Education Advocate, Project LIT

Advocates for Children of New York • New York, NY

7d • $63,702 - $73,070 • Hybrid

About The Position

Advocates For Children (AFC) is a dynamic social justice organization that strives to ensure a high-quality education for New York students who face barriers to academic success, focusing on students from low-income backgrounds. AFC works on behalf of children and youth who are at greatest risk of academic failure due to poverty, race, ethnicity, disability, homelessness, immigration status/limited English proficiency, or involvement in the child welfare or juvenile/criminal legal systems. We use uniquely integrated strategies to advance systemic reform, empower families and communities, and advocate for the educational rights of individual students. AFC seeks an Education Advocate to join our Project LIT (Learners in Temporary Housing). Project LIT works to support the educational success of students experiencing homelessness. The Education Advocate is a new position for AFC that will join our team to provide individualized support to students and families with their educational needs, such navigating the special education process, enrolling in early childhood education programs, and getting shelter transfers to be closer to their children’s schools. The Education Advocate will also provide support with our shelter partnerships, including supporting our meetings to discuss student attendance data for shelter-based staff. This position will report to the Director of Project LIT.

Requirements

• Understanding of and alignment with AFC’s mission.
• Desire to learn, both as an individual and as part of an organization, and apply diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism principles.
• A bachelor's degree.
• Fluency in Spanish.
• Organized, detail oriented, and able to work independently on tasks and deliverables.
• Ability or willingness to learn how to clean and review data.
• Strong presentation skills and comfort with public speaking.
• Strong writing ability and analytical skills.
• Ability to explain complex concepts in a manner that is easy to understand.
• Ability to multi-task and respond to changing needs.
• Available to work occasional evenings and weekends and to travel within the five boroughs.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office programs: Excel (especially), Word, Outlook, SharePoint.

Nice To Haves

• 3-5 years of related professional experience preferred.
• Experience working with families is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Providing information to parents and professionals about the educational rights of students in temporary housing.
• Advocating on behalf of individual students in temporary housing experiencing school-related difficulties involving transportation, enrollment, special education, or other education-related issues.
• Locating and connecting students in temporary housing and their families with needed resources.
• Developing and updating informational materials related to students in temporary housing for parents, professionals, and youth as needed.
• Preparing for and participating in collaboration meetings with staff from NYC Public Schools and shelter provider partners focusing on improving school attendance for students in shelter. This includes: helping with scheduling, formatting attendance data, drafting of agendas, taking notes during meetings, and drafting correspondence to partners before and after meetings.
• Providing trainings to families and professionals about the educational rights of students in temporary housing and provides education-related information to families at fairs and parent clinics.
• Helping project staff with ongoing policy work related to improving educational access and services for students in temporary housing.

Benefits

• medical and dental insurance, with a plan option that covers full payment of medical plan premiums for staff and their qualified dependents.
• generous time-off policies that include 10 federal holidays, office closure between Christmas and New Year’s Day, and 15 vacation days and 15 paid time off days in the first year of employment.
• a 403(b) plan with a fully vested employer match
• coverage of the premium cost of life insurance and short-term and long-term disability insurance.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level