KIPP Forward College and Career Seminar Teacher (23-24) - KIPP Sunnyside HS

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.

You can see all our job opportunities at https://kipptexas.org/join-our-team/.

Job Description

The Opportunity

The College and Career Seminar Teacher works as part of the KIPP Through College/college counseling team. They are responsible for teaching a college counseling curriculum for high school juniors and seniors which will support them in applying for best fit colleges and universities. In addition to teaching, the College and Career Seminar teacher also works closely with academic teachers, parents, students and universities to ensure our students are equipped with the knowledge and tools they need to successfully matriculate to and thrive in college until they graduate. The College and Career Seminar Teacher is also responsible for helping organize all of the college counseling activities on campus, including but not limited to scheduling college visits, writing counselor recommendations, managing the transfer of student documents to colleges, planning and delivering parent meetings.

This position is ideal for applicants who have at least 2 years of experience teaching in a high school, have had college counseling experience and are passionate about increasing college access for traditionally underserved students through college counseling and advising.  

Key Responsibilities

• Assist in developing curriculum and a scope and sequence for junior and senior seminar lesson plans and assessments.
• Teach junior/senior seminar class, a college readiness course focusing on the career planning, college application and matriculation process.
• Advise a caseload of junior/senior students not enrolled in the college readiness course on career planning, college list development, and test registration.
• Establish and maintain relationships/partnerships with colleges and universities, outreach programs and scholarship organizations.
• Create and disseminate information and resources for teacher PD on writing excellent teacher recommendations and coordinate teacher recommendation submissions.
• Manage nominations and applications for summer program opportunities provided by our KIPP College Partners
• Actively research all aspects of college placement: financial aid, scholarships, applications, and admissions standards.
• Work with the High School counselor to ensure students take the TSI test.
• Schedule and manage the college visit calendar
• Collect, maintain, and share application and enrollment data with high school leadership.
• Advocate for seniors with college admissions and financial aid offices.
• Schedule and develop parent information workshops.
• Manage student and college data in college and persistence tracking systems (Naviance, Salesforce, etc.)
• Assist the Director of KIPP Through College with projects as they arise.
• Collaborate with College Alumni advisors to develop programming and present transition lessons for graduating  seniors
• Support the KTC team during times of high-volume work (O3s, College Admissions, Transfers, Financial Aid, etc.)
• Research current changes and updates to existing laws and information regarding educational options for undocumented students and support families through workshops, one-on-one meetings, and small group meetings. 
• Develop relationships in the community with other non-profits, specifically through SACAN, in order to bring services and resources to our high school and