Job Description

High School Bridge Counselor

We are the Phoenix—Rise with us

Chicago students have the right to a well-resourced high school education, but the placement process is complicated to navigate alone. High School Bridge (HSB) helps students attending elementary schools in communities impacted by systemic disinvestment find and succeed in their best-fit high schools. We advocate for 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th graders and their families as they build the foundation for their success in high school, after high school and the start of their careers.

Over the next five years, the High School Bridge Program will grow to serve 1,800 students from 18 different elementary schools in seventh through tenth grades as they chart their unique path by accompanying them through their transition to best-fit high schools.

The responsibilities of the HSB Counselor include but are not limited to: developing and maintaining relationships with partner elementary schools; working directly with families in the high school application and decision-making process; and developing best practices to support high school and postsecondary access for first-generation, low-income and under-represented students in Chicago through the implementation of a HSB program at partner schools.

The person in this position reports to the Director of the HSB Program and works closely with the HSB Team. Applicants for this position must have a bachelor’s degree and at least two years of experience. Strong applicants are committed professionals who take initiative to creatively identify and solve problems and are excited about the start-up nature of the work. The position occasionally requires non-traditional work hours for evening or weekend events to respond to student needs as they arise. It is based at Chicago Jesuit Academy, but requires regular travel to partner elementary schools and high schools.

The High School Bridge Counselor will:

• Work with a core group of elementary schools to implement a high school transition program and with the HSB Team to support high school and postsecondary access for students and alumni of each school.
• Support students and families in the high school application and decision-making process by developing relationships with students and families as the trusted advisor through individual and group meetings with students, alumni, parents and other stakeholders of each partner school.
• Accompany alumni from our partner schools as they matriculate to high school by designing and implementing creative opportunities for relationship building such as social media campaigns and alumni-meet-ups to stay in contact with alumni as they navigate ninth and tenth grades.
• Conduct individual and group parent meetings with current students and alumni.
• Coordinate services and supports for various alumni issues, including high-school success, tutoring, transfers, crisis management, and application support for jobs, internships and summer programs.
• Visit students at their current schools and assess the level of care being provided by these schools.
• Update and maintain the confidentiality of student information in the College-Persistence Salesforce database on a regular basis.
• Actively communicate with and engage families in events and programming.
• Work in partnership with the HSB Team and Notre Dame’s Lab for Economic Opportunities to evaluate the impact of this intervention on students in Chicago.
• Support CJA’s development efforts by sharing his or her work with friends and benefactors who support the scholarship needs of CJA students and the ongoing needs of CJA alumni.
• Model the ideal of a “person for others” in the Jesuit tradition.
• Execute other duties as assigned.

The successful candidate will believe in the long-term care of students and an education that forms the whole person — cura personalis in the Jesuit tradition. This person will have strong communication and organizational skills and preferably be bi-lingual in Spanish. Experience in counseling, social work or teaching is preferred.

This is an 11-month position - similar to teachers, High School Bridge Counselors will have 4 weeks off, typically during the summer.

Mission : Chicago Jesuit Academy (CJA) is a full-scholarship lower and middle school for young men from modest economic backgrounds who could not otherwise access a well-resourced, faith-based college prep education in the Catholic tradition. We support and advocate for CJA students and alumni as well as other children of modest means as they progress to and through college prep high schools, post-secondary education and the transition to meaningful careers and citizenship. CJA invites students to become persons for others who aspire to be open to growth, loving, intellectually competent, religious and committed to doing justice .

Means : Located in the Austin neighborhood on Chicago’s West Side, CJA enrolls students without regard for their past levels of academic achievement. We use small class sizes, rigorous extended school days and an 11-month school year to develop each student as a whole person in accord with the Jesuit mission and tradition. CJA shares best practices with other schools, and we partner with the broader community to promote access to better educational resources and a deeper understanding of the obstacles to educational equity. The disciplined sacrifices of CJA’s students, alumni, parents, faculty, staff, volunteers and benefactors make the success of our mission possible.

Non-discrimination Policy : Chicago Jesuit Academy, in accordance with our Jesuit tradition, is committed to fostering a diverse community of outstanding faculty, staff and students, as well as ensuring equal educational opportunity, employment, and access to services, programs and activities, without regard to an individual’s race, color, national origin, religion, age, disability, sex, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, predisposing genetic characteristic or military status. Employees, students, applicants or other members of the CJA community (including but not limited to vendors, visitors, and guests) may not be subjected to harassment that is prohibited by law, or treated adversely or retaliated against based upon a protected identity.

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