Site Director

About the Organization:

DreamCatchers is working to close the opportunity gap for Palo Alto Middle School Students. Palo Alto is home to one of the highest-performing school districts in California. However, for two decades, there has been a persistent gap in resources and opportunities available to lower-income families from Palo Alto and East Palo Alto. Over 1,100 low-income students attend our Palo Alto schools, many of whom are from Spanish-speaking households without a college-educated parent. At DreamCatchers, we pair middle school students with mentors from nearby schools who support their peers with homework, math, language, and arts, as well as social and emotional learning. Our goal is to support middle schoolers in being ‘High School Ready!’

DreamCatchers' afterschool program operates from a central office and runs on-site at three middle schools in PAUSD. In addition to the afterschool program, DreamCatchers offers a summer school enrichment program, community events, and other programming.

Overview:

We are seeking a dedicated Site Director to play a pivotal role in the DreamCatchers program acting as a mini-Executive Director of their assigned site(s). The position encompasses a diverse set of responsibilities and requires a candidate who is passionate about educational equity, detail-oriented, and adept at managing various tasks simultaneously. The successful candidate will have the chance to positively impact the lives of the students, families, and staff at their site(s).

Job Responsibilities:

Program (on-site & prep)  (25%)

    • Oversee afterschool program 5 days/week

    • Manage Classroom Directors, Site Coordinators, and Tutors (number of staff is site dependant on number of classrooms and students’ academic needs based on their academic assessments)

    • Oversee student and parent communications in collaboration with other staff on site

    • Adjust curriculum as needed on a daily basis, provide feedback on curriculum, and assist in obtaining curriculum feedback / ideas from tutors, Classroom Directors, families and students.

    • Collaborate with other DreamCatchers staff to build, coordinate, and execute the summer program and other events related to DC 

    • Work in partnership with other onsite staff to model positive guidance and effective classroom management to maintain the safety, well-being, and attention of all children

    • Work with onsite staff to address student and tutor behavior issues following DreamCatchers’ behavior management protocol

    • Coordinate with DC staff to ensure site purchasing (snacks and supplies) remains within an approved budget and students are provided 2 daily snacks that are appealing, filling and nutritious.

    • Ensure readiness for/completion of iReady and/or other diagnostic assessments, implement post-assessment teaching tools and improvement goals/plans, track progress and effectiveness

    • Drive student enrollment at the site-level and support with planning and executing DC orientation(s)

Admin tasks & internal communication (25%)

    • Maintain daily consistent and ongoing communication with the Executive Director and other site directors on projects or tasks you have committed to to ensure accountability and ease in workflow

    • Update Asana or other task management software to ensure visibility, transparency and clarity into workflow and projects 

    • Respond to emails, phone calls, or text messages within agreed upon time frames and working hours

    • Keep leadership up to date on any conflicts or successes at your site to ensure visibility and support is able to be given as needed 

    • Attend weekly staff meetings and other staff meetings as needed 

    • Work in collaboration with operations & leadership to ensure updated and accurate rosters, attendance sheets, and calendaring 

    • Support in the writing, editing and implementing of standard operating procedures

    • Manage the site operations within an approved budget

    • Support the compilation of monthly regular reports reflecting all activities, attendance, snack and participation. 

    • Work in collaboration with leadership to ensure programs meet grant compliance, stated objectives, and student & family needs and interests

Planning, training, professional/staff/team development (20%)

    • Work with Site Coordinators, Classroom Directors and Tutors to build professional development goals and plans for the upcoming school year

    • Ensure regular check-ins with Site Coordinators, Classroom Directors and Tutors to discuss areas for improvement, goals and overall well-being, and adjust and accommodate as necessary

    • Work in collaboration with the Executive Director to build professional development goals for yourself for the upcoming school year

    • Attend and participate in the planning of team retreats and professional development

    • Implement and manage onboarding and training of new site staff members, volunteers, students and parents 

    • Work in collaboration with all staff to build and decide on manageable and achievable recruiting, hiring and enrollment goals for the upcoming school year

Conflict Management, Relationship Building, and Communication (external) (20%)

    • Support in recruitment & relationship building by serving as a representative or ensuring there is a DC delegate for important meetings and recurring events such as: tutor recruiting events, classroom director events, student event, parent engagement events, grade-level meeting events, and other DC community events

    • Serve as the primary conflict mediator for DC on site; including but not limited to: de-escalation, mediation, parent, teacher, and admin communication, and  mandatory reporting 

    • Serve as primary person of contact for school site staff (SAFEs, teachers, admin, etc.) to ensure a smooth and effective run of programs, including but not limited to: asks for space, classrooms student needs, program needs, program dates, student conflicts, etc.

    • Serve as the primary person responsible for growing and building trust with site administrators, staff, and parents.

    • Ensuring compliance and reporting of behavioral management protocol 

Collaboration/innovation (10%)

    • Work in collaboration with the Executive Director and board to uphold DC mission, values and goals, provide feedback when there is misalignment, and dream for the future

    • Work in collaboration with all DC staff and board to build and implement feedback collection and consideration across DC partners, parents & children, and staff 

Ideal Skills:

  • Proven experience in program management or a related role, with a focus on event planning, communication and community engagement

  • Strong organizational and multitasking skills, with the ability to coordinate multiple activities and stakeholders

  • Excellent communication and interpersonal abilities, with a passion for building relationships within the community

  • Ability to work effectively in a dynamic environment and adapt to changing priorities

  • Demonstrated flexibility and adaptability in problem-solving, with the ability to navigate challenges and find creative solutions.

  • High level of computer skills in an array of software areas 

  • Proficiency in Spanish a plus

Physical Requirements:

  • In order to supervise the program and interact with the students, the Program Director must be able to engage in high levels of physical activity, including moving from classroom to classroom, walking around campus, driving to/from the site, driving between sites, pulling a cart, running, jumping, throwing balls and occasional lifting of 50 lbs. or less.

  • The workplace may be in a school setting utilizing a combination of indoor and outdoor; cold weather, warm weather conditions.

  • If you require reasonable physical accommodations, please let us know!

Work Schedule:

This is a full time position with time split between our central office and the assigned site(s).  Program runs Monday - Friday as late as 6pm and availability to participate onsite at program is required.  Summer Program runs approximately 4 weeks and participation at Summer Program is expected. Community Events and other activities will require monthly weeknight and occasional weekend events. Hours and schedule may vary week to week. 

Compensation:

The starting salary range for this job is $75,000 - $80,000. The exact starting salary will be determined by an open and transparent negotiation that considers current staff salaries, experience, cost of living, and DC financial capacity.


Benefits: 

  • DreamCatchers covers 100% of full-time employees' medical, dental, and vision premiums. Coverage available for spouse/domestic partner and dependents of full-time staff.

  • Extremely generous Paid-Time-Off (PTO) Policy:  includes federal holidays, four weeks off during PAUSD academic year & personal PTO days.

  • Communication stipend to cover the use of personal device.