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Position Title: Dean of Students

Department: UCAN Academy and High School

Reports to: Principal or Designated School Administrator

About the Program:

Comprised of two campuses in the Humboldt Park and Auburn-Gresham communities, the UCAN Academy is an innovative kindergarten - 12th grade, year-round therapeutic day school. Collectively, the multi-accredited schools make up the one of the largest and most recognized therapeutic day school operations in Chicago. Students come from diverse and distinct backgrounds and have experienced difficulties in public or private school settings. Each youth has a unique set of needs that are met through the development and monitoring of their Individualized Education Plan. They are enrolled from Chicago Public Schools and several suburban districts, and many have become discouraged about learning. Our goal is to help them to see schooling in a positive light and to reach their highest potential. Our small class sizes of 10 students with a 5:1 student to staff ratio are geared to small teaching sessions and equipped to meet students' individual learning needs.

Position Summary:

The Dean of Students is a highly visible, student-facing leadership position responsible for supporting school culture, student behavior, safety, restorative practices, and compliance within UCAN Academies. This role is designed for a therapeutic school environment serving students with complex emotional, behavioral, social, and academic needs. The Dean of Students provides direct support to students throughout the school day, partners closely with teachers, Behavioral Intervention Specialists, clinicians, administrators, and families, and ensures that student accountability is balanced with trauma-informed care, restorative practice, dignity, and safety.

This position plays a critical role in strengthening school climate, reducing behavioral disruptions, supporting student regulation, improving classroom engagement, and ensuring compliance with ISBE Restraint and Time Out regulations. This position exists to strengthen student support, school climate, behavioral consistency, restorative accountability, and regulatory compliance across UCAN Academies. The Dean of Students is not simply a disciplinarian. This role is a therapeutic school culture leader who helps students stay connected to learning, supports staff in responding consistently, and ensures that safety and dignity remain at the center of the school day.

Essential Responsibilities:

Student Support and Direct Services

• Provide consistent, direct, student-facing support throughout the school day, including classrooms, hallways, transitions, arrival, dismissal, lunch, and other unstructured times.
• Build strong, consistent, and trusting relationships with students to support regulation, engagement, accountability, and school connectedness.
• Respond to student behavioral escalations using trauma-informed, therapeutic, and de-escalation strategies.
• Support students in identifying triggers, reflecting on behavior, repairing harm, and successfully reintegrating into the classroom or school community.
• Provide proactive support to students who require additional structure, coaching, redirection, or emotional regulation.
• Facilitate restorative conversations, circles, mediation, and conferences with students, families, and staff.
• Collaborate with clinical staff to ensure behavioral responses and interventions align with therapeutic goals, treatment needs, IEPs, and student support plans.
• Maintain a calm, firm, and supportive presence during crisis situations.
• Support students in developing replacement behaviors, coping skills, conflict resolution strategies, and accountability practices.

Behavior Systems and School Climate

• Lead and support implementation of schoolwide behavior systems aligned with PBIS, trauma-informed care, therapeutic education, and restorative practices.
• Monitor student behavior patterns and school climate trends using incident data, staff feedback, student observations, and team input.
• Assist in identifying students who may need increased behavioral, clinical, or administrative support.
• Support the development, implementation, and monitoring of individual student behavior plans.
• Provide coaching and guidance to staff on behavior management, classroom structure, de-escalation, relationship-building, and restorative responses.
• Maintain a highly visible presence throughout the school day to support safety, structure, and consistent expectations.
• Help ensure schoolwide expectations are clearly communicated, consistently reinforced, and developmentally appropriate.
• Partner with administration to address recurring behavior concerns and improve school climate.
• Support efforts to reduce suspensions, crisis episodes, classroom removals, and restrictive interventions whenever possible.

Restorative Justice Leadership

• Lead and model Restorative Justice practices with students, staff, and families.
• Facilitate restorative circles, mediation sessions, re-entry meetings, and accountability conferences following behavioral incidents, suspensions, peer conflict, or classroom disruption.
• Help students understand the impact of their behavior and participate in meaningful repair.
• Support staff in using restorative language, restorative questions, and classroom-based repair strategies.
• Ensure restorative practices are implemented consistently and embedded across classrooms.
• Engage families and guardians in restorative processes when appropriate to strengthen communication, accountability, and partnership.
• Partner with clinical and administrative teams to ensure restorative responses are developmentally appropriate, trauma-informed, and aligned with student needs.

ISBE RTO Compliance and Safety

• Ensure compliance with ISBE Restraint and Time Out regulations, including appropriate use, documentation, review, parent/guardian notification, and follow-up.
• Monitor RTO incidents to ensure interventions are used only when necessary and in accordance with legal, ethical, and organizational standards.
• Review incident trends and support reduction strategies related to restraint, time out, crisis episodes, and behavioral escalations.
• Provide staff guidance related to crisis prevention, de-escalation, safe intervention, documentation, and post-incident processing.
• Support post-crisis debriefings with students and staff.
• Assist leadership in identifying training needs related to crisis response, student safety, and compliance.
• Successfully complete Therapeutic Crisis Intervention training and maintain active certification.
• Become a certified TCI Trainer through Train-the-Trainer certification within the designated timeframe established by UCAN.
• Help ensure staff understand when interventions are appropriate, when they are not, and how to document accurately and timely.

Collaboration and Communication

• Work closely with teachers, Behavioral Intervention Specialists, clinicians, school administrators, case managers, and related service providers.
• Serve as a key point of contact for student behavior, restorative processes, crisis response, and school climate concerns.
• Communicate regularly with families regarding student behavior, progress, restorative interventions, and support strategies.
• Participate in team meetings, IEP meetings, manifestation determination meetings, re-entry meetings, student support meetings, and problem-solving meetings as needed.
• Provide clear and timely communication to leadership regarding serious incidents, safety concerns, behavior trends, and staff support needs.
• Support alignment between behavioral interventions, IEP goals, clinical recommendations, and classroom expectations.
• Maintain accurate documentation related to student behavior, restorative interventions, family communication, RTO incidents, and follow-up actions.

Education/Job Experience/Certification:

• Illinois Professional Educator License required.
• Master's degree preferred; bachelor's degree in education, special education, social work, counseling, psychology, educational leadership, or other related field required.
• 5-7 years of experience working in a therapeutic day school, special education setting, alternative school, residential treatment setting, or other high-needs youth-serving environment preferred.
• Strong background in behavior management, trauma-informed practices, crisis de-escalation, restorative practices, and student support.
• Knowledge of ISBE Restraint and Time Out regulations and compliance expectations.
• Must successfully complete Therapeutic Crisis Intervention training and maintain active certification.
• Must be willing and able to become a certified TCI Trainer through Train-the-Trainer certification within a designated timeframe.
• Experience supporting students with emotional disabilities, behavioral challenges, trauma histories, learning differences, and/or complex social-emotional needs preferred.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively with school leadership, clinical staff, teachers, families, and external partners.

Special Knowledge and Qualifications:

• Strong relationship-building skills with students who have complex behavioral, emotional, and therapeutic needs.
• Ability to remain calm, grounded, and solution-focused in high-stress situations.
• Ability to balance accountability with empathy, consistency, and student dignity.
• Strong skills in de-escalation, conflict resolution, restorative practices, and crisis prevention.
• Highly visible, proactive, and responsive presence throughout the school day.
• Clear understanding of trauma-informed care and therapeutic education.
• Ability to coach adults while maintaining professional credibility and calm authority.
• Strong documentation, follow-through, and compliance orientation.
• Commitment to equity, dignity, student voice, and student-centered decision-making.
• Ability to support a school culture rooted in safety, structure, restoration, and growth.

Work Environment:

• Ability to move throughout the school building consistently during the school day.
• Ability to respond quickly to student crises or behavioral incidents.
• Ability to support students during transitions, classroom disruptions, and crisis situations.
• Ability to participate in approved crisis intervention procedures consistent with TCI and UCAN policy.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced therapeutic school environment with students who may display emotional, behavioral, or physical escalation.