Career Center

Duration: 12 month contract – 10 month work/school year schedule-extra days 

Reporting to: Director of Student Support

FLSA: exempt/contract employee

Schedule: Monday through Friday  

Hours: 7:50 am to 3:20 pm 

Mission: 

Rooted in the Catholic, Dominican tradition, St. Agnes Academy challenges young women through exceptional academic preparation and transformational experiences to lead with integrity, joy, and a commitment to social justice. 

Faith, Community, and Dominican Charism 

· Ensure that the four pillars of a Dominican education (prayer, study, community, preaching) are developed and promoted among the school community 

· Develop an active faith community and models Christian values 

· Support prayer and spiritual formation within the student, faculty/staff and parent communities 

· Uphold and implement the Dominican charism and the Houston Dominican Sisters congregational goals 

· Demonstrate a commitment to equity and inclusion by honoring the dignity of each member of the St. Agnes Academy community

Job Purpose: 

The Learning Support Specialist works within The Academics Services Center which provides a place for students with various learning differences to attain skills in study techniques, time management, organizational strategies and goal planning, as well as providing reasonable accommodations for students to ensure their full participation in the academic programs. The Learning Support Specialist provides both individual and group instruction in building these skills. 

Essential Functions and Duties

· Meet with designated students in need of academic support 

· Being available to meet with any member of the student body to provide tips and strategies for strengthening study skills, organizational skills, time management skills, and other similar type skills

· Determine need to meet with student based on administration, teacher, counselor, or academic services recommendation

· Communicate student progress with the academic services team, families, and faculty through the updating of shared documents, one-on-one conversations, and email exchanges

· Attend case management meetings

· Plan and coordinate meeting times with students through community time or academy support block

· Maintain high standards of confidentiality, attendance, and flexibility while working cooperatively with supervisors, coworkers, and students

· Continue professional education in area of expertise

· Communicate frequently with the Academic Support Coordinator to provide feedback and trouble-shoot issues that arise with student accommodations

· Work closely with the Director of Student Support on a regular basis

Interacting with Students

• Encourage students to advocate for themselves with teachers. Ideally, students should see their teacher prior to meeting with a member of the academic services center team. 
• Remain positive and encouraging in interactions with students and teachers
• Summarize meetings or phone calls with students and parents within a 48-hour period in a shared document  form 
• Update profiles after each meeting, and email to the students, parents, and administration
• Correspond with parents and students in between meetings, checking in with students and parents on their progress
• Serve as a resource for faculty who may need help in working with students with      learning differences.
• Provide consultations to parents as needed
• Participate in check-ins and whole-group meetings weekly, or as scheduled
• Support differentiated instruction as needed (in content, process, product, and environment)
• Develop strategies to meet the academic needs of identified students
• Collaborate with teachers in classrooms to help enrich curricular approaches and improve pedagogy in order to better meet the needs of our students
• Work in conjunction with the Director of Student Support to recommend tutors, psychoeducational evaluators, etc.
• Communicate with outside specialists attending to students’ needs
• Seek out new and innovative curricula, texts, and technological applications for implementation in the classroom
• Remain current  with accepted and appropriate instructional theory, best practice and the latest research
• Establish and maintain frequent communication with parents/guardians about their child’s  academic progress and support needs
• Adhere to strict student confidentiality
• Attend faculty meetings and other school-wide events
• Meeting with students on the ineligible/failing list to implement strategies and steps for success, done at the request of the student’s counselor 
• Perform other tasks as deemed necessary and appropriate by the administration

Requirements

· Bachelor’s degree in Education, Special Education, Diagnostics, or a similar field

· Experience working with high school students and families

· Knowledge of best practices related to providing academic support for students with learning differences

· Technology integration skills

· Strong relational, interpersonal skills

· Excellent written and verbal communication skills

· Time management and planning skills

· Excellent judgement, confidentiality, discretion, and diplomacy

Preferred qualifications:

· Advanced degree in related field

· Three to five years of experience in Special Education, Educational Diagnostics, Learning Support, Intervention or similar educational field in a school setting

· Experience working in independent schools

Work Environment:
St. Agnes Academy is committed to hiring, developing, and retaining a diverse and highly competent faculty and staff. 

Physical Demands: This job operates in a professional/educational environment. The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit at desk area, communicate via phone/face to face, manually input data into a computer, walk to different office areas, reach with hands and arms, and minimal lifting. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and other technology. 

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The forgoing statements describe the general purpose and responsibilities assigned to this job and are not an exhaustive list of all the responsibilities and duties that may be assigned or skills that may be required.