School Network Staff Director of Charter School Growth
Job Description
THE ORGANIZATION
The mission of the Colorado League of Charter Schools is to improve student achievement by supporting Colorado’s charter schools, positively reshaping the public school landscape, and advancing opportunities for innovation and expanded high-quality public school choice. The League is committed to helping charter schools reach higher levels of student performance and overall success by providing information and resources, including technical support, advocacy, public relations assistance, and much more.
Membership with the League is open to all charter schools in Colorado. The League also provides guidance and technical assistance for developing charter school groups, such as charter application reviews, contract negotiations, and general start-up support.
In 2022-23, there were 269 charter schools in Colorado serving 137,000 students. Charter school enrollment in Colorado equals nearly 16% of total public school enrollment.
THE ROLE
The Director of Charter School Growth is responsible for proactive work to support the growth and expansion of sustainable, equitable, and high-quality charter schools across the state. This role reports to the VP of School Services, and responsibilities will include the following:
Strategic Leadership
- Develop a comprehensive program and partnership strategy for supporting the growth of charter schools through enrollment expansion, replication, and successful new school launches, particularly in some of our state’s most historically underserved communities
- Build tailored capacity-building strategies for school leaders in the areas of enrollment, charter authorization and renewal, political engagement, and founding school operations
- Establish clear and ambitious goals, develop methods of progress tracking and monitoring, and refine strategies and approaches over time to increase impact
- Synthesize and leverage relevant statewide charter approval and new charter school data to inform approaches
- Lead design, selection, distribution, and reporting for the League’s school planning grants
- Support the planning, selection, and facilitation of signature League sessions and events, including the annual Colorado Charter Schools conference
School Growth Partnerships & Collaboration
- Build and maintain relationships with key stakeholders in the school growth space across the state, including CDE, growth support partners, and district authorizers
- Collaborate with partners to expand the resources and knowledge available to prospective new school founders via materials sharing, in-person events, webinars, online tutorials, etc.
- Support the process of surfacing and supporting prospective new school founders within existing school and community networks
- Collaborate on regional and statewide advocacy and development efforts to enable school growth
- Support fundraising at the League and with partners with the goal of expanding resources for teams aiming to meet the needs of underserved students and communities
School Leader Support
- Support member schools with enrollment expansion, site expansions, replications and charter renewal and appeals
- Develop tailored strategies and programming to support new school founders from 18 months prior to opening through the first 1-2 years after launch, focusing on school operations
- Engage school leaders in learning opportunities related to successful launch and expansion efforts through 1X1 coaching and advising, including conducting charter application reviews and mock charter approval interviews
- Design, build, and manage key school leader support materials for startup and expansion success, including guides, roadmaps for success, and a centralized resource center to connect school leaders with funders, training, and community partnerships
- Field inquiries and hold informational conversations with prospective and existing school founders that reach out directly for support
QUALIFICATIONS
- Demonstrated commitment to educational equity and alignment with the mission of The Colorado League of Charter Schools
- Leadership experience in K-12 education or an adjacent issue area, including roles involving consulting, coaching/advising, partnership development, and/or program facilitation aimed at supporting leaders in the field; experience supporting school leaders or founders preferred
- Track record of success building and leading an organizational function, including developing strategies and systems, managing resources, partnerships, and vendor/contractor relationships, and using data-driven approaches to achieve ambitious goals
- Demonstrated expertise in charter regulations, K-12 education policy and politics, school startup/expansion work, and/or school operations preferred
- Strong skills in the design of adult learning content and programming, including experience developing effective 1X1 coaching sessions, small and large group sessions, cohort experiences, and a variety of supporting materials (guides, reports, online tutorials, information platforms, etc.)
- Strong relationship builder, connector, collaborator, and facilitator, with experience building trusting relationships and partnerships across a wide range of stakeholders
- Experience in marketing or communications preferred
- Entrepreneurial orientation, with comfort in ambiguity, strong creative problem-solving skills, a self-starting and action-oriented mindset, and an ability to juggle many priorities and projects at once
- Experience and comfort working in communities that are racially, ideologically, and socioeconomically diverse
- Working knowledge of Microsoft Office, Google Suite and video online platforms such as Zoom and WebEx; Data management experience preferred
- Spanish fluency a plus
WORK ENVIRONMENT
This is a hybrid remote and in-office role, with a requirement of working at least two days per week in the Denver, Colorado office to attend in-person staff and team meetings. Outside of those two days, there is flexibility to work off-site or remotely. Occasional off-site travel will be required to attend meetings and events in target geographies across Colorado, as well as occasional evening and weekend availability to attend key events.
The League’s Core Values are:
- Mission and vision are at the heart of everything we do.
- Care and respect come first.
- We pursue honesty and transparency.
- We seek to co-create and collaborate.
COMPENSATION & BENEFITS
The salary range for this role is $100,000-$115,000. The League offers medical and dental insurance after a 30-day to the first of the month waiting period, including 100% premium coverage for the employee on multiple medical plans. The company also offers generous PTO, 20 days of Holiday pay and a company-matching 401k plan.
How to Apply
To apply for this position, please fill out our online application (hyperlink here: https://forms.gle/UGmaQMyCP6FChTYt8). Note that in place of a cover letter, we ask for short responses to the following questions:- What compels you about the work of the Colorado League of Charter Schools, and about this position specifically?
- What past experiences have best prepared you for this role?
- What professional values are most important to you? How have those values shaped your behavior and decisions in your career so far?
