Coordinator, Family and Community Engagement, School District of Philadelphia

Posted by School District of Philadelphia on August 15, 2016

School District of Philadelphia
Title: Coordinator, Family and Community Engagement
Department: Office of Family and Community Engagement
Reports To: Director, Family Outreach and Education

The School District of Philadelphia is the cornerstone provider of public education in Philadelphia. For forward-thinking administrators and educators, opportunities abound. The 130,000 students entrusted to the District arrive at school every day with an extraordinary range of needs and aspirations. We are committed to delivering on their right to an excellent public school education, and we are particularly focused on ensuring every student has access to exceptional educational opportunities. Equity is our mandate. Will you join us?

Job Summary
Develops, implements and oversees all family and community engagement initiatives within a cluster of schools. Serves as a coach/liaison to neighborhood networks and supervises school-based family engagement staff on implementing effective family and community engagement strategies to help boost student achievement. Helps schools develop and successfully implement community partnerships as well as manage the family concerns. Ensure that Title I, Part A parent involvement regulations are met with meaningful and strategic actions to build parent capacity under this section of the law. Works with teachers and staff on best practices to communicate and work effectively with parents as equal partners in ensuring the academic achievement of their students.

Essential Functions

• Provides strategic and logistical support for family and community engagement efforts at the school, network and district level.
• Under the direction of the Office of Family and Community Engagement, perform needs assessment; plan, develop, schedule, and implement, an approved District-wide family
  engagement program; assist with the evaluation of the effectiveness of the family engagement program in the schools and community through surveys and other methods.
• Plans, schedules, monitors, and certifies the result of elections of school and District advisory councils; develops and presents in-service education programs to assist school administrators, teachers, and families to establish sound family engagement programs at the school level; provides training-for-trainers programs and materials to empower school personnel to conduct family engagement workshops.
• Assigns, schedules, monitors, trains and reviews the work of assigned staff; observes and documents performance, prepares periodic evaluations of performances; develops work
  metrics of the unit; make oral and written directives.
• Develops strategies for creating uniform standards for welcoming school climates that value parents in all their diversity as resources to drive student achievement and school success; participate in regular reviews of district policies and research on best practices; and support schools to build their capacity to develop and foster productive partnerships that facilitate positive family and community relationships.
• Administers effective strategies in family engagement; creates opportunities for parents who have limited English proficiency, a disability or are underrepresented because of social economics or racial barriers to participate in education initiatives and enrichment workshops; provides technical assistance relating to parental involvement at the local school or district level.
• Counsels staff and families for the purpose of evaluating situations, solving problems, and resolving conflicts to enhance probability of student success in school.
• Works with all School District departments to put in place or align expectations, accountability mechanisms, systems, messaging and supports to help schools prioritize and effectively engage families to drive student achievement; designs and writes parent involvement handbooks, brochures, flyers, newsletters, etc.
• Serves as a support for both the Network and District Advisory Councils (NAC and DAC); prepares and distributes agendas, materials, and announcements of meetings; researches, prepares, and presents reports on matters requested by the DAC; arranges for child care for children who accompany parents to meetings; follow-up after meetings to implement decisions of the DAC; initiates District processes and forms to obtain approval of conference attendance and expenditures approved by the DAC.
• Visits schools to review program implementation; coordinate teams to conduct engagement assessments including walkthroughs for recognizing Family Friendly Schools.
• Monitors schools to ensure that schools receiving Title I, Part A funds are in compliance with parental involvement requirements by implementing programs, activities, and procedures designed to involve parents through policies and plans, as well as ensuring budgets and expenditures related to parental involvement funds are spent correctly.
• Provides technical assistance, trainings, materials, and professional development opportunities to district and school administrators, parental involvement coordinators or liaisons, and other family engagement professionals on parental involvement compliance as mandated by law as well as on parent engagement strategies; identifies family training needs, conducts on-going training sessions and workshops for families.
• Identifies, contacts, and obtains information regarding community service organizations which may be of value to District families; make family referrals to public and private social
  and health service organizations; conducts follow-up to evaluate the need for additional referrals and the quality of service received from service organizations; maintains records of referrals; contacts families and follow-up to encourage participation in the parent involvement program and in specific classes and activities.
• Takes part in professional learning opportunities at the local, and/or state level with proper authorization; attends all local meetings and trainings for Family and Community Engagement Coordinators; shares ideas and experiences with school or district staff, leadership team, and/or other parent professionals.
• Maintains excellent records of all parent involvement activities, reports, surveys evaluations, funding, annual program evaluations, and communications to parents; ensures the school or district’s parent involvement program remains in compliance with all state and federal guidelines; stays informed of the most current parental involvement requirements and practices.
• Reports to central office; support the implementation of the Family Resource Center working one day per week.
• Works flexible hours in order to meet the needs of parents, including early mornings, evenings and weekends; work the complete month of June and two weeks in August for
  training and school opening support, not to exceed 20 hours per week.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in sociology, social work, psychology or a related field.
• Three years of full-time, paid, professional experience in an educational or social services setting which have involved working with parents.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

Demonstrated knowledge of:
o the role and significance of community-based issues and organizations.
o community issues and/or community organizations.
o the current methods processes and techniques utilized in the implementation of initiatives.

Demonstrated ability to:
o lead, mange and motivate subordinate staff.
o attain effective results, complete assignments in a timely manner and work independently as well as part of team.
o coordinate, implement and monitor comprehensive, multi-faceted programs
o maintain records and prepare reports.
o operate a personal computer including Excel, Power Point and Microsoft Word.
o work flexible hours including evenings and weekends, as initiative’s outreach events dictate.
o have reliable transportation as position requires frequent local travel.
o develop collaborative partnerships and build relationships with constituents in the community.
o understand and respect the diversity of families’ economic, linguistic, and cultural backgrounds and situations.
o develop and schedule training sessions on various topics.
o host parent meetings off school sites and in the local community and/or neighborhoods.
o maintain discretion regarding confidential matters.
o communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.
o establish and maintain effective working relationships.

Disclaimer
The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified.

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