Freedom School Project Director

Freedom School Project Director
Status: Seasonal

Compensation Range: $42.51 - $45.51/ Hourly Rate

W E L C O M E T O C R O S S R O A D S
See the world differently.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Norton Campus

1715 Olympic Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90404

MIDDLE & UPPER SCHOOL
21st Street Campus

1714 21st Street, Santa Monica, CA 90404

About Freedom School
CDF's mission is to build community so young people grow up with dignity, hope, and joy. The CDF
Freedom Schools® Program is a direct service initiative coordinated nationally by Children's Defense
Fund in partnership with local community organizations. It is an educational and cultural
enrichment program that provides summer and after-school options for children and youth, and
strengthens family and community involvement.

The mission of GDF Freedom Schools programs is to boost student motivations to read, generate
more positive attitudes toward learning, increase self-esteem, and connect the needs of children and
families to the resources of their communities. The program serves children and youth in grades K-
12 for six to eight weeks. The activity-based Integrated Reading Curriculum (IRC), which is aligned
with the Common Core State Standards, integrates reading, conflict resolution, and social action,
and is designed to promote social, cultural, and historical awareness. A multi-year assessment of

GDF Freedom Schools program sites continuously demonstrates the effectiveness of the IRC, which
has proven to avert children's summer learning loss in reading achievement.
The Project Director works in conjunction with the Executive Director to manage operations for their
respective GDF Freedom Schools program. The Project Director can serve in this capacity for more
than one program site for a sponsor organization. The Project Director should have strong
leadership skills with empathy for children and their families.

The Project Director should be committed to the goals of the program, able to work collaboratively
with all program constituents, and be familiar with the culture and dynamics of the community.

Essential Job Functions
Serve as the liaison between the sponsor organization and the program site(s), providing direct
supervision, leadership, support, and management of the Site Coordinator.
Work with site leadership to recruit, hire, and manage adequate staff to operate program(s) and
ensure overall quality as outlined by the standards of the GDF Freedom Schools Program. Please
note: It is recommended that each position is uniquely filled, however, the Project Director may also
serve as the Executive Director.
Work with site leadership to recruit children and families who are under-resourced.
Work with site leadership to establish and maintain community partnerships to support successful
program implementation and sustainability.
Attend all required trainings and ensure all program staff attends required trainings.
Work with site leadership to plan and facilitate local pre and post trainings before and after the Ella
Baker Child Policy Training Institute National Training.
Maintain the safety of all staff and scholars, which includes but is not limited to the following:

Secure staff background checks and clearances.
Guarantee onsite safety procedures and protocols are in compliance with the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention guidelines.
Communicate and confirm that all staff, scholars, and parents have an understanding of site
guidelines.
Provide first aid (mental and physical health) training and materials to staff.

Work with site leadership to check book inventory upon receipt and notify the CDF Freedom Schools
national staff of any discrepancies and/or needs.
Work with Site Coordinator to distribute books to Servant Leader Interns to support all program
components.
Input all required child, parent/guardian, and staff enrollment data in CDF's reporting system as
outlined by CDF.
Coordinate regular meetings with Site Coordinator to provide supportive feedback, technical
assistance, and collect data to share updates with the Executive Director on the site's operation.

Work with site leadership to ensure that all program components are implemented with fidelity.
Work with site leadership to establish written policies that outline programmatic safeguards and
practices which prohibit discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, national
origin, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or any other characteristic protected
by state laws governing your state. This document should be reviewed with staff and made
available to them.
Maintain regular communication and timely correspondence with emails and requests with the
CDF Freedom Schools national staff.
Submit all required documents, data reports, and evaluations to CDF by the required deadline.

Required Qualifications (Skills, experience, education,
certifications, etc.).

Possess the capacity to successfully manage programs for children, youth, and families.
Leadership skills and experience in managing, motivating, developing, and mediating an
intergenerational staff with an emphasis on building a high-performing team.
Ability to translate a strategic plan into direct implementation.
Solid commitment to the success and well-being of children and youth.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Exhibit positive behavior and attitude, modelinga mature and professional demeanor.
Ability to attend all mandatory trainingsand meetings as required by the CDF Freedom Schools
national staff.
Ability to implement the CDF Freedom Schools Program with full fidelity.

Our Philosophy Statement
The School was built upon five basic commitments: to academic excellence; to the arts; to the
greater community; to the development of a student population of social, economic, and racial
diversity; and to the development of each student’s physical well-being and full human potential.

It is the goal of Crossroads School to provide a strong college preparatory program from which
each student will develop a personal commitment to learning, a respect for independent thinking,
and an expanding curiosity about the world and its people. We consider certain skills to be
essential for all graduates: to read well, to write clearly and coherently, to study effectively, to
reason soundly, and to question thoughtfully.

Through the educational process, we assist students in gaining self-esteem, self-knowledge, and
respect for the knowledge and opinions of others. We believe that education must not be a race
for the accumulation of facts, but should be an enriching end in itself. We also believe that
education is a joint venture among students, parents and teachers. To be effective with young
people, teachers and parents must themselves continue to learn, so that they may perceive the
young accurately and treat them wisely.

We believe that the arts are an essential part of the curriculum and that it is important for
students to express themselves creatively and to use their imaginations freely. Therefore, music,
drama, visual arts, film, writing and dance are significant parts of student life at Crossroads.

Through our academic and extra-curricular programs, we seek to promote social, political and
moral understanding, and to instill a respect for the humanity and ecology of the earth.

We understand that there are many kinds of intelligence, and the traditional academic, cognitive
area is one. Other important areas of intelligence are intuition, imagination, artistic creativity,
physical expression and performance, sensitivity to others and self-understanding. To neglect any
of these areas is to limit students in the development of their full human potential.

We believe that the uniqueness of children is revealed in their very existence and that it is the
School’s responsibility to foster their innate sense of the mystery and joy of life.

Our Diversity Statement
One of Crossroads School’s founding commitments is to develop a socially, economically and
racially diverse student body. We are equally committed to supporting a vibrant and diverse
workforce. Crossroads is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action
employer; we do not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, religious creed, color,
national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, marital status, sex,
gender or gender identity, age or sexual orientation. People of color, women and individuals with
disabilities are encouraged to apply.