Bilingual Attendance Success Mentor Coordinator

Position Overview

The Attendance Success Mentor Coordinator works with chronically absent students at Long Island City High School to address the barriers that prevent them from attending school daily. This role is responsible for student and family outreach via home visits, calls, text messages, and emails and providing individual and group mentorship, referrals for additional supportive services, and academic support to a caseload of up to 15 students.

This role reports directly to the Community School Director (CSD) or other designated Zone 126 Supervisor and collaborates closely with school staff to identify chronically absent students and conduct broad-based practices to encourage attendance and increase student engagement of our wraparound supports that provide basic needs and address the challenges of students attending school on a regular basis.

What is chronic absenteeism?

One in five New York City students is chronically absent, missing more than 18+ days of school during the school year. Missing school drastically affects a student's learning outcomes in academics and connectedness with their school community. On average, students with a Zone 126 Attendance Success Mentor and/or taking part in one of our wraparound support services attend up to 15 more days of school than the previous school year, as compared to students who are not Zone 126 affiliated. Students who attend school regularly and are not deemed chronically absent are more likely to have a higher GPA, attend college, and feel more connected to their school community.

Essential Responsibilities

• Meet individually with assigned mentees for at least 30-40 minutes weekly.
• Provide academic support during weekly mentee meetings as needed.
• Connect mentees and their family network to internal and external resources based on their individual needs done through research of additional support services.
• Communicate with the family network about mentees’ progress and challenges daily/weekly.
• Communicate with teachers weekly; stay abreast of mentee’s major projects/assignments/testing dates to provide individual motivation and coaching as needed.
• Review weekly attendance reports with the Community School Director or other designated Zone 126 Supervisor and other school personnel as needed.
• Work with the mentee to define and establish goals that will address the reasons for being chronically absent, as well as any SEL needs during the school day.
• Support the Attendance Team with making and monitoring referrals.
• Support the school and students during transition between classes.
• Host group sessions with students that include SEL activities that support building their self-esteem, self-awareness, and building group cohesion.
• De-escalate situations and work with students on SEL activities to help them return to class.
• Collect and maintain comprehensive, up-to-date, and accurate records for submission to our Data & Evaluation Manager for input into our CRM system (Apricot).
• Properly maintain confidential students’ files with complete and up to date data/ documentation, including required consent forms.
• Support the promotion and collection of surveys, interviews and focus groups as requested.
• Ensure the distribution and completion of DCFs, after school applications, and other documents as required.
• Support with other duties as needed.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in arts, education, counseling, or a related field required.
• At least 2 years of experience working with youth from diverse backgrounds.
• Fluent in Spanish or Bengali a plus.
• Experience in conflict resolution, crisis counseling, and de-escalation strategies
• Strong background in program development, arts, curriculum design, and lesson plan writing
• Demonstrated cultural sensitivity.
• Strong organizational, written, and verbal skills
• Self-directed and able to work as part of a team.
• Ability to lift 25 pounds occasionally to assist with program activities & setup.
• DOE Fingerprinting Clearance is required for all school-based staff. Fingerprinting costs are reimbursable after 90 days of successful employment.

Work Location and Schedule

• Full Time, 35 hours per week
• Monday through Friday 9 am to 5 pm (school specific schedule will determine the finalized time).
• Before and after school hours, weekends, and special event support on weekends will be planned in advance.

Salary and Benefits

• Annual Salary $60,000.
• A comprehensive benefits package is available including paid time off, Medical, dental, vision, life insurance, flexible spending, transportation benefits, and 401K.

Application Requirements

Candidates may apply to open positions online through Indeed, Idealist, or LinkedIn.

About Zone 126

Zone 126 is a community-based nonprofit organization in Queens, NY whose mission is to ensure the most vulnerable youth residing in Astoria and Long Island City have the education and skills needed to thrive, graduate high school prepared for college or the workforce. Our focus is to improve educational outcomes, promote positive development and social-emotional growth, and college and career readiness.

Zone 126 sees positive community transformation for the children and families living in concentrated pockets of poverty in Queens. Zone 126 partners with service providers within a public school, afterschool, and community setting to deliver a variety of supportive services and youth development programs including arts and cultural enrichment, literacy, mental health, STEM, mentoring, career exploration and college counseling.

For additional information on our sites and programs, visit zone126.org.