Education Advocate, Project LIT

Advocates for Children of New York • New York City, NY

6d • Hybrid

About The Position

Advocates For Children (AFC) is a social justice organization dedicated to ensuring high-quality education for New York students facing educational barriers, particularly those from low-income backgrounds. AFC advocates for children and youth at high risk of academic failure due to poverty, race, ethnicity, disability, homelessness, immigration status, or involvement in the child welfare or legal systems. AFC employs integrated strategies to achieve systemic reform, empower families and communities, and defend the educational rights of individual students. The organization values family-centered approaches, expertise gained from over 50 years of experience, passion for dismantling educational obstacles, community collaboration, using the law for justice, and achieving measurable impact. Project LIT (Learners in Temporary Housing) is a program within AFC that supports the educational success of students experiencing homelessness. The Education Advocate is a new role within Project LIT, responsible for providing individualized support to students and families with their educational needs, including navigating special education, enrolling in early childhood programs, and facilitating shelter transfers to keep students closer to their schools. This role also involves supporting shelter partnerships and meetings focused on student attendance data.

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
• 10 federal holidays
• office closure between Christmas and New Year’s Day
• 15 vacation days
• 15 paid time off days in the first year of employment
• 403(b) plan with a fully vested employer match
• coverage of the premium cost of life insurance
• short-term and long-term disability insurance

What This Job Offers

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