Lead Learning Support Specialist

Description

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

Reporting to: Director of The Student Success Center

FLSA: exempt

Schedule: Monday through Friday (evening parent programs or weekend testing events)

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 Lead Learning Support Specialist works within The Student Success 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 based on referrals from teachers, counselors, Tier Team, or the Academic Dean’s team

· Meet with any member of the student body to provide tips and strategies for strengthening executive functioning, study skills, or literacy skills.

· Collaborate with the Student Success Center team to host presentations and workshops for students and parents on executive functioning skills and support

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

· Maintain resources on student facing student support tile.

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

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

· Regularly craft articles for both Teacher Block Talk and Tiger Tracks to keep faculty and parent communities informed

· Attend faculty meetings and other school-wide events

· Complete designated Activity Blocks (extra-curricular supervision) each school year

Interacting with Students and Families

· Encourage students to advocate for themselves with teachers. Ideally, students should see their teacher prior to meeting with a member of the student success center team. 

· Remain positive and encouraging in interactions with students and teachers

· Use solution-focused, student driven methods to goal setting 

· Summarize meetings or phone calls with students and parents within a 48-hour period in a shared document form 

· Update documentation after each meeting, and email to the students, parents, and administration, when necessary

· 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) and in collaboration with the Associate Dean of Faculty

· 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

· Recommend tutors, psychoeducational evaluators, etc. to families

· Keep updated list of approved tutors

· 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

· Meet with students on the ineligible/failing list to implement strategies and steps for success, done at the request of the Tier Leadership Team.

· Collaborate with Wellness counselors and Student Success Center Team to teach a set of study, executive functioning, note taking and academic skills during Freshman Seminar classes in the Fall semester

· Coordinate students for Student Success Coaching in the Spring semester

o Teach executive function skills as identified in needs inventories

o Teach mini-lessons or individual guidance in planning, time management, organization, materials management, and self-advocacy as needed

o Assist students in monitoring their grades in each class and identify missing work, areas of success, and areas of need

o Teach students research-based study strategies

· Perform other tasks as deemed necessary and appropriate by the administration

Requirements

· Completion of Safe Haven Training 

· Commitment to embracing the mission of St. Agnes Academy

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

· Experience working with high school students and families

· Knowledge of and ability to implement best practices in academic support for students with learning differences, including executive function skill coaching and the use of Motivational Interviewing communication techniques.

· Previous experience in tutoring, individual case management, or differentiated literacy instruction.

· Technology integration skills

· Strong relational, interpersonal skills

· Excellent judgment, confidentiality, discretion, and diplomacy.

· Excellent verbal and written communication skills

· Willingness to take initiative and work with a dynamic team

· Strong interpersonal skills in relating to multiple audiences, including  students, parents, and educators with grace, competence, and warmth

· Time management and planning skills

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.

· Executive Functioning Coaching Certification

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

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

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit at desk area, communicate via phone/face to face, basic email correspondence, walk to different office areas, reach with hands and arms, and lifting up to 25 lbs. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and other technology.