School Reformation Specialist I

The mission of Centinela Youth Services, Inc. (CYS) is to strengthen families and communities and help build successful students and productive adults, leveraging the principles of restorative justice to empower peaceful conflict resolution. We are committed to ending the institutionalized practices in schools and justice systems that are primarily responsible for maintaining the school-to-prison pipeline, and disproportionately impact youth of color. CYS operates a variety of innovative programs that are proven to increase student performance; reduce school dropout rates, gang involvement, youth violence and crime and ultimately help preserve families. CYS is leading innovation that is transforming youth justice in LA and the state, with a commitment to both youth development and serving victims of youth crime, while impacting systemic change to end the school to prison pipeline. CYS is also providing leadership to critical juvenile justice reform in LA County, and as a result is growing rapidly. CYS is seeking an energetic, creative, and dynamic leader to manage outreach and relations with justice system partners.

Compensation

Compensation Range: $30.00/hour - $34.00/hour

This is a non-exempt full-time position, including benefits. Salary is commensurate with experience. All full-time employees are invited to participate in the company’s health benefits package after completing the 60-90-day employment introductory period. Our benefits program includes select health plans and dental plans at 100% cost coverage (for employee only), vision insurance, time off accruals and holiday pay.

Work location

This role allows for a blend of remote work and in-office presence at our Inglewood location. Expect occasional field meetings throughout Los Angeles County.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Education, Social Work, Human Services, or a related field and at least five years of experience in a secondary school setting or the equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Candidate must also be able to work well under stress and meet deadlines.
• Must pass background clearance and TB test (TB Test only when requested)

Preferred Skills:

• Master’s Degree in Education, Social Work, Human Services, or a related field and at least 5+ years of experience in a secondary school setting or the equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Program management skills – previous experience running programs in adjacent areas (i.e. intervention programs in a school setting, large-scale after school programs).
• Prior experience in development and implementation/coordination of programming.
• Formal training and extensive experience with restorative practices is strongly preferred.
• Experience delivering professional development workshops.
• Must be able to present effectively to educators and school administrators, at school board meetings and at community meetings.
• Ability to connect well with diverse populations with varied perspectives, including agency and elected officials, frontline staff like school district personnel, school police officers, discipline administrators and teachers, as well as youth, parents, and other community residents.
• Requires strong friendly advocacy and diplomacy skills and ability to understand different perspectives and find common ground.

General Functions and Responsibilities:Under the supervision of the Executive Director and/or assigned Supervisor, the duties of the School Reform Specialist include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Collaborate on a CYS team to develop and expand services to school districts for reducing exclusionary discipline practices and expanding restorative practices in school discipline.
• Collaborate with school district police and security teams to alter procedures in order to reduce campus arrests and break down the “school to prison pipeline.”
• Serve as CYS liaison to school district and school-site partners, including school police departments in collaboration with the Restorative Justice Specialist and trainers, to deliver Professional Development workshops and to support systems/policy changes within school campuses and school districts.
• Assist with “on-boarding” new school district, school site, law enforcement or justice agency referring agencies by participating in delivery of staff orientations.
• Engage in proactive and regular interactions with school administrators, disciplinary teams, teachers, school security and law enforcement, to support adoption of new restorative justice-based processes and procedures designed to achieve reductions in suspensions, expulsions, or on-campus arrests.
• Be or become highly knowledgeable about standard disciplinary procedures, policies, and federal/state education regulations to assist school partners’ confidence in implementation of restorative justice and trauma-informed behavioral response.
• Conduct focus groups with students, parents, or other key stakeholders to elevate voices of those most impacted to help design the solutions.
• Gain cooperation from partners to provide data to support intentional implementation to meet equity goals.
• Document and collect data related to agency and specific funding partner project objectives and work with project evaluators as required to ensure clean data is used for analysis and reporting.
• Complete timely and accurate project, progress, and activity reports.
• Represent CYS and the CYS mission at various community meetings and collaborative networks.
• Coordinate special projects as needed.

Other Duties

• Other duties may be assigned as dictated by business needs.

Working Conditions/Physical Requirements:

• May require spending most of the day walking, standing, sitting, and regularly driving back and forth to off-site locations.
• Significant periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Must be able to lift 15 pounds at times.
• Must be able to access and navigate each department at the organization’s facilities.
• Reliable transportation required.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $30.00 - $34.00 per hour

Expected hours: 40 per week

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday

Work setting:

• Hybrid work

Application Question(s):

• Tell us about a specific policy or practice you successfully advocated for changing within an institution. What were the initial challenges, and how did you navigate them to achieve your goal?
• Can you share a specific situation where using restorative practices or positive behavior supports helped to foster positive change in a school environment? What were the challenges you faced, and how did you overcome them?

Experience:

• Extensive Restorative Justice: 2 years (Required)

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Inglewood, CA 90301