Job description

About us

Higher Ground Resource Center is the lead agency for the implementation of Community Schools in Tucson, AZ. We are supportive, rewarding, innovative and our goal is to Empower one person at a time to reach, transform, and elevate their community through love and character building.

How does it work?

Our team is deployed at each school site to partner with the school. We address all the non-academic needs of the school allowing the principal and the teachers to focus on high-quality education, curriculum, and other academic needs of their school. The school is then allowed to thrive as all the needs of the students and families are addressed allowing them to focus on learning while the classroom.

Restart SMART: Empowering Communities through the school

Is a healthy child a direct reflection of a healthy community? Yes! When we improve the health of a child, so follows our community. By creating community connections in our schools, we can create positive and life-altering outcomes, for both children and families.

Restart SMART is an initiative to create a community school hub system in Tucson through a multi-generational framework. Community school systems have existed in the US for decades with proven results in community empowerment, lower chronic and situational poverty, lower dropout rates, higher attendance, higher rates of attainment for students, and healthier community economic metrics.

Through Restart SMART we can support, streamline, expand, and create systems for schools' existing efforts around:

• Family and Community Engagement
• Trauma-Informed Care
• 2-generation approach
• Social and Emotional Skill Development
• Workforce & Career skills
• Addressing the Eight dimensions of wellness
• Executive Functions
• Positive Behavior Intervention Support (PBIS)
• Enriched learning time opportunities
• After-school and summer enrichment programs

Our work environment includes:

• Wellness programs
• Growth opportunities
• On-the-job training
• Lively atmosphere
• Safe work environment

JOB SUMMARY:

The Student & Family Support Specialist is responsible for supporting the development of the Restart S.M.A.R.T. micro model at Doolen Middle School in the Tucson Unified School District by integrating into the school-community, developing relationships with at-risk students and their families, and connecting students and their families to resources that support their individual and family goals. The Student & Family Support Specialist focus on filling identified service gaps for students and their families to improve students’ attendance, students’ capacity to learn, family wellness, and family engagement on campus by implementing Higher Ground methods working in conjunction with the rest of the Restart S.M.A.R.T. team at the school site. They serve as a bridge for connecting school staff, students, family members, and community partners around student and family success, ensuring that the mission of Higher Ground is reflected.

Doolen Middle School is located in central Tucson and serves students in the sixth through eighth grades. With over 19 different languages spoken across campus, Doolen is home to a predominantly refugee and hispanic population. To support their students and families, Doolen stocks their family resource room with uniforms, shoes, hygiene products, school supplies, and other basic needs, as well as providing access to an onsite washer and dryer. Keeping this resource room stocked, accessible to families, and run by families is a high priority. They also promote environmental wellness through their school-community garden, offering plots to families and neighbors. Sharing outdoor courts with the neighboring Boys & Girls Club, Doolen has a budding relationship to support families with after-school programming. They also serve as a District Alternative Education Program site, allowing students who receive long-term suspension to receive the individualized support they need at their home school.

REPORTS TO:

Reports directly to the Restart S.M.A.R.T. Site Director (SD).

RESPONSIBILITIES:

The major responsibilities and target accomplishments expected of the position, which include the typical problems encountered in carrying out the responsibilities are, but not limited to the following:

School Integration with Higher Ground Methods

• Engage in Higher Ground methods training to identify students’ underlying needs, use the whole-child approach for success based on the 8 dimensions of wellness, and guide individual students through Life Mapping.
• Develop relationships with school staff and the community in order to apply methods for completing asset mapping and needs assessments for groups of students and families at the site.
• Identify existing student groups and family groups that meet at or around the school’s campus and join to understand their needs and goals.
• Become acclimated with daily school functioning, schedules and procedures to maximize integration timeline.

Relationship-Building & Coordination of Services with Students & Families

• Develop relationships with a caseload of targeted chronically absent students and students with identified behavioral concerns.
• Use Higher Ground Activities and continuous Mapping to identify caseload students’ networks, their gaps in wellness, and their goals.
• Individually coach-mentor caseload students on a consistent basis and guide them through Higher Ground’s Life Mapping process.
• Develop relationships with the families of the identified students to understand individual family situations, and individually coach-mentor primary caregivers around their goals for their youth, themselves, and their family.
• Provide general support service to the families, assisting with emergency financial assistance, parenting classes, marital classes, stress management, healthy lifestyle creation, etc. as identified through Higher Ground Mapping.
• Collaborate with the Restart S.M.A.R.T. Team to ensure consistent messaging across individual student networks and to coordinate support services to address student needs.
• Provide whole-group life skills support for preventative services at the school site for students and families.
• Create opportunities to establish effective relationships with students and families by planning events that will allow staff, students, and families to build community and strengthen their relationships.
• Plan and facilitate meetings with students, families, school staff, and connected partners, including Parent-Teacher Conferences, Child and Family Team Meetings, Home Visits, etc.
• Educate students and families about different opportunities and how to develop themselves out of a poverty mentality and break generational cycles.
• Ensure that student and family voice is at the forefront of creating more effective resource connections and developing solutions for the school-community.
• Collaborate with school personnel to understand school methods already in place and strategize with the SD for seamless integration of Restart S.M.A.R.T. Methods with individual students, individual families, groups of students, and groups of families.

Data Tracking and Accountability

• Track outputs and outcomes with students and families, documenting each encounter and support services provided to individual students and families.
• Ensure the relevance and up-to-date information of all family background information collected from all sources for the completion of Student and School Mapping.
• Report monthly on attendance; behavior; academics; caseload testing, Mapping, and Life Mapping progress; and a qualitative summary of caseload progress for school site.
• Report monthly on family coaching progress, referral to completion, and referral success rate for school sites.
• Report on the number of students / families who participate in life skills activities for impact data.

Professionalism

• Must follow Higher Ground’s Policies and Procedures Manual and keep themselves informed of updates, revisions, and any additions.
• Must follow company standards of Honor, Integrity, and Excellence.
• Must exhibit company core beliefs of Giving Love, Teaching Self-Control, Nurturing Passion, and Encouraging Vision.
• Must remain professional during work hours and in the presence of guests, students, and community members, and when in community events, or places outside of Higher Ground or the school site.
• Be professional during meetings / events that involve other members of the community such as Group SEL lessons, CFTs, and Parent Teacher Conferences.
• Provide high levels of customer service to students and community members at all times.
• Represent Higher Ground’s standard of conduct.
• Become familiar with and follow school site policies as deemed necessary by the SSD.
• Maintain open communication with all other staff members and work cohesively with stakeholders.
• Assist in any events of the school site and Higher Ground as required by Higher Ground or the SSD.
• Speak in schools, community agencies, and events as needed by Higher Ground.

Other duties as deemed necessary by Restart S.M.A.R.T. Site Director (SD)

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree preferred, or equivalent experience. Continuing education would also be accepted in place of actual degree. Psychology or Social Work Background preferred. Currently taking classes at University or Community College in a related field of study would also be accepted.
• Must have strong relationship-building skills.
• Must be able to effectively communicate with all ages, races, cultures, backgrounds, and beliefs.
• Must be comfortable with public speaking and a proactive communicator.
• Bilingual (English, Spanish, Arabic, Farsi, etc., verbal & written) is highly preferred.
• Knowledge of the minority experience in Tucson, Arizona and ability to work with minority communities.
• Knowledge of the Refugee community experience in Tucson, Arizona and proven experience working with members of the LGBTQ+ community.
• Must be able to prioritize and manage competing demands.
• Competent with digital literacy skills.
• Experience with elementary and middle school aged youth is preferred.
• Experience communicating with parents and legal guardians of elementary and middle school aged youth is preferred.
• Experience navigating stability and self-sufficiency resources for youth and families within the Tucson area is preferred.
• Must have strong relationship-building qualities. Must be able to effectively communicate with all ages, races, cultures, backgrounds, and beliefs. Must be comfortable with public speaking and a proactive communicator.

THIS POSITION IS IDEAL FOR SOMEONE WHO DEMONSTRATES

• Strong cross-cultural and generational awareness and sensitivity
• Passion for the community to move from poverty mentality to development
• Passion in one or more of the following areas: Arts, Sports, Gardening, Sewing, STEAM
• Passion and / or experience in one or more of the following areas: Housing Stability, Refugee Services, Translation Services, Donation & Funding Acquisition
• Creative and Eloquent communicator
• Passion to serve
• High Skills in Human and Personal Relations
• High Ethics
• Ability to take direction well and be proactive
• Strong problem-solving and use of asset-based approach
• Cohesion and collaboration skills
• Strong Loyalty to Higher Ground
• Keen ability to relate to all ages, races, cultures, backgrounds, and beliefs.

WORKING CONDITIONS:

• Individuals must be willing to spend a lot of time walking from different areas of the school site and be comfortable with constant physical activity on their feet, which can cause fatigue.
• High energy environment located mostly indoors with some outdoor. Individuals are faced with constant interruptions and must meet with others on a regular basis.
• There are a number of mental and emotional stresses associated with this position, constantly hearing and dealing with emotional and traumatic situations of families. Individuals must be willing to work with a variety of people dealing with emotional situations.
• Individuals must spend hours of intense concentration, analyzing data and connecting resources. Individuals must also be willing to spend long hours on the phone and in front of people.

Salary: $19 - $21/hr

Job Type: Full-time, benefits eligible

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $19.00 - $21.00 per hour

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Professional development assistance
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday

Language:

• Spanish (Preferred)

License/Certification:

• Driver's License (Preferred)

Work Location: In person

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