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/.

The Opportunity

KIPP Texas – DFW’s College & Career Instructor works as part of the regional KIPP Forward team at KIPP Oak Cliff High School. The College & Career Instructor is responsible for refining and teaching a college and career curriculum for high school seniors, which will support students in exploring and preparing for their post-secondary best match. In addition to teaching seniors, the College & Career Instructor also works closely with the dean of academic progress, academic teachers, parents, students and the greater Dallas community to ensure our students are equipped with the knowledge and tools they need to successfully matriculate to and thrive in the best match post-secondary program. The College & Career Instructor is also responsible for organizing all of the post-secondary counseling activities on campus, including but not limited to scheduling college visits, writing recommendations, managing the transfer of student documents to colleges, planning and delivering parent meetings. Responsibilities associated with this position may shift, expand and grow based on the regional needs of the organization.

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.

Key Responsibilities

College and Career Access

• Teach senior seminar, a college readiness course focusing on the college application and matriculation process through both classroom instruction and regular one-on-one advising sessions in a classroom setting, focusing on strong and strategic postsecondary program match and plans
• Review, refine and teach our College Knowledge and Career Success curriculum and scope and sequence for senior seminar
• Internalize lesson plans, update slides and prepare assessments to check for student understanding
• Lead family engagement workshops focused on college admissions, financial aid, career and post-secondary options once a month during the school year and as needed to complete milestones in the post secondary app process
• Write recommendations for students applying to scholarships, summer enrichment programs and college
• Collect, maintain, and report on college, CTE, scholarships and financial aid application and post-secondary enrollment data with high school leadership
• Create and disseminate information and resources for teacher PD on writing excellent teacher recommendations and coordinate teacher recommendation submissions
• Establish and maintain relationships/partnerships with colleges and universities, outreach programs and scholarship organizations
• Collaborate with the Director of College & Career Services to align on career integration efforts for students
• Manage and coordinate TSI testing, ACT/SAT prep course and the college visit calendar on campus
• Actively research all aspects of college placement: financial aid, scholarships, applications, and admissions standards
• Advocate for KIPP Oak Cliff seniors with college admissions and financial aid offices
• Schedule and develop parent information workshops
• Use assessment data to modify short and long-term plans in order to target areas for improvement
• Manage and analyze student and college data in college tracking systems (OverGrad, Salesforce, etc.)
• Develop positive, appropriate relationships with fellow KIPP Texas – DFW staff members and teachers, viewing each other as teammates and professional colleagues
• Assist the Director of KIPP Forward with projects as they arise

Expectations of KIPP Texas - Dallas Staff:

• Participate in school community as a full member of staff, including, but not limited to, staff meetings, student recruitment activities, and student related activities.
• This is a year-round (12 month) role.

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited four-year institution
• At least 2 years prior experience teaching high school students (especially first-generation)
• Bilingual (English/Spanish) strongly preferred
• Professional development course on college and career readiness and success, is essential
• Experience working with high school students (especially first-generation) and their families in the college counseling field, strongly preferred
• Resilience, strong work ethic and outcomes orientated
• Previous experience in using data to drive decision making strongly
• Comfort with working in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment
• Strong interpersonal skills; Ability to work with a wide-range of people including teachers, parents, students, alumni, corporate partners, vendors and admissions personnel
• Strong classroom management practices that are consistent with the culture of the school
• Ability to project plan, organize, and prioritize, with a collaborative spirit
• Fast learner with the ability to inquire and be open to feedback
• Assume responsibility for students’ achievements
• Strong working knowledge in all Microsoft Office programs: Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Outlook
• Proven written and verbal communication skills

Compensation and Benefits:

In addition to a competitive salary scale, a part of KIPP Texas’ competitive benefits options, KIPP offers all employees an $0 HMO plan for the employee only. In addition to our $0 plan, KIPP provides a $600 employer contribution towards a Health Savings Account and a variety of other supplemental benefits such as Dental, Vision, Short and Long-Term Disability, Pet Insurance, Life, etc.