The Peel District School Board (PDSB) is a racially, culturally and linguistically diverse board that serves 155,000+ students and approximately 17,000 employees. In PDSB, 87% of students are racialized, non-white, representing 162 different ethnic backgrounds. Students in Peel have 121 different first languages. Student diversity also exists in terms of gender and gender expression, sexuality and in terms of ability and faith. A responsive and empathetic understanding of the lived experiences of the students and communities we serve is vital to those who will take on leadership roles within the PDSB. The workforce consists of teachers, office staff, custodial staff, education assistants and professional staff. The workforce is largely unionized through PDSB’s numerous affiliated bargaining agents.

Job Summary

Reporting to the Coordinating Principal – Equity, the Graduation Coach will assist with leading and implementing programs, services, and other supports to meet the needs of students from marginalized communities and with intersecting identities who are underserved, with a focus on student success to high school graduation and beyond.

This is an exceptional opportunity to be part of the Peel District School Board and work with equity team members and school staff to develop both short and long-term plans to identify students from marginalized communities who are underserved in our schools. Working within the framework of providing equitable access to education and creating spaces where students are positioned to demonstrate excellence in academic achievement and well-being, coaches devise plans to help students achieve high levels of success. Identifying, naming, and dismantling systemic barriers to the success of students from marginalized communities is a significant responsibility of this role.

In collaboration with students, families, and teachers, coaches complete needs assessments which identify barriers and develop holistic individualized student success plans that consider each student's individual situation, including mental health and overall well-being.  Coaches work to engage students from marginalized communities who are underserved through developing relationships and affirming their identities and cultures. As members of the CORE team, made up of school staff including administrators, the graduation coaches advocate for and support student progress. An understanding of the advocacy needed to support each student is developed through ongoing mentoring sessions with students, consulting with families and school staff, and connecting students with supports available both within the school setting and in the broader community.

Key Responsibilities

• Engaging students from marginalized communities by affirming their intersecting identities and cultures with an understanding of the diversity that exists within every community
• Support students using a trauma informed approach
• Honoring all aspects of students’ identities through wraparound support leveraging school and community organizations and contacts
• Ensuring students have access to resources that affirm their identities
• Co-create affirming, caring and culturally responsive school environments to address the academic, social, emotional and cultural needs of students with diverse identities, by building positive and trusting relationships with students, their families and communities using asset-based intersectional approach
• Collaborate with school administrators, other graduation coaches, teachers, families, system staff, and community resources to identify systemic barriers and develop meaningful solutions to support the engagement, well-being and academic achievement of diverse students
• Advocate with educators, administrators, school staff and families and engage diverse students and their families by affirming their identities and cultures through culturally responsive and relevant practices, approaches and programs, using different methodologies that support the connection between home and school, including one-to-one meetings, group meetings, and phone calls
• Track and monitor individual student progress (eg. monitoring attendance, credit accumulation) throughout the school year in consultation with student success and guidance departments.
• Ensuring students and families have access to, and fully understand the resources and services in school and in the community, to guide students on the path to graduation and beyond
• Providing students with guidance and support in understanding post-secondary prerequisites, pathways, Cooperative Education, experiential learning and reach ahead opportunities in addition to how to access applications, scholarships and funding.
• In collaboration with school guidance teachers, assisting students with successful transition from secondary school into post-secondary education, training, or labour market opportunities.
• Creating engaging opportunities for students to participate in activities during breaks in regular programming (i.e., long weekends, extended breaks, etc.) for participating students
• Maintaining confidential information on each individual student, utilizing the school educational software resource throughout the year to track and monitor academic achievement and general well-being (e.g., credit accumulation, attendance, any disciplinary issues)
• Preparing reports and compiling statistics as required
• Creating space for students to voice their experiences to enable the PDSB and secondary schools to establish trusting relationships and responsive services
• Completing needs assessments to identify barriers to student success, work collaboratively on strategies to remove them
• Developing holistic individualized student success plans that consider student mental health and overall well-being
• Building and maintaining professional, collaborative, supportive relationships with various stakeholders to support responding to biases and barriers that impact the engagement, well-being and learning of students; including relationships with teachers, other school staff, students’ families, community partners, and various service agencies
• Collaborating with the Community Engagement Manager and Community Engagement Specialists to provide wraparound support to students and families

Qualifications

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS :

Additional Skills & Assets

Key Responsibilities (cont'd)

Assets

Careers with the Peel District School Board

Commitment to Equity, Anti-Oppression and Anti-Racism

The Peel District School Board is committed to equity in employment. We are committed to equitable hiring practices that allow us to hire qualified staff who reflect the full diversity of the Region of Peel. We will provide reasonable accommodation (e.g. an accessible location, rescheduling of interviews that fall on Days of Significance etc.) based on any of the human rights protected grounds, during the hiring process if advised in advance. We are also committed to inclusion, anti-oppression and anti-racist practices while also supporting the continuous growth and development of an equitable and empowered education system at the PDSB.

Criminal Background Check

Successful candidates must provide a satisfactory Criminal Background Check prior to commencing employment. Please review the requirements for the Criminal Background Check .

We appreciate the interest of all applicants, but will only be contacting candidates whose skills, experience and qualifications best meet the requirements of the position. All communication to applicants regarding this job posting, including an invitation to complete skills assessments and / or a job interview if applicable, will be made through email. Candidates are encouraged to regularly check their email as listed on their TalentLink account.

Land Acknowledgement

The land upon which we work, live and sustain ourselves is the ancestral and treaty lands of the Miichizaagiig Anishinaabek also known today as the Mississaugas of the Credit, the rightful caretakers and title holders of this land. We also recognize the rich pre-contact history and relationships which include the Anishinaabek and the Onkwehonwe. Since European Contact, this land continues to be home to Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. As responsible community members, we value the diversity, dignity and worth of all people. Colonialism displaced and dispossessed Indigenous peoples of their ancestral lands and continues to deny their basic human rights, dignities and freedoms. We are committed to learning true history to reconcile, make reparations and fulfill our treaty obligations to the Original Peoples and our collective responsibilities to the land, water, animals, and each other for future generations.

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Additional Notes

Preference will be given to qualified members of the Administrative Staff Group (ASG).

Hours of Work :         Full-time : 7.0 hours per day, scheduled according to operational needs

Location :                  To be determined

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