Restorative Justice Coordinator

Description

Perspectives Charter Schools Network is seeking a Restorative Justice Coordinator for the 2023 - 2024 school year!

At Perspectives, our A Disciplined Life® education model teaches the whole child. We combine academic rigor, social emotional learning, and experiential opportunities to establish a culture of trust, curiosity and achievement. As one of the first charter schools in Illinois and founded by teachers, our mission is to provide students with a holistic, rigorous and relevant education, based on the ethical principles of A Disciplined Life®, preparing them for life in a changing world and helping them further become intellectually reflective, caring and ethical people engaged in a meaningful life. With 5 schools in three campuses, the Perspectives network has served public school students in grades 6 -12 on our city’s southside for over 20 years. Our scholars come from some of the most disadvantaged neighborhoods in the country and graduate from high school with a plan to enroll in college or trade school, and take with them the tools to persist in college and career. The keys to our success are our dedicated, hard‐working, creative, and compassionate colleagues.

We are committed to reducing barriers and fostering an anti-racist, non-discriminatory and inclusive environment by internalizing our core values of A Disciplined Life® and ensuring that our practices allow our diverse population of students and staff to grow, thrive, and excel.

At Perspectives, we pride ourselves in the quality of supports that we give to our students.  We are committed to providing an equitable and inclusive education for all.  Our Restorative Justice Coordinators embody and teach our students how to live the 26 principles of A Disciplined Life® (our social emotional learning culture and curriculum) while also providing high-quality social emotional supports to our students.  We truly believe that every student is capable of greatness, and we are committed to providing a caring community of dedicated staff that meet the diverse academic, emotional, and social needs of our scholars.  Our Restorative Justice Coordinators are advocates for social justice, and hold the ability to view students as creative, resourceful, and capable individuals while providing the resources and care to allow them to  function successfully at school and in life. 

WHAT YOU’LL DO:  CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

Cultivate a schoolwide culture of healing and equity through accountability, skill building, and relationships.

Academic Rigor

• Assists administration in the responsibility of protecting the health, safety and welfare of students.
• Assists school personnel in resolving discipline problems in a fair manner.
• Confers with parents/guardians, teachers, counselors, support service personnel and students on matters of discipline, attendance, general safety and welfare of students.
• Develop data-informed strategic goals for schoolwide restorative practices implementation.
• Collect and analyze schoolwide data on implementation of restorative practices to identify areas of growth, to inform training and coaching offerings.
• Processes chronic attendance and discipline issues with students.
• Works with community and government agencies on restorative justice resources, tools, professional development, etc.
• Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned by the principal or other leader

Social Emotional & Ethical Learning

• Oversees implementation of MTSS through facilitating restorative and social emotional practices with all school community members.
• Oversees implementation of school wide behavioral intervention system Panorama, including administering screeners, organizing tiers of support, assigning and determining delivery of interventions, building engagement plans and progress monitoring.
• Arranges for and attends meetings with regard to student behaviors, and assists in creating goals and interventions in regard to behaviors.
• Engages in ongoing collaboration between all staff members regarding students SEL
• Builds meaningful and professional relationships with students and families
• Investigates, develops and implements proactive measures to encourage appropriate student behaviors, including improved school attendance.
• Provides training and coaching to build capacity within the school community in restorative justice mindset and skills as well as social emotional learning.
• Runs restorative based Tribunal process, including training student leaders and staff.
• Coordinates and invests stakeholders including the AP of Culture, Deans, Security, Social Workers, Case Managers, and Teachers in implementing restorative practices and plans.
• Participates as a part of the school leadership team; reports as a dotted line to the Sr. Director of Culture and Sr. Director of Student Supports.
• Develops students’ restorative justice and social emotional skills through workshops for students.
• Develops and creates  restorative justice leadership and facilitation opportunities for students, including student-led community events.
• Develops staff restorative justice and social emotional skills through professional development and training.

Experiential Learning

• Maintains professional growth which includes attendance at training and development programs.
• Seeks out community resources and refers students for services.

POSITION REQUIREMENTS:

Education:

• Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited College or University Public Administration, Education or Human Services Preferred.

Experience:

• Evidence of success working in an urban school environment strongly preferred but not required
• Able to work independently and with others
• Evidence of successful implementation of best practices in restorative justice.
• Previous experience in a school setting/or working with adolescents.
• Training and/or experience in restorative justice and circle practice.
• Experience implementing conflict mediation and positive youth development.

CHARACTERISTICS YOU BRING TO THE TEAM:

• A strong commitment to live by the 26 principles of A Disciplined Life and a belief that all students deserve an excellent education
• Holds a deep belief that all students in Chicago deserve an education where social emotional learning and high academic expectations are delivered with excellenceA willingness to do whatever it takes to achieve outstanding student outcomes
• Has strong relationship building and communication skills
• Demonstrates initiative, flexibility, and responsiveness
• A commitment to life-long learning with the desire to take advantage of professional development and coaching to constantly improve
• Ability to work after school and weekend hours.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree Required
• Eligibility to work in the United States on a full-time basis
• Highly qualified in relevant subject areas according to the Illinois State Board of Education and licensed in special education (LBS I/II). 
• Please still apply if you are special education-certified in a different state and/or have a specific timeline for your certification in Illinois.

Supervisory Responsibility

• This position has no direct supervisory responsibilities.

Work Environment

• This job operates in a school setting and office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as laptop computers and smartphones.

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work

• This is a full-time position. Days and hours of work are Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. This position regularly requires long hours and occasional weekend work as job duties demand.

Travel

• Travel is primarily local during the business day, although some out-of-area travel may be expected

Other Duties: Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice. 

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

Majority of work will be performed in a general office/school environment. Position requires availability for extended hours plus non-traditional hours required to perform job duties. Also requires participation and attendance at organization sponsored events and meetings. Physical demands include the ability to lift and/or push and pull 15 to 20lbs for a short period of time, walk up and down stairs several times a day, reach, bend, and constantly walk, stand, talk and hear.

BENEFITS SUMMARY:

• Comprehensive and competitive benefits package 
• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• Paid time off including holidays
• Company 403B plan available
• Company contribution towards the Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund if eligible 
• Paid life insurance
• Paid short and long term disability.
• ISBE-approved professional development provider

Perspectives Charter Schools works affirmatively to include diversity among its workforce and does not discriminate in the selection of its staff on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, disability, income, marital status, or any other dimension of diversity. We encourage diverse candidates to apply for this position.