FEATURED JOB OPENING: Houseparent Couple - Washington, DC

Unique opportunity for two individuals or a married couple to serve on the Student Life Faculty at an innovative charter boarding school targeting foster care youth. Excellent houseparent benefits include! -

• $50,000 Salary per couple PLUS housing, utilities, cleaning service, internet, food, parking, and benefits such as health, dental, vision, and retirement
• 2 days off per week! Monument Academy Houseparents work a typical shift of 5 days on (Sunday night through Friday Morning) and 2 days off (Friday late morning through Sunday early evening). This is in addition to federal holidays and school breaks!
• Immediate hire! Start ASAP! (dependent upon quality interview, reference check, and passing of all necessary background checks)

About Monument Academy

Working with the most at-risk adolescents and established on an innovative model integrating excellent academics with evidence-based, trauma-informed practices, Monument Academy will be a weekday boarding school opening in the 2015-2016 school year with a 5th grade class of 40 students. The school is currently authorized to expand to 8th grade and maintains the goal of growing through high school so that students will graduate from Monument Academy.

About the Position

As a member of the Student Life Faculty, Houseparent pairs will play an integral role in shaping the lives of the students at Monument Academy. Houseparents at Monument Academy work in pairs (either two individuals or a married couple) that reside on property in a family-style apartment and provide direct care to 8-12 single-gender students Sunday evening-Friday morning. Houseparents have Friday late morning until Sunday afternoon off. They also have school holidays off. They are expected to participate fully in professional development days. Houseparents' living quarters are two private bedrooms with a private bath abutting the family space. The family space includes living room and kitchen area shared with their students during the week.

The Houseparent role is much more significant than supervision. Houseparents will cultivate a safe and caring home environment that is supportive of all students' social, emotional, and academic development. They must be consistent role models with their words and actions. It is imperative that Houseparents build strong family-like relationships that begin with taking a genuine interest in every student and his or her unique story. Families will set goals together, celebrate successes together, learn new skills together, and overcome challenges together. The Houseparents guide this process and are responsible for establishing and maintaining a positive culture at all times. This includes adhering to the Monument Academy approaches to structuring the student home expectations and systems. The Student Life team is responsible for designing lessons and activities aligned with Monument Academy's life skills curriculum, scheduling and planning for celebrations and recreational family activities, as well as participating fully in the conversations around student progress and the development and review of students' personalized learning plans.

Houseparents' primary responsibilities are when students are in their care from 4pm until 9am. They have flexible time when the students are in school, although from time to time they may be required to participate in professional development or meetings regarding student progress as needed during the day. All Houseparents will participate in an emergency on-call rotation schedule for weekends, in the event that a student is unable to go home due to unforeseen circumstances. Houseparents will report to the Director of Student Life and Extended Day Learning.

Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to the following:

• Promote Monument Academy's core values and model the highest behavior standards for staff and student at all times

• Create and maintain a safe and positive family home environment for youth utilizing Monument Academy's systems and approaches.

• Ensure that Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports are utilized effectively in the home and are consistent with the day time structure of the school

• Guide students in the development of their independent living skills using the life skills strand of the Monument Academy Well-Being Curriculum

• Maintain accurate records of daily activities and medicine dispensed

• Manage the day-to-day responsibilities of caring for a home, including scheduling, light meal preparation, and cleaning and home upkeep

• Participate in conversations with leadership, teachers, the well-being team, outside service providers, parents/guardians, and students to assess students' progress toward goals, identify potential challenges, and implement interventions and supports.

• Conduct home visits with another staff member as needed

• Provide crisis intervention and initiate the proper protocols to ensure the involvement of the appropriate counselors and/or leaders in a given situation

Experience, Credentials, and Skills

• Flexibility and willingness to work a wide array of hours, including early mornings, evenings, and weekends

• Proven record of sound judgment, particularly when working with at-risk youth

• Ability to pass a thorough background check and reference verification procedure to determine one's fitness to satisfactorily and safely care for youth

• 1-3 years of work experience in a school setting or program (preferably residential) that works directly with at-risk youth, preferably in an urban/diverse educational setting

• Experience working with traumatized youth preferred

• Cultural competency in working with students and families from different racial, ethnic, linguistic, and sexual orientation backgrounds

• Ability to connect with families/caregivers

• Experience working with or knowledge of the foster care system a plus

• Experience working with students with special needs and technical knowledge of special education policies a plus

• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills

• Outstanding organizational skills and ability to prioritize, delegate, manage time and tasks to meet deadlines

• Proven track record working collaboratively with a team