[2025-2027] College Success Fellow, KIPP Forward - Connecticut

Company Description

This role is Connecticut based and the candidate must be in commutable distance to New Haven, CT.

About KIPP NYC

KIPP NYC Public Schools is a non-profit network of 18 free, public charter schools in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Manhattan. We partner with families and communities to create joyful and rigorous schools in pursuit of a more just world. In 1995 we started our first middle school, KIPP Academy, in the Bronx, with a vision that every child grows up free to create the future they want for themselves and their communities. Today, our network consists of eight elementary schools, nine middle schools, one high school, and KIPP Forward, a comprehensive program to support our students and alumni in choosing and preparing for the educational and career paths that fit their goals and sense of purpose. KIPP NYC currently serves more than 12,000 students and alumni, has a staff of more than 1,000 (8% of whom are alumni), and continues to grow!

About KIPP Forward Postsecondary Success Collaborative

KIPP Forward works with graduates of KIPP, Achievement First, and a growing number of other select high school-serving organizations, to empower them for success in college and their careers. Our program model was formulated utilizing a design thinking approach with our alumni, as well as research of the most effective Comprehensive Approach to Student Success (CASS) and career readiness programs.  Utilizing breakthrough college and career strategies, we aim to:​

• Help more students from low-income families persist in and graduate from college​ or secure a credential in an in-demand industry
• Help all – those with a BA or a credential – transition to a strong first job and improve pathways to economic mobility

Position Overview

KIPP Forward accepts applications from exceptional recent or soon-to-be college graduates to join our two-year College Success Fellows program. As full-time employees with a salary of $60,406 and full benefits. Fellows work passionately and tirelessly to ensure that recent graduates of our partner high schools receive outstanding support through their first two years of college, with the ultimate goal that they persist and accumulate 60 credits to stay on track for on-time degree completion. Throughout their two-year commitment, Fellows engage in regular training and receive consistent and direct feedback by their direct managers, who are skilled college and career success practitioners that help Fellows grow their professional skills.

The Connecticut College Success Fellows will be assigned to a set of schools within 3 hours driving distance of the Hartford or New Haven regions of Connecticut. This Fellow will be expected to live in Connecticut during the academic year throughout the two-year fellowship. College and career success work involves meeting with our alumni at their respective colleges. This position is a field position and requires frequent travel to college campuses. All work-related transportation costs will be paid for by KIPP Forward.

Fellows provide transformational coaching, mentorship and direct support to alumni in college through 1:1 advisement sessions on their campuses and touchpoints in between. Fellows assess the progress of our alumni towards college completion through our innovative “Persistence Benchmarks” which measures financial health, academic habits and planning, socio-emotional health, and career planning. Through these consistent touchpoints and assessments, Fellows perform transformational coaching interventions to ensure our alumni make positive progress in all areas. 

The 2025 College Success Fellowship is a two-year (twenty-four months) commitment from July 2025 through June 2027. At the end of the Fellowship, employment with KIPP NYC terminates. Fellows are provided with career coaching support during their second year of the fellowship to help them best prepare for future employment.

Job Description

Duties and Responsibilities

College Advising: 

• Manage a caseload of approximately 125-150 college students, meeting at least once, but in some cases two to four times per semester based on student priority level, to provide advising services focused on college persistence and credit attainment
• Become an expert on your assigned campuses through research and exploration, with the goal to be able to direct alumni to their campus offices, resources and supports early and often
• Connect, collaborate and maintain relationships with key campus staff and support