POSITION: Re-Engagement Specialist

REPORTS TO: Re-Engagement Center Director

JOB DESCRIPTION:
Joining other leading cities, the District is establishing a Re-Engagement Center (REC) to serve as a single-
door through which out-of-school youth/dropouts can reconnect to educational options and other critical
services to support their attainment of a high school diploma or equivalent.
The Re-Engagement Specialist will work as part of a team dedicated to contacting youth ages 16-24 who
have left school prior to obtaining a high school diploma/GED, engaging them to develop a plan for re-
engagement and re-enrolling them in a DCPS/public charter school, GED or adult basic education program
to help them achieve those goals. The Re-Engagement Specialist will continue to support the returning
student at their new educational placement and will strive to connect them with other support services to
address individual barriers to successful reconnection.
As a member of the Re-Engagement Center team, the Specialist will contribute to the development of
quantitative and qualitative research on the evolving dropout recovery/reconnection efforts of the Office
of the State Superintendent of Education and other concerned audiences.
GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES:
Conduct outreach to youth who have left/dropped out of school and, where appropriate,
parents or guardians;
Develop a supportive and trusting relationship with youth and identify specific issues
impacting student engagement in school and academic performance;
Assess and document the reasons for leaving school, current educational levels (including
credit history), non-academic needs and other critical information;
Work closely with individual youth to establish academic and career goals and develop a plan
to help youth meet these goals;
Advise youth on educational options available to them;
Support the (re)enrollment process, which may include assisting youth with organizing and
submitting necessary documentation (e.g. birth certificate, proof of address, etc.) and
accompanying youth to site visits;
Monitor student academic progress, attendance, and behavior and provide on-going support
as needed for at least one year;
Maintain accurate records of student progress;
Develop and maintain relationships with key staff at the Department of Youth Rehabilitation
Services and the Child and Family Services Agency to ensure coordination with case managers
assigned to youth who are also in these systems of care;
Coordinate with community service providers and related District agencies to secure support
services to improve successful reconnection;



Develop relationships with and in-depth knowledge of alternative/adult education and
training programs for the purposes of referral and analysis;
Document and network with existing efforts to reach out to out-of-school youth, including
District agencies and community-based programs;
Develop a side by side analysis of the needs of the out-of-school population and the supply of
educational options available to them to assess whether the current supply of programming
matches the need; and
Other duties as assigned.
DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
Bachelors Degree with a minimum of two years experience in counseling, social services,
training or teaching (or other related field) required;
Fluency in Spanish required;
Recent experience in community or faith-based organizations working with urban
youth/young adults of diverse backgrounds preferred;
Knowledge of DCPS and public charter schools, public youth-serving agencies and community-
based organizations; familiarity with employment, education, and training systems preferred;
Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work well with parents and community partners;
Skilled in developing and maintaining strong, empathetic relationships with youth/young
adults;
Outstanding organizational skills and ability to maintain detailed and accurate records of
youth outcomes and activity;
Skilled at evaluating and meeting social support needs of at-risk youth and coordinating the
efforts of various service agencies and community-based organizations;
Ability to work effectively with minimal supervision outside of a formal office setting;
Ability to work independently as well as within a team;
Ability to operate effectively and adapt quickly in a dynamic, fast-paced environment;
Strong verbal and written communication skills;
Basic research and analytical skills; and
Command of Microsoft Office, Excel and Word.

SALARY RANGE: Comparable benefits package

Interested applicants should submit a cover letter and resume no later than September 24, 2014, 5:00
p.m., to JaSent Brown, Director, at jasent.brown@dc.gov with Re-Engagement Specialist in the subject
line.