School Network Staff Director of Middle School Literacy Curriculum
Job Description
Summary of Position:
STRIVE Prep is seeking an educational professional who is dedicated to leading our teachers in exemplar implementation of our curriculum and assessment program in the area of English Language Arts (ELA). STRIVE Prep proudly partners with KIPP Wheatley for Middle School ELA curriculum and assessment. The Director of Middle School Literacy will work with members of the centrally-based Academic Team, middle school teachers, and campus administrators to ensure that we implement the KIPP Wheatley curriculum with a high level of integrity and fidelity; and that we utilize the strong resources provided to meet the needs of all STRIVE Prep students. The ideal candidate will bring a passion for forging strong relationships with teachers and leaders while also holding high standards for curriculum and instruction at STRIVE Prep. In addition, all candidates must have a strong content knowledge in ELA, in-depth understanding of Common Core standards, as well as a high capacity for problem solving, logistics, building investment, and coordinating details in a fast-paced environment within an administrative position that directly supports each STRIVE Prep secondary campus. Experience with KIPP Wheatley a plus. This position will report to the Chief Academic Officer.
About the STRIVE Prep Curriculum Team:
The Curriculum Team works to support masterful content teaching and create empowered, educated citizens across all STRIVE Prep schools. This vision is supported by the following areas:
- Continuously improving the academic vision for college readiness in Humanities, Math, and Science.
- Prioritizing and supporting implementation of key areas in each content vision.
- Supporting implementation and adaptation of rigorous, Common Core aligned core curricular resources.
- Supporting and developing teacher leaders across STRIVE Prep.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
Visioning and Capacity-Building:
- In collaboration with the Chief Academic Officer, develop a clear vision of excellence in Middle School ELA and continually refine and improve our approach to academic writing, vocabulary development, grammar and language instruction, within a robust reading program.
- Support strong implementation of our common network curriculum across seven middle school campuses.
- Provide direct on-going support to instructional coaches to build their capacity in coaching excellent implementation of the ELA curriculum.
- Regularly share best practices and curricular resources with teachers.
- Develop, plan, and lead high-quality professional development for teachers and instructional coaches to build capacity in executing the ELA vision.
- Ensure that STRIVE Prep’s ELA programming includes best practices for supporting English Language Learners and students receiving Special Education services.
Curriculum Development and Resources:
- Oversee all Middle School ELA courses to ensure coherence and alignment. (i.e. consistency of resources, approach to grading writing, normed grading practices, etc.)
- Work directly with Course Leads (teacher-leaders) to support development and continuous refinement of high-quality, core curricular resources aligned to our common network curriculum.
- Regularly analyze student performance data to drive curricular refinement and prioritization.
- Work with instructional coaches to ensure clear understanding of curricular choices, themes, and priorities.
- Work with teachers to regularly share best practices, including strong lesson plans and formative assessments.
Collaborative Learning:
- Support Course Leads and Department Leads in leveraging collaborative learning time to increase teacher capacity around standards, instruction, planning, data analysis, etc. in their content area by providing suggested agendas, data analysis protocols, and guidance on unpacking standards or assessment items.
- Support the development of normed grading protocols and facilitate collaboration in reviewing student work.
- Develop and lead content-specific Professional Development (PD) modules and opportunities to be used during collaborative learning time.
- Develop and lead network summer training sessions in ELA curriculum internalization and implementation.
- Identify external content-specific PD opportunities for teachers, Course Leads, and Instructional Coaches.
Our Aspiring Director of Middle School Literacy:
- Embodies a solid commitment to providing STRIVE Prep Scholars with a world-class education.
- Is a content expert in the area of Secondary English Language Arts, with at least 3 years of teaching experience.
- Has a clear understanding of core elements of curriculum design and the Common Core State Standards (including key shifts and skills embedded within the standards).
- Has excellent verbal and written communication.
- Is accountable to meeting expectations and commitments to others.
- Has a strong ability to build trust, respect, and investment among numerous stakeholders in a large-scale vision.
- Is open to feedback and comfortable with healthy disagreements and debate.
- Is committed to constant growth and reflection as an educator through regular coaching and professional development.
- Can facilitate group meetings with intentionality, focus, and clear objectives.
- Is responsive to requests from others.
- Is willing to collaborate closely with members of the STRIVE Prep Academic Team, Course Leads, Principals, instructional coaches, and other various stakeholders.
What we offer our Director of Middle School ELA:
- Regular coaching focused on continued professional growth in this role.
- Competitive compensation package.
- Participation in the Colorado PERA retirement program including a PERA 401k contribution option.
- Funding of 100% of individual medical benefits and a selection of insurance plans.
This position is available immediately.
STRIVE Prep is an equal opportunity employer.
Visit our Careers Page at http://www.striveprep.org/join-our-team/lead-at-strive/ to learn more about who we are looking for and the hiring process.
