Postsecondary Transition Advisor (Immediate)

Company Description

KIPP Texas Public Schools is a network of 59 public charter, open-enrollment, pre-k-12 schools educating nearly 34,000 students across Austin, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. Together with families and communities, our mission is to create joyful, academically excellent schools that prepare students with the skills and confidence to pursue the paths they choose —college, career, and beyond—so they can lead fulfilling lives and build a more just world.

Founded in Houston in 1994, and operating as KIPP Texas since 2018, our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and antiracism in our classrooms, in our offices, and in the communities we serve is unwavering. We are looking to hire a diverse team of dynamic, collaborative, and dedicated individuals with an unyielding belief that every child will succeed. Join our Team and Family and champion equity, chase excellence, persist with purpose, bring joy, and help us rise together.

KIPP Texas is part of the national KIPP network of 255 college-preparatory public charter schools in 20 states and the District of Columbia. Nationwide, KIPP students complete four-year college at a rate of 36 percent, comparable to the national average for all students and approximately three times higher than the average of students from low-income communities.

Job Description

The Opportunity

Counseling services can transform college and career dreams into a reality. Evidence has shown that the lack of access to information and guidance on college admissions and financial aid is a prohibitive barrier for many low-income families. In the absence of good information, many families develop misconceptions about what it takes to get into and graduate from college or vocational schools. By employing a diverse range of outreach efforts – from individualized, one-on-one meetings to large-group workshops and seminars – the KIPP Forward program closes the information divide for KIPP Texas students and families, breaking down the barriers to career success. 

The goal of the Postsecondary Transition Advisor is to help students transition successfully from high school to college, technical programs, and careers and aims to ensure that all of our students are provided with the necessary information, guidance and coaching needed to reach their post-secondary goals. The Postsecondary Transition Advisor will work closely with KIPP high school seniors and the college and career counseling team, along with other KIPP teammates to ensure KIPPsters have completed all of the necessary and critical tasks through completion of their first semester after high school.  This role includes significant student outreach to schedule advising sessions, monitor progress towards goals, and promote enrichment opportunities. Once KIPPsters enroll in their postsecondary program, the Postsecondary Transition Advisor will provide continual support and resources for KIPPsters throughout their first year of college. The College and Career Transition Specialist will be responsible for collecting data, maintaining a student caseload and preventing summer and semester melt as KIPPsters matriculate, enroll and complete their first year of postsecondary programs.

Duties and Essential Job Functions

• Oversee the successful transition of high school seniors into college, training, and careers
  • Develop positive, appropriate, meaningful relationships with students, parents, college and financial aid advisors, and fellow staff members and teachers. 
  • Engage in one-on-one conversations with current KIPP high school seniors about their postsecondary plans and assist each student with postsecondary enrollment or transfer, orientation, financial aid verification (review and accept awards, loan counseling, SAP eligibility, graduation requirements, etc.), and ensure student registration. 
  • Engage alumni in career readiness programs, in soliciting internships, and helping alumni prepare for internships.
  • Develop and deliver college and career transition lessons to high school seniors during senior seminar class
  • Collect and track matriculation steps and critical forms (Financial Aid Award Letters, Final high school transcripts, FERPA forms, etc.)
  • Create data reports for the regional leaders and the Persistence Team
• Support a caseload of alumni during the first year of their postsecondary programs
  • Engage in ongoing and consistent outreach to students and alumni using various communication methods - i.e. email, calls, social media, texting technology, etc. - and track progress of all contact with KIPP alumni
  • Provide advising and coaching to help alumni navigate the critical challenges often faced by underserved communities when enrolling into college and tr