POSITION DESCRIPTION
Title:
Placement Site:
Contact:
AmeriCorps Promise Fellow
Eastern Carver County Schools
11 Peavey Road, Chaska, MN
Kay A Augustine
augustinek@district112.org 952-556-6204
Position Overview
The mission of Eastern Carver County Schools (ECCS) is to prepare our students to achieve
their personal best. In pursuit of this mission, ECCS is collaborating with the MN Alliance with
Youth as host to five Americorps Promise Fellows to assist in the implementation of the
evidenced-based Check & Connect Comprehensive Student Engagement Intervention for
secondary students at high-risk of dropping out or not being successful at school. Fellows will
be placed in five of the district’s secondary schools to work closely with the District and Building
staff on strategic planning and implementation of program components as well as additional
high-quality after-school and summer programming all focused on achieving academic and
social success for all ECCS students.
Position Responsibilities
Essential Function:


Serve as a Check & Connect mentor
o Works directly and collaboratively with a caseload of individual students ( at least
30 youth in 6th-10th grades) and their parents, district service units,
administrators, school site staff, and community service providers to implement
comprehensive and inclusive strategies that address school success and
completion of high school for students at risk of dropping out;
o Track individualized data on levels of academic, behavioral, cognitive and
affective engagement of target students, assist in coordination of data on all
served students in building, documentation and reporting and coordination with
building Intervention Team for appropriate interventions
o Work as a liaison to facilitate communication and promote problem-solving both
at the individual student level and between home and school
o Attend District level Check & Connect meetings, Building level meetings with
mentors, Building intervention team meetings and other relevant meetings, such
as suspension re-entry meetings
o Working within the Intervention team structure, may refer students to appropriate
community services including truancy court, provide students and families with
information, and develop community agency linkages
o Work collaboratively with school and programs to define and outline the role of
school staff and resources for improving student participation, performance, and
success for individual students placed at high risk for dropping out
o Mentors will be responsible for attending building staff meetings and at least one
home visit per year per mentee
Serve as a member of the District’s Alternative Learning Center Support Team including
involvement in the research, development, implementation, data-collection, analysis and
reporting on credit recovery and after-school targeted services opportunities for students
at high risk of dropping out.
Works directly with the District Manager of Targeted Services and Building
coordinators to develop, coordinate and deliver high quality after-school wholechild enrichment activities with the goal that at least 30 youth will experience
academic gains
o Research, develop, coordinate, deliver and evaluate high quality summer
programming based on Best Practices focused on Academic, Behavioral,
Cognitive and Affective Engagement and including civic engagement through
service-learning.
o Coordinate field trips and other special events to make learning and being at
school more engaging and relevant to youth who are disengaged and at risk of
dropping out.
o Develop and organize projects that engage youth participants in at least 20 hours
of civic engagement activities during the year as an additional strategy to improve
academic success. Lead civic engagement activities with youth, including
reflection components.
o Initiate and coordinate a community-based conversation about issues relating to
student engagement and dropout prevention
Work with Community Education Advisory Council and Community Education staff to recruit
and/or support community volunteers, including family members, to work with youth
participants in areas such as mentoring, tutoring, civic engagement, and college/career
exploration.
Complete ongoing youth assessments and reporting requirements using an online reporting
system
Participate in all Alliance and AmeriCorps required meetings and assignments.
o



Marginal Functions: Support District initiatives, teachers and other school and community
members to systematize evidence-based dropout prevention strategies, including how existing
staff and community volunteers will help address the needs of the targeted youth.

Assist supervisor and site coordinator to keep program records and evaluate program
outcomes, making changes as needed based on evaluation data.
Requirements
 Must be 18 years old
 Must be a High School Graduate
 U.S. Citizen or U.S. National or have status as a Lawful Permanent Resident Alien
 Must have current drivers license and provide own transportation for needed travel
between program sites within the district and communities, mileage reimbursed
 Please note that final candidates will be required to successfully pass a background
check before being officially enrolled by the Minnesota Alliance With Youth.
Qualifications :
 Interest in youth, service, education, and non-profit work
 Strong written and oral communication skills
 Strong computer skills in Windows Office including: Word, Excel, and Outlook
 Ability to deal effectively with a variety of tasks, priorities, and people in order to meet
goals
 Able to empower students, teach needed skills sets, assist with goal setting, and help the
student advocate for their needs—is able to do so without “doing it for” the student
 Self-motivated, able to work in a team, take initiative and work independently�
 Able to present oneself in a highly professional manner and be an ambassador of the
program




Able to maintain a full time schedule to successfully complete service hours
Able to work effectively in a generationally diverse environment
Promise Fellows may NOT be in school full-time and serve at the same time
Able to work 7-9 hours, Monday through Friday with occasional evenings and weekends
Desirable Characteristics:
 Associates or Bachelor of Arts Degree in community or youth development, education,
school psychology, social work, or related field
 Volunteer experience and desire to develop a strong ethic of service
 Experience working collaboratively with youth and adults
 Commitment to positive youth development
 Grant-writing experience
 Has initiative to see and follow through with “next steps” to be taken
Typical Service Environment:
 Able to work at a computer for several hours per day
 Able to work in environment that is noisy with many young people and adults demanding
attention
 Able to work independently without much direction as well as on teams
 Able to work effectively in a fast-paced, demanding professional position
 Able to articulate personal and professional needs and initiate strategies for them to be
met
 Work setting may include working in a cubicle and/or sharing office and computer with
other members/staff
Benefits:
As a full-time AmeriCorps member, Promise Fellows serve 1725 hours from September 1, 2013 to
August 31, 2014 and receive: Modest Living Allowance (appx. $1000 monthly pre-tax); Health
Insurance; Qualified Student Loan Deferment; Qualified Childcare Assistance; $5,550 Education Award
upon successful completion of service; Ongoing, extensive support and training (The benefits listed are
for full-time members who serve 1 full-year)
To apply, please visit www.mnyouth.net for a complete application. The Alliance requires
applicants to complete an application available on our website.
In addition, please submit an application on the District 112 Employment site at:
http://www.district112.org/careersonline.html
Please note:
 We are committed to recruiting and engaging individuals without regard to disability,


gender, race, religion, or sexual orientation.
Reasonable accommodations provided upon request.
This document is available in alternative formats.