The Travis Hill School provides students detained at the Orleans Justice Center and the Juvenile Justice Intervention Center with a high quality education, rooted in restorative, trauma-informed care, a curricular and instructional design that emphasizes relevance, meaning and engagement, and an approach to learning centered around relationships, trust and mutual accountability. The Travis Hill School also provides significant  transition support for students when they return home by offering support with school placement and retention, workforce development, and ongoing, day-to-day case management.

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Through work with families, community partners and scores of individuals, we work to create an unbreakable network of support for court involved teens and young adults that will enable them to return to the community successfully, and positively contribute to the vibrant, creative City of New Orleans.

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Travis Hill School is supported by BreakFree Education, a 501c(3) nonprofit organization. 
 

 

The Opportunity

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Approximately 40 students are detained at the JJIC on a daily basis.  They range in age from 11 to 17 years old.  All students attend our school located inside of the JJIC.  Nearly 1,100 individuals are held at the OJC.  We operate a full-time school for approximately 70 students between 18 and 21 years old. 

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Nearly all the students have faced school failure--many did not attend school regularly when they were younger, most have been suspended or expelled at some point, nearly all of them are far behind their peers academically, and 30-40% of them have special education needs. Despite this, they all have hopes and dreams, skills and talents, and family and friends who care for them.

 

Our mission at Travis Hill is to create a transformative learning environment where students held at the JJIC or OJC develop the academic and socio-emotional skills they need to become positive, contributing members of their community when they are released.
 

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Position Description​

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The Clinical School Social Worker will serve as a key member of our Student Support Services team—providing individual and group counseling to students, offering support and structure to schoolwide programming for all students, and serving as a liaison between the School and the OJC or JJIC staff on behavioral health matters. This will be an exhilarating and demanding job--one that requires a clinician who is fully committed to the students at the OJC or JJIC. We are looking for a clinician who takes initiative, has good judgment and is grounded in doing what is right and just, who is self-reflective and isn’t afraid to ask for help. We are looking for someone who is creative and who works well with a wide range of people--including students, parents, teachers, and secure care staff.

 

For the right person, this is an ideal job.

 

The Social Worker will work with the Special Education Coordinator, ensuring that we provide counseling and related support for all students, including those with special needs, in line with our School’s values and in compliance with IDEA. This will include providing individual and group counseling. The clinician will also help develop school-wide practices that support a healthy school environment—this may include training and supporting teachers on trauma-informed care, on restorative justice practices and social and emotional learning tools. The clinician will work closely with school and facility leadership and line staff in order to ensure that the institutional climate and behavior management practices at the OJC and JJIC are appropriate for our students.  The clinician will also need to develop strong ties with parents, support organizations, special education advocates and the local school community--particularly to facilitate effective transition planning and placement. This position reports to the Principal.

 

Primary Responsibilities:

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Responsibilities will include but not be limited to:

• Working with the Special Education Coordinator and the school staff to create and support school-wide practices designed to support high achievement, mutual accountability, and positive school culture--including a range of classroom and school-wide positive, incentive-based behavior management practices

• Providing individual and group counseling to Travis Hill School students, both those with special needs and others, as appropriate

• Maintaining appropriate files and record keeping, particularly for students with mandated counseling as a part of their IEPs

• Collaborating with the Special Education Coordinator to select and deliver targeted group counseling interventions

• Providing crisis intervention as needed and facilitating mediations to resolve student conflicts

• Serving, along with the Special Education Coordinator as a liaison between the School and the OJC/JJIC secure care and behavioral health staff; ensuring that site-based behavior management and disciplinary practices are developmentally appropriate and in line with the mandates of IDEA

• Facilitating professional development and training opportunities for the School staff around trauma informed teaching, social and emotional learning and restorative practices; supporting the development and implementation of school-wide practices that integrate these concepts 

• Building positive, lasting relationships with students and families as well as key support networks, including, local attorneys, case management and aftercare staff

• Performing other duties as assigned 

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Desirable Qualifications and Experience:

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• A Master’s degree in Social Work or related area of study from an accredited college or university.

• A minimum of two years’ experience working with displaced or at-risk youth in a clinical/counseling role, preferably in a school-based setting

• An understanding of the “Individuals with Disabilities Education Act” and experience providing counseling designed to fit in a school setting, in line with IDEA

• Experience developing and implementing school or site-based, strategies around social emotional learning, trauma informed teaching and restorative justice practices 

• Embrace and nurture a school culture that requires all staff to work beyond the traditional school hours and school year in order to create an environment filled with hope and high expectations, where students will radically improve their academic, employment and social skills

• Possess an unrelenting belief that ALL students can achieve and succeed

 

Salary and Benefits 

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BreakFree Education offers Travis Hill staff a competitive salary and benefits package.  Our teacher salaries are on par with local schools, adjusted for our increased academic year, and based on skills and experience.  BreakFree Education offers a Simple IRA plan for all staff, and provides a 4% employer contribution once staff has worked for 12 months. BreakFree Education provides health care coverage for all staff and covers approximately 80% of the monthly premiums and 50% for dependents of employees.  

 

This is a 12  month, full-time position.  Hours may vary, but run from approximately 8:00am-4:00pm weekdays, with occasional evening and weekend coverage required.