• Establish tiered attendance supports that promote prevention, early intervention, intensive case management, and sustained re-engagement.
• Oversee home-visit procedures, safety protocols, documentation standards, escalation processes, and follow-up expectations.
• Support schools in developing and implementing attendance improvement plans based on student-level and school-level data.
• Monitor students who are chronically absent, disengaged, withdrawn, missing from school, or at risk of dropping out.
• Coordinate re-entry and reintegration plans for students returning from prolonged absence, hospitalization, juvenile justice involvement, placement changes, or other disruptions.
• Promote relational, culturally responsive, and trauma-informed practices when engaging students and families.
• Ensure equitable and timely access to enrollment, placement, transfer, and re-entry processes.
• Oversee complex enrollment matters, including students without traditional documentation, students experiencing housing instability, students in foster care, newly arrived students, and other students requiring individualized support.
• Coordinate safety transfer processes in collaboration with school leadership, Safety and Security, Student Support Services, Legal, Transportation, and other relevant departments.
• Identify and resolve barriers that delay enrollment, placement, transportation, records transfer, or access to educational services.
• Ensure continuity of instruction and support when students transition between schools, programs, placements, or jurisdictions.
• Provide district wide leadership and oversight for compliance with the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act and related state and federal requirements.
• Ensure that students experiencing homelessness are identified, enrolled immediately, transported when eligible, and provided access to comparable educational and support services.
• Oversee eligibility determinations, dispute-resolution processes, documentation, records, transportation coordination, and required notifications.
• Develop and deliver training for school-based and central office staff regarding identification, enrollment rights, transportation, confidentiality, and educational stability.
• Collaborate with shelters, housing agencies, social service providers, community organizations, and families to reduce barriers to school participation.
• Monitor district data and service delivery for students experiencing homelessness and other forms of housing instability.
• Coordinate educational access and continuity for…