Colorado Nonprofit Association

Student Engagement Support Member

ORGANIZATION OVERVIEW

Colorado Youth for a Change (CYC) is an educational nonprofit organization with a statewide scope. CYC addresses barriers to learning by providing individualized support throughout pivotal stages of students’ education journeys. We provide a continuum of services from Prekindergarten through high school to help students find success through tutoring, case management, and outreach to help in-school youth remain in school or out-of-school youth return to school. We envision an equitable education system where each student has access to resources they need to maximize their own learning and growth. CYC’s organizational values are growth, integrity, community, and systemic transformation.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

CYC started Corps for a Change in 2015 to increase preventative programming within the organization, with a focus on increasing student engagement and attendance. Corps for a Change is an AmeriCorps program that supports high school and middle school students by addressing barriers to learning and helping students increase a sense of belonging at school and in their community. The Corps for a Change program places caring, service driven members in schools to support students, helping them navigate academic and non-academic needs, with an emphasis on connecting students to mental health resources.

Because Student Engagement Support members are in schools full-time, they are providing consistent, weekly, check-ins with students. Members commit to a term of service and receive rigorous training plus ongoing supervision throughout the year.

POSITION SUMMARY

This is an AmeriCorps service member position within an AmeriCorps program, Corps for a Change. The Student Engagement Support member is placed at one high school or middle school to provide individualized support to a caseload of 20-40 students who exhibit low attendance and/or lack of engagement. The member will support students to be more engaged in school, improve attendance, provide mental health resources, and help support a path toward academic success.

Engagement support members receive ample training and support throughout their service. All members gain valuable on the job experience, receive a stipend, and complete college courses towards a Behavioral Health Assistant credential to advance their career.

The Behavioral Health Assistant credential is a ten-credit credential through Aurora Community College, that covers topics like psychiatric care, mental health crisis and intervention, therapeutic communication skills, case management, and clinical documentation. Members who start on October 14th will complete 7 credits, fully-funded, toward completing the Behavioral Health Assistant credential.

Members serve during school hours and are needed for the entire school year. The position is full-time (40 hours per week). This position begins on October 14th, 2024 and ends on May 30th, 2025.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Student Engagement Strategies and Assessment

• Identify caseload students who qualify for support services based on a Corps for a Change designed intake process with direction from school and CYC supervisors.
• Conduct one-on-one meetings with caseload students to support them in being more engaged and successful in school. This includes reviewing academics, attendance, social-emotional needs, general school engagement, etc.
• Develop and maintain a weekly meeting schedule for 20-40 students that allows each student to receive weekly support from the Student Engagement Support member
• Build strong relationships with caseload students
• Provide tutoring or tutoring resources to students as needed
• Address barriers to learning by connecting students with in-school and local community service supports
• Help individuals and families navigate and connect to mental health resources
• Develop education and training materials on mental health issues
• Conduct community outreach and workshops
• Help schools and organizations establish norms and practices to support programs and policies around healthy social media use
• Collaborate with school staff, students, families, and CYC staff
• Provide school-wide engagement/attendance supports
• Engage parents/guardians through phone calls, meetings, or home visits
• Track all students’ progress within CYC’s database, school databases, and other spreadsheets

Communication

• Communicate and interact with students in an age and developmentally appropriate way.
• Build professional relationships and communicate regularly with classroom teachers, school supervisors and school site personnel regarding student schedules, interventions, student progress, etc.
• Build professional relationships and communicate regularly with CYC Corps for a Change staff and members.

Attendance

• Demonstrate regular, timely attendance and adherence to hours as scheduled.
• Commit to service for the full service term, serving the total commitment of hours within the term.
• Participate in all required Corps for a Change sponsored training sessions, meetings, and coaching sessions, including peer professional development/cluster meetings, and member meet-ups; travel as necessary.
• Attend classes and complete coursework in order to complete Behavioral Health Assistant credential.

HOURS AND TERM OF SERVICE

Members serve full-time (40 hours a week), during a typical school schedule. Daily hours are usually within the time frame of 7:30am to 4:30pm, Monday through Friday, however these may vary slightly from site to site. Members may attend site-sponsored activities outside of regular service hours (e.g., family night). Members may have time off during school breaks or holidays when the students are not in school, dependent on hours accumulation and behavioral health coursework requirements.

Members can expect to spend 7-10/hours a week on course work and classes toward the Behavioral Health Assistant credential coursework. The credential courses/work will be folded into typical service hours as much as possible, however, there may be some additional hours needed throughout the term in order to complete the requirements.

This schedule format will ensure members meet the 900-hour requirement between October 14th, 2024 and May 30th, 2025. Members are required to commit to the full term of service. On October 14th, members will begin their term of service with two weeks of orientation. Members begin serving at their site placement after completing training.

MEMBER TRAINING
Members participate in a two-week onboarding training at the beginning of their service term. Orientation is completed in-person and online. In-person trainings will be held in the Denver-metro area. Throughout their service term, members participate in Zoom meetings, interactive trainings, and self-directed learning modules. Members are trained on equity and anti-oppression, individualized student support strategies, mandated reporting, data entry, and more. Members will also complete coursework through Aurora Community College to earn credits towards the Behavioral Health Assistant credential. The Behavioral Health Assistant credential is a four class, ten-credit credential. Members starting in October will complete 3 of the classes throughout their service term by taking one course at a time.

Members receive one-on-one supervision twice per month by a CYC Corps for a Change Coordinator. Members participate in ongoing professional development trainings facilitated by CYC staff and through community partners of CYC at least twice per month. Members also participate in professional development opportunities at their service sites which vary depending on the site.

SERVICE LOCATION

CYC AmeriCorps members are placed at one school during the term of service. Placement will be determined based on the needs of the member and the needs of the school. Typically, member location and mode of transportation are the biggest consideration. Although members are placed at one school, there will be regular opportunities to connect as a larger team with other fellow Corps for a Change members. Service sites are located in the Denver Metro area.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

• Interest in education, specifically supporting middle and high school youth.
• Interest and understanding of mental health supports and resources for youth.
• Dedication to community service.
• Strong planning and time-management skills.
• Strong capacity to be flexible and adaptable to varied circumstances, paired with a conscientious commitment to adhere to the Corps for a Change model with fidelity.
• Consistent follow-through.
• Ability to accept and incorporate constructive feedback from program staff.
• Ability to work with diverse identities/life experiences.
• Open to learning and unlearning through trainings focused on anti-oppression, diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Ability to adapt to a sometimes challenging and high-pressure environment.
• Schools may benefit if a member is bilingual – particularly Spanish/English.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• 18 – 24 years old on October 14th.
• Be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.
• Have a high school diploma or G.E.D.
• Not have served more than three AmeriCorps terms previously.
• Submit to a full background check, including a sex offender registry check, state criminal history registry check, and FBI fingerprint-based check. This position has recurring access to vulnerable populations and selection is contingent upon satisfactory results of these checks.
• Speak, read, and write English fluently.
• Basic computer skills, including the ability to navigate online systems and email.

Colorado Youth for a Change (CYC) is committed to inclusion and prohibits unlawful discrimination on the basis of genetic information, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, race, color, national origin, age 40 and over, religion, disability, or any other applicable status protected by federal, state or local law.

We will make reasonable accommodation for otherwise qualified individuals with known disabilities or whose service requirements interfere with a religious belief unless doing so would result in an undue hardship or a direct threat to CYC. Please contact Human Resources at 303.292.2779 to request accommodation or for questions/concerns regarding this policy.