Job Description

Location: Power Center Academy High School

Job Type: Full-Time

Reports To: School Principal

Gestalt Community Schools (GCS) seeks a student-centered, results-driven Graduation Coach to support high school scholars in successfully navigating the path toward graduation and postsecondary readiness. The Graduation Coach will work closely with scholars, families, teachers, counselors, school leaders, and community partners to identify scholars who may be at risk of not graduating and provide targeted support to keep them engaged and on track for high school completion.

This role will use academic, behavioral, and other relevant data to identify barriers to graduation, develop and monitor individualized engagement and career plans, coordinate interventions, and connect scholars and families with appropriate schooland community resources. The Graduation Coach will also support transition planning, credit recovery, mentoring, career exploration, and schoolwide strategies designed to increase graduation success.

Key Responsibilities

Graduation Planning & Scholar Support

• Identify scholars who are at risk of not graduating using relevant academic, behavioral, and other student data.
• Counsel and support identified scholars by developing strategies that keep them engaged in learning throughout their high school experience.
• Develop and implement individualized Engagement and Career Plans for scholars at risk of not graduating.
• Review and monitor scholar Engagement and Career Plans each semester, making adjustments as needed and coordinating additional support when scholars are not meeting established goals.
• Identify barriers to graduation and work collaboratively with scholars, families, and school staff to develop strategies for overcoming those barriers.
• Facilitate career exploration, career planning, and other activities that help scholars prepare for graduation and their next steps.

Intervention, Prevention & Academic Support

• Develop and implement individual, small-group, and schoolwide intervention and prevention strategies designed to increase scholar persistence and graduation.
• Collaborate with faculty and school administrators to develop credit recovery and alternative options for scholars who are off track for graduation.
• Partner with teachers and school leaders to identify opportunities to adapt curriculum and differentiated instruction to meet the needs of scholars at risk of not graduating.
• Provide training and support to middle and high school teachers on strategies and support measures that are effective for scholars identified as at risk of not graduating.
• Monitor scholar progress and collaborate with appropriate stakeholders to adjust interventions based on scholar needs and outcomes.

Transition Planning & School Collaboration

• Develop and support transition programs and vertical teams between middle and high schools.
• Conduct quarterly vertical team meetings with middle and high school faculty and staff to develop action steps that improve individual scholar and subgroup transition success.
• Collaborate with teachers, counselors, advisors, and other school staff to support the transition of 8th-grade scholars into high school.
• Help incoming high school scholars successfully adapt to the academic and behavioral expectations and rigor of the high school experience.
• Work collaboratively with teachers, counselors, administrators, and other school-based staff to coordinate graduation supports and ensure scholars receive consistent interventions.

Family & Community Engagement

• Build collaborative relationships with parents and guardians to support scholars who are at risk of not graduating.
• Provide targeted outreach and support to families of identified scholars.
• Connect scholars and their parents or guardians with community organizations, programs, and other resources that can help address barriers to graduation.
• Develop relationships with local mentoring programs, businesses, community organizations, and community coaches to connect scholars with mentors and additional support.
• Facilitate collaboration among families, school staff, community organizations, employers, mentors, and other individuals who significantly influence a scholar's personal, academic, and career development.

Data, Reporting & Continuous Improvement

• Use scholar academic, behavioral, engagement, and other relevant data to identify scholars and subgroups that may be at risk of not graduating.
• Monitor scholar progress toward graduation and use data to inform interventions and adjustments to individual plans.
• Maintain appropriate documentation related to scholar Engagement and Career Plans, interventions, referrals, and progress.
• Prepare and submit reports as scheduled or requested.
• Participate in ongoing professional development to strengthen knowledge and effectiveness in supporting scholar graduation and postsecondary readiness.
• Perform other related duties as needed or assigned.

Key Competencies

• Scholar-Centered Support & Advocacy
• Data-Driven Decision Making
• Relationship Building & Family Engagement
• Counseling & Student Support
• Intervention Planning & Progress Monitoring
• Collaboration & Teamwork
• Career & Postsecondary Planning
• Problem Solving
• Communication & Facilitation
• Organization & Follow-Through
• Self-Directed
• Resourceful

Work Environment

• School-based position requiring regular interaction with scholars, families, teachers, counselors, administrators, and community partners.
• Requires individual, small-group, and schoolwide engagement with scholars.
• Requires collaboration across middle and high school teams to support successful scholar transitions and graduation outcomes.
• May require participation in family engagement activities, mentoring initiatives, community partnerships, and other scholar-support events.
• Requires participation in ongoing professional development and school or network meetings related to scholar success and graduation.

Requirements

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in education, training, subject field, curriculum, or a related content area.
• Valid Tennessee certificate in Teaching, Service (School Counseling, School Psychology, and/or School Social Work), and/or Leadership Knowledge.
• Minimum of five (5) years of successful counseling and/or teaching experience.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with high school scholars, including scholars who may be at risk of not graduating.
• Ability to analyze academic, behavioral, and other scholar data to identify needs and develop appropriate interventions.
• Strong communication, collaboration, organizational, and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to work effectively with scholars, families, faculty, school administrators, and community partners.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in education or a related field.
• Experience developing or implementing graduation, dropout-prevention, credit-recovery, mentoring, or scholar intervention programs.
• Experience supporting middle-to-high-school transition programs.
• Experience coordinating community resources, mentoring partnerships, or career-readiness opportunities for scholars.