Middle School Dean of Student Life

Job Description

Job Description

Originally   founded in 1991  as Harlem RBI, DREAM has grown to annually serve more than 2,500 youth across East Harlem and the South Bronx through a network of seven PreK-12, extended-day, extended-year DREAM Charter Schools and community sports-based youth development programs. Through our commitment to rigorous academics, social-emotional learning, deep family and community engagement, and health and wellness, we create lifelong learners who are equipped to fulfill their vision of success in and out of the classroom. We dream big, as well, with an aggressive five-year plan to expand to serve 3,500 students across seven schools —growing our organization’s impact and leveling the playing field for all children. To learn more, visit wearedream.org .

Reporting to the school Principal, the Dean of Student Life is responsible for leading DREAM’s after-school, summer, enrichment, and athletic programs and driving positive culture and outcomes for students and families at their school site. This role is critical to ensuring the success of DREAM’s Grow the Whole Child Model and is responsible for ensuring each DREAM student has access to high quality enrichment and extended-day, extended-year programming. The ideal candidate is a reliable team player with deep expertise in and commitment to positive youth development.

Responsibilities

After School, Summer, and School-Day Enrichment

• Lead execution of after-school, summer, and school-day enrichment, recess, and athletic programs to ensure high-quality programming and strong outcomes at school site;
• Lead outreach and process for enrollment and participation in after-school and summer program with participants, families, and staff;
• Lead the professional development of staff in after-school, recess, summer and athletics programming, including real-time coaching and feedback;
• Serve as primary instructional coach for full-time school-day, after-school and summer enrichment (music, art, PE, dance, musical theater, etc.) teachers;
• Regularly review enrichment lesson plans, observe enrichment teachers and provide enrichment teachers with timely, highest-leverage, actionable feedback;
• Supervise Assistant Dean of Student Life to support the design and implementation of programming;
• Design and lead execution of all site-level structures, procedures, and protocols for after-school, summer, recess, and school-day enrichment programs, in consultation with school Principal;
• Train and coach staff to ensure fidelity to network after-school, summer, and enrichment curriculum
• Partner with the Talent team to recruit, hire, and onboard staff;
• Manage execution of competitive athletics programming

Management and School Leadership

• Serve as a key member of the School Leadership Team, collaborating with the Principal and other members of the School Leadership Team to ensure alignment between school-day, after-school and summer to maximize the impact of extended-day, extended-year programming;
• Collaborate with network leaders to design and implement high quality curriculum and programming that drives student social-emotional learning outcomes, academic outcomes, and physical activity outcomes;
• Develop and monitor effective systems to ensure accurate reporting and compliance with specific grant requirements and network data reporting requirements;
• Ensure all incident protocols are followed and reporting and communication is completed in a timely manner for all areas of responsibility;
• Hire and manage after school, summer, and athletics part-time staff;
• Collaborate with the Student Life team and Principal to strengthen school culture through attendance accountability, infusing joy into school life, and supporting implementation of positive youth development practices;
• Create coverage plans as needed for all areas of responsibility (after-school, summer, recess, and enrichment);
• Conduct walkthroughs, review student and school data, and drive changes as needed to improve student outcomes.

Qualifications

Degree & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree, required (preferably in education, social work, youth development or related field); advanced degree in an education field, preferred;
• At least 5 years of leading and managing youth development programming, highly preferred;
• At least 3 years of people leadership and management experience, highly preferred;
• Experience working in K-12 Charter Schools, highly preferred;

People Management & Development

• Expertise in managing entry-level staff or working closely with high-school and college-aged students;
• Track record of success in developing others, including designing and leading group professional developments and providing coaching and feedback that leads to improved professional outcomes;

Domain Knowledge & Practical Expertise

• Ability to use data-driven practices to improve youth outcomes;
• A strong understanding of how explicit and embedded SEL competency-building positively impacts academic achievement;
• Extensive knowledge of best practices in school classroom management and instructional strategies;
• The ability to manage behaviors using positive youth-development principles (experience with restorative justice practices strongly preferred);
• A strong belief in the mission and values of DREAM, including the desire to make a difference in the lives of our students, families, and community;

Communication & Organization Skills

• Exemplary interpersonal skills;
• Strong written and oral communication skills;
• Excellent organizational and problem solving skills;
• Air-tight follow up and follow through;
• Ability to plan at the systems level and make these plans a reality by leading through others

Working Expectations

• In-person at the school site, 9:00am-6:00pm, five days a week
• Additionally, there will be roughly 10 critical days per year where the Dean of Student Life will be required to begin work at 7am to support the functioning of the school.

Benefits and Paid Time Off

We offer comprehensive benefits including:

• Flexible Medical Health Plans, subsidizing the majority of costs for the employee, their spouse/domestic partner and children;
• The ability to select between a variety of medical plans according to what best suits the employee’s needs;
• Dental and vision plans;
• Disability benefits;
• Life insurance;
• Up to 12 weeks fully paid of Parental Leave;
• Flexible spending account options;
• Pre-tax commuter benefits (parking and transit);
• Fitness and entertainment discounts;
• A variety of support through our employee assistance program (EAP);
• 403(b) retirement plan with employer match starting at 4% after one year, with increases tied to DREAM tenure;
• Referral, performance, and tenure milestone bonuses;
• Discounted school meals through our in-house Scratch Food Program;
• Tuition reimbursement support;
• Access to a professional development fund;
• School-based 12-month employees have approximately 48 days off throughout the school year including holidays, school breaks, personal days, and wellness days.
• Benefits are subject to change.

Compensation

• DREAM offers a competitive salary commensurate with relevant experience. The incoming annual salary range for this position is $100,000 to $116,000. New hires are typically brought into the organization at a salary closer to the start of the range depending on qualifications, internal equity, and the budgeted amount for the role. All regular employees receive annual compensation increases and have the opportunity to earn both performance- and tenure-based bonuses. Because we value tenure in each role, our salary ranges are not capped.

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

At DREAM, diversity, equity, and inclusion are a matter of mission. 

From our schools to our playing fields, DREAM is committed to building a team where each individual can bring their full identity and experience to work because representation matters—it enriches our team culture, enhances our ability to innovate, and strengthens our impact in and out of the classroom. DREAM engages staff that represent and appreciate the diversity of our majority Black and Hispanic student body, while working to ensure that our practices are equitable, welcoming, and productive. We are dedicated to creating a world where youth, especially youth of color, have permission to dream—along with the tools and opportunities to make their dreams reality.

Come dream with us .

DREAM Maxims  

All Kids Can. This Kid Can.

DREAM is Family.

Fun is a Serious Value.

Teamwork Makes the DREAM Work.

Fail. Persist. Exceed.

DREAM Big.

Applying to DREAM

We know applying for a new job can be a daunting process. In addition, studies have shown that historically underrepresented individuals often only apply to roles if they meet 100% of the qualifications. We encourage all applications! You may be just the person we need. If you have any questions about your application or interview process, do not hesitate to ask your recruiter; we are here to help!

DREAM provides reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and applicable state and local laws. If accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact your recruiter.

If you are a current DREAM employee, please click here to review our Internal Selection Process before applying.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.