Evening Dean of Student Life

About SEED:

The mission of SEED Schools is to provide students with a rigorous, college preparatory, tuition-free boarding school model that prepares them for success in college and careers.

The SEED School of Los Angeles County (SEED LA) opened in Fall 2022 as California’s first urban public, college preparatory boarding school, the fourth SEED school in the nation. Building a ninth-grade cohort each year, SEED LA will serve 9th-11th grade students for this 2024-2025 academic year. By the 2025-2026 school year, SEED LA will empower roughly 400 students in Grades 9-12 to achieve their full potential through our 24-hour learning environment. Our partnership with LA Metro provides a unique opportunity for students to advance their skills in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) while engaging in hands-on learning in the transportation and infrastructure fields.

Our innovative model integrates a rigorous academic program with a nurturing boarding program that develops the whole child. This boarding school model provides a comprehensive solution to the challenges facing urban youth and serves as a prototype for expansion nationwide. All SEED students live on campus between Sunday evenings and Friday afternoons. Our model has proven successful: over 90 percent of SEED graduates have been accepted to four-year colleges and universities throughout the country and over 60 percent remain enrolled in college or have already earned college degrees.

The success of the SEED model has been showcased in media outlets and publications such as 60 Minutes, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and in the documentary film, Waiting for Superman. President Barack Obama has hailed SEED as “a true success story".

More information can be found on the school’s website: www.seedschoolla.org.

Position Overview:

The Evening Dean of Student Life at The SEED School of Los Angeles County is responsible for facilitating the development and support of an inclusive boarding school community that encourages a culture of high academic achievement, wellness, a sense of belonging, individual accountability, and collective responsibility. Additionally, the Evening Dean of Student Life will foster a disciplinary culture grounded in restorative practices, holding both adults and students accountable to discipline policies and procedures while serving as a coach and mentor around CASEL 5 Core Competencies and in implementing restorative circles to build authentic relationships, a cornerstone of human development at SEED LA.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

School Culture & Climate

• Drive the effective and consistent implementation of SEED LA’s Schoolwide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and Trauma-Informed Mindset, Approach, and Practices.
• Promote scholar health, safety, and welfare by planning student life activities (e.g., community building, career exploration, field trips, service learning, dances, rallies) in promotion of positive behaviors.
• Oversee the Center for Reflection and Restoration as an Alternative to Out of School Suspension

Scholar Behavior, Discipline, & Safety

• Conduct investigations into scholar behavior incidents and write comprehensive reports.
• Oversee discipline record-keeping and documentation for scholars.
• Provide consistent and clear communication with parents both verbally and in writing.
• Manage suspension, alternative-to-suspension, and behavior referral processes using a restorative approach, non-exclusionary practices, and strong documentation procedures.
• Assist in planning, implementing, and monitoring effective individual scholar behavior support plans in collaboration with scholars, parents/guardians, teachers, counselors, and other support service providers.
• Assume responsibility for the overall safety and well-being of all scholars.

Family Engagement and Relationships

• Model and support staff in building and maintaining strong relationships with scholars and families.
• Plan and lead parent/guardian conferences, in collaboration with Senior Leadership, particularly for behavior and wellness that occurs in the Student Life Program
• Develop a Mentoring Academy for Scholars who join SEED LA Boarding Program mid-year or after the New Student Orientation experience to increase their sense of belonging in a new environment. 

Scholar Attendance

• As part of the MTSS team, manage and implement strategies to reduce chronic absenteeism and increase scholar attendance on Sunday check-ins with a trauma-informed lens and special attention to scholar subgroups (e.g., English Learners, socioeconomically disadvantaged, foster youth, homeless, students with disabilities, racial/ethnic groups).

Culture/Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Team and Data Leadership

• In collaboration with the Dean and Student Support Services Manager, co-own the facilitation of quarterly data analysis meetings with the academic, student life, and student support services teams on the SEED Network SEL, YAPSS, and Student Engagement Surveys while providing measurable action items to bolster improvement. 
• Regularly collect and analyze behavior referral, suspension, discipline, and violence data for school safety planning and identification of any disproportionality, including over-suspension of African American scholars and scholars with disabilities (SWD) and problem-solving with Senior Leadership if disproportionate rates are observed.

Staff Development and Support

• Provide ongoing support (e.g., training, professional development sessions, resources, modeling, coaching, feedback) for staff on building positive learning environments in the boarding program, relationships with scholars, effective implementation of the schoolwide PBIS plan, and alternatives to exclusionary discipline practices.
• Conduct regular house meetings and common area culture observations.
• Liaise with The SEED Foundation through communities of practice centered on SEL and Culture and Climate and co-own those pillars in the school improvement plan

Miscellaneous

• Uphold and follow school policies and procedures.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Director of Student Life.

Requirements

Qualifications: 

• A commitment to SEED’s mission and belief that with the right resources, any child can attend college and achieve their dreams
• A commitment to SEED’s core values of: COMPASSION, GRATITUDE, GROWTH, INTEGRITY, PERSEVERANCE, RESPECT, RESPONSIBILITY
• Minimum of 3 years experience in an urban school setting (Dean, Counselor, Behavior Tech, etc.) 
• Excellent communication (both written and orally), presentation, and interpersonal skills 
• Knowledge of district policies and procedures related to special education 
• Ability to work as a part of multiple teams
• Experience with students with learning differences and ADHD is a plus as well as mentoring experience.
• Ability to connect with people from diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds (including but not limited to homeless and LGBTQ youth)
• Work with individual students and their families on social, emotional, and behavioral issues that may affect their school experience.
• Experience working with diverse student populations in an urban setting
• Strong written and oral communication skills
• Possess an entrepreneurial spirit to be able to create and implement routines and rituals to ensure student achievement

Please Note the Shift Hours for this position

The typical shift is from 2:00 pm - 11 pm

Sunday - Thursday

Certifications and Degrees:

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in a related field from an accredited university 

Benefits

Compensation:  

• $69,850 - $72,900, based on experience and educational qualifications.  

Benefits:

• Low-cost healthcare premium (for employee and family) through either Anthem HMO or PPO or Kaiser HMO
• Dental and Vision care coverage
• Life Insurance (100% employer paid)
• 403(b) plan with up to 6% match by SEED LA
• Substantial professional development support school-based, network-wide, and nationally