Explore! Community School is seeking a passionate, energetic and innovative leader to spearhead our community engagement and recruitment efforts. The community engagement function includes leveraging positive relationships with families, in conjunction with other school staff, to increase the daily students attendance to at or above 95%. This also includes building positive relationships with external community partners to enhance the overall academic program. The recruitment function includes developing and sustaining positive relationships with schools, community centers and childcare providers to increase recruitment efforts across all grade levels and meet or exceed annual enrollment targets. This also includes supporting a strong teacher pipeline by representing Explore! at college fairs and other professional events in the community.

About Explore! Community School

At Explore!, we always begin with our mission: to foster the independence, critical thinking, and creativity of a diverse community of learners so they are fully prepared to become confident, conscientious leaders who change the world. To achieve our mission we emphasize interactive, hands-on, project-based learning to build upon our rigorous, standards-based curriculum and ensure learning is authentic, meaningful, and fun. We focus on the whole child, nurturing the social and emotional development of Explorers while fostering their academic excellence.

Currently serving 550 students in K-8, we anticipate growing to at least 700 students over the next several years. Explore! occupies a beautiful new facility in Nashville; a 90,000 square foot building constructed in 2019 in partnership with the city of Nashville as a key component in the new Envision Cayce development. Explore! Community School is an educational outreach of the Martha O’Bryan Center, Nashville’s oldest anti-poverty nonprofit that has been serving the city and Davidson County for over 100 years.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Community Engagement

• Build positive relationships with families through regular communication and interaction during the school year, in conjunction with other school staff and leadership
• Monitor truancy and chronic absenteeism rates and required action items
• Implement and monitor attendance intervention plans for students as they reach chronic absenteeism or truancy thresholds, in collaboration with the Culture Team
• Ensure the school is compliant with all local/state attendance reporting requirements
• Serve as the liaison between the school and external community partners that support the overall academic program (e.g. Passions, Hero’s Guild, Vanderbilt University, etc.)
• Serve as the school’s Title 1 Facilitator with MNPS and ensure that compliance deadlines are fully met with the appropriate supporting documentation

Recruitment

• Manage and direct the marketing and enrollment activities in partnership with the Director of Operations and Executive Principal to meet or exceed enrollment goals in all grade levels
• Provide direct management of the Registrar and Recruitment Manager in all aspects of student recruitment and retention
• Develop and maintain strong relationships and partnerships with Pre-K, Head Start, daycares and other childcare providers to ensure a strong Kindergarten pipeline
• Represent the school at community events, school fairs, school choice fairs, and other opportunities to recruit prospective families
• Coordinate the annual intent-to-return process with families
• Provide individual follow-up with families who transition during the school year or over the summer to improve retention efforts
• Manage and direct the school’s social media accounts and advertising, including monthly check-ins with our social media consultant

Preferred Skills, Experience, and Characteristics

• Commitment to Explore Community School’s mission, values, and educational model;
• Strong organizational skills; unrelenting attention to detail, and follow-through;
• 3-5 years of experience working in schools or related non-profits;
• Prior experience with recruitment or community engagement, preferred
• Possess the energy and willingness to do whatever it takes to ensure success;
• Maturity, humility, sense of humor, and love for students, staff, and families;
• Commitment to building a diverse, inclusive, and equitable community;
• Commitment to learning and adopting best practices and innovative solutions;
• Educational background and work experience is preferred
• Track record of building relationships and trust with colleagues and other stakeholders;
• Additional skills that benefit the school (e.g. multi-lingual, musician, carpentry, athletic experience, etc.) are highly sought.

Compensation

We offer a competitive compensation and benefits package including healthcare, retirement, most holidays, and generous paid time off.

As an equal opportunity employer, we hire without consideration to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, or disability.