Flex Team Security Officer

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is the third-largest school district in the United States, serving over 325,000 students in 500 schools and employing nearly 45,000 people, most of them teachers.  CPS has set ambitious goals to ensure that every student, in every school and every neighborhood, has access to a world-class learning experience that prepares each for success in college, career and civic life.  In order to fulfill this mission, we make three commitments to our students, their families, and all Chicagoans: academic progress, financial stability, and integrity. Six core values are embedded within these commitments – student-centered, whole child, equity, academic excellence, community partnership, and continuous learning.

The Office of Safety and Security serves as the critical department to partner with school principals and other CPS staff members to ensure that all schools strive towards the goal of establishing a safe environment for our students.

Job Summary:

Flex Team Security Officers support schools when there are absences in their daily security teams.  The position requires officers to travel to schools where there is a necessary assignment. Once at a school, the officers are responsible for the overall safety and security of the school. The security team plays a critical role in the school’s culture and climate. A calm, structured, and positive learning environment is a top priority for the Security Supervisor and the security team.  The security team is actively involved in the progressive discipline system and provides the first line of defense to defuse and de-escalate student misconduct and/or serious incidents. Security personnel actively engage in teaching students the social skills necessary to be successful in the classroom and school community. This position will serve in a substitute capacity for schools that have vacancies due to illness, vacation, etc.

The Flex Team Security Officer will be held accountable for the following responsibilities:

• Travel to daily school assignment, note: school assignment will vary from day to day based on the district’s needs

• Fulfill duties associated with the post assigned as part of the individual school’s comprehensive security plan; maintain an orderly post and remain at the post at all times unless otherwise directed by a supervisor

• Actively respond to incidents, 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 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.

• Complete proper documentation related to incident reports and misconduct reports

• Produce and deliver reports to show progress against key metrics

• 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

• Serve as a primary participant in emergency response during crisis situations including but not limited to fires, tornado and active shooter incidents

• Serve as backup to Climate Team officers in supporting District meetings including Board Meetings and school-level meetings as directed by supervisor 

In order to be successful and achieve the above responsibilities, the Flex Team Security Officer must possess the following qualifications:

Education Required: 

• High school diploma or GED required

Experience Required: 

 A minimum of two (2) years of highly successful related experience:

• Knowledge of the CPS Student Code of Conduct

• 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

• Access to reliable transportation to travel within the City of Chicago to CPS locations

• Must be dependable with strong attendance record in past work history

• Must be flexible

• Must be able to stand for long periods of time (up to 8 hours) and quickly ascend/descend stairs. 

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Meeting school’s expectation for school-wide average attendance

• Meeting school’s expectation for a reduction in serious misconducts

• Stakeholder perception of a safe school climate and culture

• Adherence to CPS Office of Safety and Security Accountability Standards

• 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

• Successful completion of CPS Security Training curriculum with associated certifications

• Successful completion of CPS physical fitness skills assessment 

Conditions of Employment

As a condition of employment with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), employees are required to:

• Establish/Maintain Chicago Residency - Employees are required to live within the geographic boundaries of the City of Chicago within six months of their CPS hire date and maintain residency throughout their employment with the district. The Chicago residency requirement does not apply to temporary/part-time positions, however, all CPS employees must be residents of Illinois.