DISTRICT OVERVIEW

Holyoke Public Schools (HPS) serves 5,400 in 12 schools and employs nearly 1,500 people.  The District was placed into receivership by the State of Massachusetts in Spring 2015, due to struggling performance well below the state average.  Dr. Stephen Zrike Jr., a seasoned Massachusetts educator, was selected as Receiver to lead this exciting turnaround effort, which includes significant autonomy and flexibility from the traditional school system.  Since being in receivership, the District has experienced many promising successes, including an 8-point increase in graduation rates and 29-point decrease in the number of students who drop-out.   HPS has also extended the school day for students in preschool to 8th grade, expanded choice programs such as dual language and personalized learning, and offering new opportunities to students, such as computer science. For more information about the HPS Turnaround Plan, please visit: http://www.hps.holyoke.ma.us/turnaroundplan.htm. 

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Enrollment Center Manager is charged with leading a team to ensure that: 1) new students are efficiently and effectively welcomed and enrolled into a school, and 2) families are welcomed to the student enrollment and family empowerment center and have their requests directed and/or resolved.  This is an ideal position for leader who is can develop, implement and monitor systems – and lead a team to do the same. Success will be measured by accurate and efficient enrollment of students and responding to families needs.

Responsibilities are aligned to the Turnaround Plan and include, but are not limited to:

Priority 1: High Quality Instruction for All Students

• Promote strong attendance so that all students are in school to learn

Priority 2: Personalized Pathways

• Understand and communicate to families the various pathways for students within Holyoke Public Schools, particularly dual language and middle school opportunities in personalized learning, STEM and an in-district operator

• Manage school choice process, for specialized programs within the district and with out-of-district students

Priority 3: Engaged Students, Family and Community

• Support all schools and families by providing clear, accessible and readily understandable processes and procedures for enrolling within HPS, with consideration to Holyoke’s diverse community
• Develop, implement, monitor and continuously improve a system for timely and accurate enrollment of students in grades Pre-K to 8
• Co-host enrollment fairs to encourage early enrollment of Pre-K and Kindergarten students
• Prioritize visitor and customer satisfaction through consistent staff communication and the facilitation of  professional development opportunities for all Student Enrollment and Family Empowerment Center staff
• Publicize the Student Enrollment and Family Empowerment Center as a destination for community organizations and businesses to come and offer and/ or promote their services and events to families, in coordination with family and community engagement staff

Priority 4: Effective and Thriving Workforce

• Train, supervise and lead Student Enrollment and Family Empowerment Center Staff

• Coordinate work with other departments that welcome students into the district, particularly departments for English Learners, Special Education, Early Education, and Transportation

Priority 5: Supporting Empowered Schools

• Coordinate and process all requests for student transfers, including related communications with stakeholders

• Develop, implement, monitor and continuously improve a process for initiating and maintaining accurate student information files, in collaboration with the Data Department

• Monitor the accurate usage of the student information system as it pertains to enrollment

• Stays current with state and federal requirements, regulations and laws affecting schools and assists in implementing these as they relate to enrollment and attendance

• Prepare reports on district and school level programs pertaining to enrollment and attendance

Other duties as required.

CANDIDATE REQUIREMENTS:

Experience, skills, traits, and beliefs:

• Bachelor’s Degree
• Fluency in English and Spanish preferred
• A proven track record of building systems, preferred in a school or district setting
• Highly organized
• Demonstrated ability in working collaboratively and respectfully with all stakeholders – students, teachers, school staff, parents and community-based groups
• Demonstrated ability to manage and develop capacity in adults
• Outstanding critical thinking skills, with demonstrated success to assess and incorporate information from a variety of sources
• Alignment with the HPS core values
• Resilience and persistence
• Must be able to work long hours during the busy enrollment season of July - September

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:  Salary and benefits will be competitive and commensurate with experience.