Academic Coach

ORGANIZATION: 

Rainier Scholars is a comprehensive academic enrichment program that supports students of color over a 12-year journey – from 5th grade to college graduation. We seek to serve those who are most under-represented on college campuses and have the greatest number of barriers to achieving a college education: 85% qualify as low-income, 90% would be the first in their family to earn a college degree. Our program offers rigorous academics, leadership development and personalized support for scholars, providing access to educational pathways and myriad opportunities previously unimagined. 

With a budget size of $10 million, a staff team of 50 full-time employees and 675 scholars and families whom we currently serve in Seattle and Tacoma, Rainier Scholars has established a positive brand for our unwavering commitment to education, proven success rate, and sustainable impact. We grow new generations of diverse college graduates, career professionals, and community leaders. 
 

Rainier Scholars – Tacoma launched in late spring 2021 and welcomed its first cohort during the summer of June 2022. We are currently recruiting our fourth cohort. While the Tacoma program shares the same vision and goals as Seattle, the approach for Tacoma is uniquely designed for this community. We work towards the larger goal of expanding opportunities for everyone by centering the experiences of Multi-Generational African Americans – a group facing a highly complex set of barriers – in our program design. 

POSITION SUMMARY:  

The role of the Academic Coach is to provide continuing individual support to a caseload of Rainier Scholars - Tacoma scholars during the school year at their respective schools. Academic Coaches work in conjunction with the Director of Wellness, Director of Middle School Readiness and other staff to ensure that Rainier Scholars students sustain high academic achievement at their schools and connect with appropriate services when needs arise. The tasks listed below are intended as a general framework of the responsibilities of this position. Flexibility and continued quality improvement are necessary in our organization; thus, Rainier Scholars - Tacoma requires that individuals not perceive any job description as fixed. 

KEY DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES: 

• Maintain a minimum of monthly individual, face-to-face contact and provide academic and social emotional coaching for approximately 45-60 assigned students, with the goal of helping students strive for academic excellence and engagement in their schools and communities.
• Meet with parents of assigned students on a regular basis, including follow up calls after student meetings.
• Build relationships with appropriate school personnel on a regular basis.
• Monitor and maintain a written record of progress and problems of each assigned student through various tracking systems.
• Evaluate the needs of students and implement new ideas based on those needs.
• Facilitate summer and school year classes, workshops and small group discussions.
• Collect class schedules and grade reports for all assigned students in order to create appropriate responsive supports based on grades, etc.
• Maintain constant communication with supervising staff and other support staff regarding significant issues impacting assigned students.
• Keep assigned students informed about activities and opportunities at Rainier Scholars - Tacoma and encourage students to take advantage of these opportunities.
• Coordinate monthly field trips for scholars and chaperone during those events.
• Attend Homework Center once per week to assist scholars seeking additional support.  

The successful candidate will be able to: 

• Prioritize projects effectively, take initiative, demonstrate resourcefulness, and respond flexibly to changing work demands.
• Demonstrate strong organizational skills, time management, attention to detail, and follow-through.
• Support the culturally, racially, linguistically, and economically diverse population we serve.
• Show exceptional judgment and integrity, including maintaining confidentiality as appropriate.
• Demonstrate a passion for working with and mentoring children.
• Demonstrate a professional presence, strong interpersonal skills, and excellent written and verbal communication skills (including public speaking). 

QUALIFICATIONS 

REQUIRED:  

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field.
• Means of transportation to travel from school to school. Travel reimbursement is given with receipt of mileage logs.
• Experience working with students and families of color.
• Service mentality to families; ability to demonstrate discretion and good judgment handling confidential information.
• Functional knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and Google Docs; familiarity/ease with databases (FileMaker Pro) and analyzing data. 

DESIRED:  

• Bilingual proficiency in Spanish.
• Candidates who majored in education, sociology, psychology, social work, or a closely related field.
• 1-3 years of professional working experience.  
• Tacoma residency and/or deep connection to the Tacoma community. 

Note: This role is not a school counselor position. Candidates with a school counseling degree or an advanced degree in psychology are encouraged to review the job responsibilities carefully to ensure alignment with their skills and career goals.  

COMPENSATION, BENEFITS, & WORKING ENVIRONMENT:  

Compensation for this role is $30.77-33.17/hr (equivalent to $64,000 – 69,000 annually), commensurate with experience and qualifications. This is a full-time, non-exempt position. Rainier Scholars offers employer-paid medical and dental benefits, employer-paid life and AD&D insurance, 403(b) retirement plan with employer match, generous vacation, all-staff holiday closure, personal days, sick leave, and holiday pay. 

Rainier Scholars is a workplace committed to wellness and sustainability. This is a hybrid role based out of our Seattle office. This role will regularly require work in the evenings and weekends which could include, but is not limited to, attendance at meetings or events outside of regular office hours. This affords a flexible schedule and remote work options with the understanding that those hours will be shifted during the week to accommodate a 40-hour workweek. 

Our work is rooted in ensuring that people from marginalized communities have the opportunity to thrive in education and careers that they are passionate about. Rainier Scholars is an equal opportunity employer committed to promoting an equitable and inclusive environment for our scholars, families, and staff. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and strongly encourage people of color, first-generation college graduates, and people from working-class backgrounds to apply. 

Salary : $64,000 - $69,000