Student Success Coordinator

VISTA Student Success Coordinator

Be an Advocate and Resource for Education Equity

Role Description

This is a full-time on-site role as a Student Success Coordinator at The West Side Commons. You will be responsible for day-to-day tasks needed to support parent's educational advocacy efforts on behalf of their children. The Coordinator will offer training on parent and student rights to help build their knowledge and confidence to protect their rights while gaining access to support and resources. This is a start up project and your input will help guide the program's design and direction.

The West Side Commons is a community center located in the Upper West Side region of New York City. The center aims to support low- and moderate-income families by providing resources and opportunities to overcome challenges related to unequal access to quality education and economic opportunities. The Commons serves over 500 families each year and offers programming six days a week for 300 children, youth, and families in the community.

While the Upper West Side as a whole is viewed as affluent, there is significant and overlooked poverty and inequity within its diverse neighborhoods. In our community, 7% of residents are Black and 15% are Latino; there are more than 32,000 children under age 18; 11.4% of families live below the federal poverty level and 25% are food insecure. Most vulnerable children here face the steepest barriers to accessing local educational resources. In addition, New York retains its place as the most segregated state for Black students, and second most segregated for Latinos. Dual segregation of low-income Black and Latino students has worsened in the past 10 years, with poor outcomes for so many. 

Duties:

The VISTA Student Success Coordinator will identify existing educational resources; develop/disseminate strategies to increase their accessibility; collect/create resources, tip sheets, and training materials to support parents’ efforts; create student and parent rights self-help toolkits; disseminate tools through social media; and plan parent focus groups & workshops. The VISTA will work with a team to conduct research to identify systemic barriers that hinder educational access & success for low-income students. Your work with community members and partners will focus on creating strategies to address them.

This VISTA Member will build The West Side Commons' ongoing capacity to support parents with training, tools, and resources to advocate for themselves, their children, and their community.

Qualifications

• Strong interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to engage and motivate groups
• Experience with leadership development
• Knowledge of resources for building community and support systems
• Excellent organizational and time management skills
• Ability to work effectively within a diverse community
• Must be flexible and have the ability to work on a team
• Familiarity with NYC Public Education, Counseling, Social Work, or Community Organizing

Benefits:

A bi-weekly Living Allowance of $1,117.06, a Health Benefit Plan (including vision & dental) or Healthcare Allowance, paid leave, child care (if eligible), professional development, a $6,895 Segal AmeriCorps Education Award or $3,000 end of service cash stipend, and more.

Comprehensive orientation and on-the-job training will be provided!

Send your resume to:

specialprojects@westsidecommons.org

OR

APPLY AT: https://americorps.gov/serve/americorps/americorps-vista#apply (we are listed as Strycker's Bay Neighborhood Council)

AmeriCorps is the federal agency connecting individuals and organizations through service and volunteering to tackle the nation’s most pressing challenges.