Director of College Counseling

 Khan Lab School (KLS), an independent K-12 school in the San Francisco Bay Area, seeks a full-time experienced Director of College Counseling.  The Director will lead a new program for students and families that graduated its first senior class in 2021.  They will continue to build a highly successful and comprehensive program that is grounded in cultivating deep relationships with our students, promotes self-reflection, and emphasizes a values-driven college process.  This position is first and foremost concerned with the development and implementation of effective college counseling strategies, innovative programming, and best practices in the context of KLS.

This Director will have prior experience having full responsibility for all elements of a small college counseling office, preferably in a mastery-based school, as well as experience developing new systems and protocols in an early stage start-up school. They should also be committed to helping students shape the narrative of their high school experience in a manner that transcends course performance. The Director of College Counseling will also have a knack for developing partnerships with outside organizations in the support of a student internship program.

This position requires an understanding of the broader higher education landscape and the ability to network with relevant associations and affiliations (i.e. NACAC, MTC) as well as admissions professionals. They will represent the college counseling office in a leadership capacity and assist the Executive Director’s strategic planning initiatives. The Director also works with the school’s Data Manager to maintain the integrity of the school’s record-keeping system and works collaboratively with faculty to ensure records and transcripts best capture mastery-based learning without the use of grades. This position also requires a substantive understanding of official transcripts and an ability to cultivate portfolios of work with students to be used in the college application process. 

The successful candidate will take an entrepreneurial approach to making appropriate use of all of the school’s resources and partnerships, and will be comfortable working in a start-up school environment. The candidate should be familiar with and enthusiastic about using Khan Academy or related resources to their fullest potential for both synchronous and asynchronous learning. Our teaching philosophy encourages meaningful inquiry and interdisciplinary work, as well as utilizing blended learning to meet the needs of each student. 

As a member of the High School’s leadership team, the Director will contribute to refining how we can best empower young people to take control over their own learning. Ideally, you will be familiar with Khan Academy and Sal Khan’s book The One World Schoolhouse: Education Reimagined. 

WHO WE ARE

About Khan Lab School

KLS is a non-profit, mastery-based school founded by Salman Khan in 2014 to extend Khan Academy’s student-centered philosophy into a physical school environment. Furthering his vision for Khan Academy, Khan wrote and published The One World Schoolhouse, in which he argues for mastery-based, blended, and mixed-age learning coupled with a departure from traditional letter grades. Today the KLS community is bringing that vision to life and also sharing knowledge within education more broadly.

In each academic area at KLS, there is a minimum pace our students must meet, but learning is decoupled from age; the time it takes a student to finish a course will vary but the depth of mastery is constant. We believe that students cannot “master” a course by performing well on one assessment. Instead, students are expected to demonstrate mastery of all skills and content before they can obtain foundational credit, thereby removing “gaps” in their education.  

Every student is assigned to a mixed-age cohort, which they can expect to be part of for two to three years. There are currently seven cohorts for students ages 5 to 18+. Students also partner with faculty to explore their passions and deepen their learning. The quality of learning remains high but as a lab school, instructional methods are constantly being reimagined and tested. Learning is supported through weekly advising, real-world application, and a culture that fosters student agency. Faculty and students do not simply adhere to the status quo in education. As a lab school, KLS is a model for innovation in education. 

The KLS staff and teachers will represent the diversity of the students we intend to serve. We believe that standard hiring practices disproportionately hurt those most marginalized in society — including but not limited to Black and Indigenous people of color, people from working class backgrounds, women and trans/gender-nonconforming individuals, and LGBTQIA+ individuals. We believe that these communities must be at the center of the work we do. Hence, we strongly encourage applications from people with these identities or who are members of other marginalized communities. Our school’s dedication to promoting diversity, multiculturalism, and inclusion is clearly reflected in all of our content.

WHO WE’RE LOOKING FOR

Khan Lab School seeks a talented Director of College Counseling who possesses a thorough knowledge of schools that offer blended learning opportunities, including online environments, and who understands the vision and goals of our model. This person will be responsible for maintaining congruence between the school's mission and all activities of the admission department. Additionally, candidates should be system-level thinkers that are constantly asking how they can improve and streamline the way learning is done at the school. 

Responsibilities

• Directs  all phases of the college admissions process, from initial inquiry to matriculation for 15-25 students.
• Meet with Khan Lab School parents about the college search and application process.
• Write individualized letters of recommendation on behalf of the senior class, summarizing each student’s high school experience and the faculty’s views of the overall contribution made by that student.
• Plan and deliver a series of formal programming for families, including Junior Preview Night, Senior Parent College Night, Case Studies, and Financial Aid Night for students and parents.
• Create and maintain curriculum for the senior college seminar in the fall and seminars for juniors.
• Maintain and cultivate relationships with college admission officers.
• Stay informed on current admissions and counseling trends through reading and research, maintaining membership in, and attending professional associations and conferences.
• Manage the Advanced Credit program.
• Maintains a thorough understanding of each department’s curricular offerings.
• Serve as the point person for answering any questions about college admissions, financial aid and scholarships, A-G Requirements, standardized testing, and trends in higher education. 
• Use a personalized approach to college counseling, reinforcing the idea of “fit” in developing a college list and making thoughtful recommendations 
• Develop the curriculum for and teach a weekly college counseling course and a summer intensive program that include essay writing and application-related workshops
• Educate families about college, the admissions process, trends, procedures, and testing
• Advise students and families on testing (SAT, ACT, SAT Subject Test, and AP)
• Plan and administer PSAT testing for the high school and coordinate AP testing logistics, place test orders, and administer the exams
• Meet with students to discuss course selection and sequence in order to meet graduation requirements and be well prepared for their college admissions and career goals
• Ensure MTC transcript credit areas and mastery credits align with the mastery-based education model.
• Work with each student in curating the “evidence” they will highlight in their MTC transcript.
• Work with the Data Manager to maintain records in the High School.
• Assist with the development of graduation requirements and the advising of students on dual enrollment courses. 
• Engagement and involvement in professional organizations (NACAC, WACAC, NAIS, BAYSCC) for personal development and to raise the profile of Khan Lab School
• Liaise with the Mastery Transcript Consortium as the Site Director for the school and share with faculty and staff any relevant professional development opportunities
• Develop content for the College Counseling webpage and maintain the information

WHAT YOU’LL BRING

Skills and Capabilities

Successful candidates will have the following qualifications:

• At least 5 years serving as a Director of College Counseling.
• Master’s degree.
• Familiarity with mastery-based transcripts and the Mastery Transcript Consortium
• Familiarly with SCOIR to manage college applications and onboard students.
• An understanding of the University of California and California State University admissions practices
• Strong organizational and time management.
• An interest in fully engaging in the life of the school, and a commitment to fostering an inclusive and equitable community.

WHAT WE OFFER

Khan Lab School is a community of learners and partners that have a deep commitment to their work. We get things done and believe that in our highly collaborative environment that anything is possible. All of our decisions are made through the lens of what is best for our students. We tackle tough questions without ego, are results oriented, and have high expectations for school and our students.

Khan Lab School offers a stimulating and unique working environment with a competitive salary and the flexibility to work and teach from anywhere. We seek team members who possess a unique skill set because this is a multi-faceted teaching and leadership position. To learn more about Khan Lab School or Khan Academy, please visit our websites. 

Compensation: Competitive compensation commensurate with experience.
Health, dental, and vision benefits

Start Date: May or June  2021

Location: Remote through June and will transition to in-person, on-site at our Mountain View/Los Altos Hills Campus location(s) when school reopens.

Number of Positions to be Filled: 1

Employment: Full Time 

APPLY NOW

To qualify, please submit an application using the job link on our school’s Careers webpage. Successful candidates will have a demonstrated familiarity with the Sal Khan’s school model outlined in his book The One World Schoolhouse. 

Khan Lab School is an EOE and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, place of national origin, sex, age, veteran status, sexual orientation or physical handicap in its employment practice.

SPECIAL SCHOOL EMPLOYMENT REQUIREMENTS

All Khan Lab School employees must undergo criminal background checks and TB risk assessments as mandated by California state law prior to their start dates at Khan Lab School. By submitting an application, you acknowledge that your employment with Khan Lab School would be conditioned on satisfactory background check and completion of the TB risk assessment.

Some evening and weekend work is required.