Climate Team Officer

Purpose of the Position:   Climate Team Officers are responsible for the overall safety and security of the school.  The Climate team plays a critical role in the school’s culture and climate.  A calm, structured, and positive learning environment is top priority for CPS.  The Climate team is actively involved in the progressive discipline system and supplements the on-site security team as the first line of defense to defuse and de-escalate student misconduct and/or serious incidents.  Climate team personnel actively engage in supporting students in order for them to become successful in the classroom and school community.  The Climate is by design a highly mobile supplemental security team designed to move rapidly between multiple work locations all over the city of Chicago.
 

Principal Accountabilities & General Responsibilities:

• Supplement the existing security team when detailed by leadership to various locations.
• Support the school’s efforts to create a restorative culture among the student body that shifts the focus away from punishment and instead puts the focus on repairing harm
• Actively respond to fights or other issues in the school that threaten the safety of students, staff, and/or guests utilizing Safety Care skills up to and including momentary physical intervention if warranted by the safety risk
• Fulfill duties associated with the post assigned as part of the school’s comprehensive security plan; maintain an orderly post and remain at the post at all times unless otherwise directed by a supervisor
• Fulfill duties assigned related to Hall Sweeps
• Patrol (foot or mobile) and monitor school property for unauthorized persons. If needed, redirect or escort from property
• Report unusual activity or suspicions of safety issues to the Security Supervisor or administration in a timely fashion.
• Assist with the organization and distribution of student lockers and locker searches
• Monitor school grounds and school entrances to ensure only authorized personnel and authorized visitors access the school ; if assigned to the main entrance, ensure all guests follow visitor protocol and triage visitor requests
• Actively participate in professional development training to ensure ongoing growth and to advance skills
• As assigned, monitor the student entry and dismissal process to ensure safety
• Build positive and professional relationships with students and leverage those relationships to establish and maintain productive and safe learning environments and common areas of the building
• Exercise dignity and respect when interacting with students at all times
• Lead efforts to de-escalate inappropriate student behaviors and assist students with maximizing their time on task in classrooms
• Restore order and discipline wherever deployed.
• Serve as a primary participant in emergency response during crisis situations including but not limited to fire, tornado and active shooter incidents
• Support District meetings including Board Meetings and school-level meetings as directed by supervisor

Key Performance Indicators

• Identify challenging and disruptive behaviors that may jeopardize the culture and climate of the school environment.
• Identify indications of intimidation and dangerous activity within the school 
• Provide assistance to CPS and CPD personnel as needed
• Monitor atmosphere of student body for indicators of impending violence and communicate such indications  without delay
• Mitigation of the threat or conflict requiring Climate Team presence.
• Meet school’s expectation for reduction in serious misconducts
• Stakeholder perception of a safe school climate and culture
• Adherence to CPS Office of Safety and Security Accountability Standards
   

Qualifications/Skills:

• High school diploma or GED required
• Must own vehicle and have the ability to travel to any CPS school city-wide using own vehicle
• Must possess valid Illinois Driver’s License
• A minimum of 2-3 years of highly successful related experience
• Must be able to stand for long periods of time (up to 8 hours) and quickly ascend/descend stairs.
• Knowledge of basic methods of providing site security and safety
• Experience with CPS technology systems utilized for school safety processes (i.e. camera systems or entry screening systems)
• Ability to work with adolescents in maintaining a positive and safe school culture
• Ability to read and adhere to  written and oral instructions
• Proficient with teamwork and collaborating with colleagues and administration
• Exhibit passion and the ability to thrive amidst change and challenging conditions while maintaining a positive outlook and forward looking perspective
• Possess an attuned appreciation for cultural awareness and competency and a staunch commitment to continuously develop insight and proficiencies related to such matters
• Takes personal responsibility for mistakes and learns from them, while consistently following up with analysis and corrective action
• Demonstrated ability to keep up with fast paced environments and to multi-task
• Sound judgment and ethical practice
• Commitment to social justice and restorative justice practices
• Strong oral communication skills, human relations and interpersonal skills
• Ability to write incident reports.
• Impeccable attendance and punctuality
• Flexibility in hours and work location is required
• Successful completion of CPS Security Training curriculum with associated certifications
• Successful completion of CPS physical fitness skills assessment