Career Center

The Assistant Academic Dean of Students for Upper School works under the guidance of the Upper School Division Director to support student academic acclimation, organization, and progress for students in grades 9-12. The role is in constant and close communication with major constituencies of the school including students, parents, and educators. The Assistant Academic Dean of Students for Upper School’s work will focus closely on leading a streamlined transitional academic experience for entering students, as well as developing an academic support process and communication program to ensure the upper school student body is acculturated to the academic expectations and philosophies of the school.

The Assistant Academic Dean of Students for Upper School will work closely with the Upper School Division Director, the Upper School Assistant Dean of Students, the Learning Specialist(s), the Learning Skills Counselor, School Nurse, and the School Counselor(s) to monitor student academic progress and social-emotional well-being. They will attend important upper school events and work directly with classroom educators to identify students in need of additional academic help or enrichment outside of the classroom. They will teach up two courses and/or may be an advisor to other select Upper School programs or clubs.
• Upper School Academic Student Support
o Log all academic official notes official related to attendance, participation, and missing work; identify patterns either by class or student
o Develop guidelines and best practices for academic official notes to ensure effective communication

o Identify students in need of academic support outside of the classroom and reach out to Upper School students (without Student Support Plans based on information of official notes
o Review Upper School student progress reports and grades to identify students in need of academic support or intervention
o Set up one-on-one meetings with students (outside of Academic Lab) to create work plans and to mitigate academic challenges
o Check in with teachers of individual students to gather data and create mitigation plans
o Correspond with parents of students as necessary and include parents on all communication to increase parental awareness
o Develop an Academic Support Calendar with pertinent dates for new student and parent onboarding; student, parent, and educator trainings; student progress review; and academic intervention and remediation
• Academic Lab for Upper School students without SSPs twice a week
o Carry out one-on-one check-ins with students
o Monitor work progress of students in Academic Lab by checking in with teachers
o Create work plans for students
o Teach time management strategies (i.e. - to do lists, schedules, time blocking)
o Partner with Upper School Dean of Students and School Counselor to create a hub for all types of student support.
• Academic onboarding process for all new and returning students
o Meet with admissions to identify students who may need academic support from the outset
o Meet with new students identified as potentially needing more support in individual meetings and small groups during the summer to build relationships.
o Create two tracks for Academic Lab: 1) Study Hall for students who want a quiet place to work; 2) Meeting times with individual students who need support and work plans
o Hold weekly “drop in” sessions for students to self-select for a check in.
o Meet with parents to address academic concerns about their child and their transition or questions about where to get answers about school related topics
o Meet as needed with Upper School teachers to check in on students on their rosters and to identify students who may need support and who are at risk of not earning credit
o Check-in with teachers of students identified in prior years as needing support and with teachers with little official communication to students
o Work with the Learning Specialist to develop parallel processes for all Upper School academic support
o Serve as primary point of contact for parents with questions regarding Academic programs and parents seeking help for their child(ren) with organization, time management, assignment completion, preparing for assessments, and managing the portal
o Partner with parents to support their child’s academic needs and challenges through the creation and execution of work plans
o Reach out to high performing students and identify opportunities for enrichment
o Serve as an Academic Advisor
• Serve as primary point person for educators, students, and parents when addressing student academic issues outside of classroom in grades 9-12
• Co-lead academic student support team meetings
• Work directly with Upper School educators to develop and present remediation plans as necessary
• Act as an academic liaison to all new Upper School educators
• Leading student, parent and educator workshops: i.e. portal, google classroom, office hours, effective communication, troubleshooting problems