Instructional Support Director of Achievement
Job Description
Detroit Children’s Fund (DCF) believes that all children, no matter their circumstances, have the innate talent to learn, grow, and succeed in life. Detroit is undergoing an exciting renaissance, but our city’s turnaround will not be fully realized until all its children have access to an excellent school. For more information, visit www.detroitchildrensfund.org.
DCF is seeking a Director of Achievement who will serve in three meaningful ways:
- will work with our team of leaders/leadership teams in the city of Detroit to drive systemic change by creating and developing a shared vision of what excellent instruction and instructional leadership looks like.
- will be responsible for coaching current school leaders/leadership teams to operationalize that vision by developing their instructional expertise, identify gaps, and help them determine where to prioritize and focus their time as a school leader to best enable deeper learning in their school.
- will manage important components of the DCF grant portfolio, including major investments in leadership development, teacher development, and school support.
Success in this role requires a strong background in school leadership experience that may include the following: teaching, school principal, assistant principal or instructional coach with at least five (5) years of relevant experience in or with school administration. Familiarity with typical school systems and processes is required.
This role typically requires a bachelor’s degree and a graduate degree. Exceptions to education attainment can be made for an individual with the right experiences, skills, and mindset. The Director of Achievement will gain exposure to grant-making, networking opportunities, and learning opportunities and have an excellent view to build a more sophisticated understanding of Detroit’s education systems.
CORE RESPONSIBILITIES
- Support increased academic outcomes for historically underserved students by providing direct coaching and/or support for school leaders and instructional leadership teams.
- Facilitating weekly goals-based coaching aligned to program priorities and differentiated for individual leader and school needs and context.
- Designing and facilitating professional development for new and veteran school leaders.
- Designing and delivering training experiences for aspiring school leaders.
- Collaborating with state, network, and district leadership to observe and deliver concrete, actionable feedback to school leaders.
- Internal collaboration with colleagues to develop DCF’s best practices in leadership development.
- Contributing to the vision and strategy, as well as expansion, of DCF’s work in Detroit’s educational landscape.
- Provide implementation support to establish strong, replicable foundations at a flagship site with an eye towards scaling across additional site(s).
- Lead structured capacity building opportunities on a range of topics, including leading equity, lesson and unit internalization, data driven instruction cycles, adaptive leadership, observation and feedback, and professional development delivery.
- Lead ongoing school-based walkthroughs and feedback sessions to ensure that curriculum and instructional systems are being implemented with fidelity.
- Facilitate quarterly step backs to assess progress.
- Support the creation and implementation of foundational systems through review, observation, and feedback on key practices and deliverables.
- Analyze and codify high quality practices and resources from schools who range in their ideological and pedagogical approach.
- Support DCF’s school site review services and leverage instructional expertise through the analysis of artifacts of school practice and observations of classroom instruction and school culture. Provide written feedback and proposed action steps provided to schools.
- Provide support and manage some of DCF’s grants portfolio, including but not limited to its investments in talent development.
REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, & ABILITIES
- Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree preferred.
- Minimum of five (5) years of experience in school administration or related field.
- Familiarity with schools, preferably having worked in either school administration, as a teacher, or school instruction coach.
- You can walk the walk. You have led significant and measurable student academic achievement results in high-needs schools. School leadership or instructional coaching experience is required.
- A nuanced understanding of the research behind and pedagogy that supports the Common Core State Standards/College and Career Ready shifts.
- An ability to see the through-line of development needs for leaders at the district/CMO and school level, and how their development will impact teachers and students. You design and facilitate learning around equity, content, and leadership that will allow leaders to impact teachers and students.
- A demonstrated and unshakeable belief that all children can achieve, and schools play the most important role in helping them do so.
- Equity is at your core. A lifelong, heartfelt commitment to directly challenging historical inequity and to dismantling systemic racism. A complete commitment to the mission of anti-racism/racial equity and school transformation.
- You are an influencer. You hold extremely high expectations of yourself, your colleagues, and your partners. You communicate those expectations in a direct, caring, and motivating way.
- You are a learner. You have a deep hunger for professional growth and continuous feedback.
This role is a full time salaried position and reports to the Senior Program Officer. The Detroit Children’s Fund offers competitive salaries and excellent benefits that include medical, dental, vision 401k (with a match), life insurance and disability coverage.
How to Apply
If you are interested, please send a cover letter and resume to hr@detroitchildrensfund.org no later than Monday, May 3, 2021. No phone calls please.
