Job Description

High School Bridge (HSB) works with students attending elementary schools in communities impacted by systemic disinvestment to identify, enroll and persist at best-fit high schools. HSB Counselors, hired and employed by Chicago Jesuit Academy (CJA), work with students and families on-site at our partner schools across the South and West Sides. They help families evaluate high school options and assess best-fit factors like academic rigor, support services and commute times. After students choose and enroll in a high school, counselors continue to support them on-site at their high schools throughout 9th and 10th grade.

Talented people who wish to be employed by High School Bridge/Chicago Jesuit Academy must demonstrate a past and continued commitment to academic excellence, professional development and the Jesuit ideal of being people for others. Strong candidates are disciplined workers, compassionate listeners and tireless advocates for the children they serve. Most importantly, they recognize that HSB/CJA will ask them to approach their work as a vocation and make substantial contributions of their time and talents in the service of the students, alumni and families of CJA.

The Assistant Director of High School Bridge reports to the Director of High School Bridge. The Assistant Director of High School Bridge oversees the care of HSB students and alumni at a subset of partner schools and manages the HSB Counselors that serve the students and alumni at those schools. A successful candidate will ensure that the HSB Program is implemented with fidelity with strong counselors and robust resources to support students and alumni on their path to and through high school.

Essential functions:

• Manage the High School Bridge counselor(s) at each partner school ensuring that the counselor(s) is offering robust and strong guidance, meeting with each family and problem-solving obstacles that may impede the students’ ability to apply, enroll and persist in a best-fit high school.
• Work closely with school leaders at each partner school to ensure that the program runs smoothly.
• Manage communication with the school community about important dates, application next steps and relevant information about the high school process.
• Support a caseload of students by actively communicating and engaging with students, alumni and families and coordinating services and supports for various student/alumni issues.
• Work closely with High School Bridge leadership to ensure that the program meets the needs of students and families and is being implemented with fidelity.
• Update and maintain the confidentiality of alumni records/notes in the High School Bridge Salesforce database.
• Execute other duties as assigned.

The ideal candidate should:

• Have a bachelor’s degree and at least 3-5 years of experience in education, social work or non-profit including direct work with youth from disinvested communities.
• Have a sincere commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion with a belief that all children deserve equitable access to a high-quality education.
• Possess strong relationship-building skills including the ability to navigate challenging conversations across lines of difference and to listen sincerely and effectively.
• Be detail oriented with exceptional organizational skills.
• Be willing to admit a mistake, ask for help and receive feedback.
• Actively engage in the life of the partner school and community.

Chicago Jesuit Academy Mission Statement

Mission : Chicago Jesuit Academy is a loving and academically rigorous tuition-free Catholic elementary school for students and families from resilient communities impacted by historical disinvestment. We accompany our students and alumni from enrollment through the start of their careers as they develop their gifts and grow as men and women for others.

Means : Located in Austin on Chicago’s West Side, CJA admits students to all grades in our lower and middle school without regard for their race, ethnicity or religion, and CJA enrolls 3rd-, 4th- and 5th-grade students without regard for their past levels of academic achievement.

We use small class sizes, extended school days and an 11-month school year to give personal care to our students and help them develop as whole persons.

We accompany our alumni on their unique paths to meaningful employment and support them throughout high school, their post-secondary education and the start of their careers, always welcoming them back as leaders at CJA and in the broader community.

CJA students, alumni, parents, faculty, staff, volunteers and benefactors listen to and learn from one another and make disciplined sacrifices to accomplish our shared mission.

We partner with other schools and the broader community to create access to better educational resources, confront systemic racism and remove obstacles to educational equity.

We call one another to find God in all things and be men and women for others who are open to growth, loving, religious, intellectually competent and committed to doing justice.

Chicago Jesuit Academy, in accordance with our Jesuit tradition, is committed to fostering a diverse community of outstanding faculty, staff and students, as well as ensuring equal educational opportunity, employment, and access to services, programs and activities, without regard to an individual’s race, color, national origin, religion, age, disability, sex , gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, predisposing genetic characteristic or military status. Employees, students, applicants or other members of the CJA community (including but not limited to vendors, visitors, and guests) may not be subjected to harassment that is prohibited by law, or treated adversely or retaliated against based upon a protected identity.

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