School Network Staff Director of ELA Curriculum & Instruction, Promise Academy
Job Description
When students enter HCZ Promise Academy Charter Schools, we make a promise to help each and every one get to and through college. Everything we give our students—from world-class instruction and exceptional extracurricular activities to social emotional support and healthy meals—is aimed at fulfilling that promise. Our schools have a longer school day and year, helping us keep our kids safe and engaged, ensure their success in core subject areas, and give them an immersive, well-balanced education that includes exposure to the arts, daily physical activity, and field trips to museums, performances, sporting events and, of course, college campuses.
In addition, our Promise curriculum includes grade-appropriate character education, helping students at every level build crucial non-cognitive skills such as resilience, grit, and curiosity. We also provide on-site medical, dental, and psychological services, as well as a healthy, freshly made breakfast, lunch and snack each day. Plus, the vast majority of our students participate in our after-school programs, where they receive extensive academic support and engage in a wide range of recreation and enrichment activities.
The Director of ELA is responsible for ensuring our teachers and schools are fully supported to consistently deliver high quality ELA instruction in every classroom, every day, for every scholar. The Director of ELA reports directly to the Superintendent of K-8 Promise Academies and will lead a team of ELA instructional coaches across six schools. The Director of ELA will establish and oversee all processes related to ensuring alignment and quality of curriculum, professional development, and instruction. The Director of ELA will play a critical leadership role in Promise Academies, spearheading identification of ELA teaching and learning needs and design of strategies to drive ongoing improvements.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
Oversee and ensure effectiveness of all ELA department activities, including: curriculum development, assessment creation, instructional coaching, and quality of teacher professional development. Accountable for ensuring all students master ELA standards and read on grade-level. Key responsibilities include:
Instructional Leadership
- Serve as an instructional leader for ELA department, which includes supervising six instructional coaches, ensuring overall quality of ELA instruction and accountability for student learning across all schools.
- Evaluate, develop and support work of instructional coaches as the “coaches’ coach”. Develop each coach to successfully and precisely pinpoints flaws in quality of instructional delivery; identify teacher misconceptions and errors in instructional practice, tailor their supports to teachers’ learning styles and growth needs, effectively differentiates support and technique, including but not limited to: leading a robust cycle of observation, feedback, modeling, real-time coaching and deliberate practice sessions.
- Develop any necessary supports/tool kits to optimize effectiveness of instructional coaches. Create any necessary processes and systems necessary for ELA department operate effectively and achieve its objectives.
Curriculum & Programs
- Assure curricula are aligned to state standards and national college readiness standards.
- Manage and ensure horizontal and vertical alignment of curriculum, assessments, and teacher development practices across all schools.
- Ensure optimal reading intervention programs are selected and executed with quality. Ensure all scholars receive appropriate intervention and remediation services to achieve the goal of all scholars reading on grade level.
Data Analysis and Processes
- Oversee regular analysis of network-wide student achievement data, and translate insights directly into school- and teacher-level interventions.
- Establish systems, routines, and processes for regular data-driven instructional improvements.
Professional Development
- Oversee content development of weekly and annual teacher professional development, ensuring quality and effectiveness through co-planning with coaches, observing and evaluating PD, and developing each coach to mastery in delivering highly effective PD.
- Provide and oversee PD for instructional coaches to grow their overall effectiveness.
Lead Strategic Improvements
- Lead integration of external and research-based best practices into overall teaching and learning activities and curriculum content selection decisions.
- Facilitate collaboration, learning and improvement across schools; including identifying and scaling best practices.
Desired skills/qualifications
- At least 10 years of work experience including substantial experience as a successful ELA teacher and instructional leader.
- Possesses superior expertise of instructional pedagogy and ELA subject matter expertise across K-8. Reading specialist expertise is also preferred and at a minimum knowledge of how children learn to read and what effective reading interventions look like for struggling readers.
- Deep experience in the design, integration, implementation and management of a school including knowledge of best practices in curriculum, instructional practices, and professional development
- Has proven ability to manage/supervise, can create/facilitate effective systems and structures for supervision
- Demonstrated success leading school improvement initiatives that result in measurable improved student achievement in urban high needs schools
- Has a firm knowledge of research and evidence based ELA best practices and a field-wide view of exemplar resources to leverage
- Excellent coaching skills and demonstrated track record of having improved others’ performance over time through coaching relationship
- Strong leadership abilities including an encouraging, motivating presence to help with conflict management, team building, mentoring and coaching, goal-setting, prioritization and strategic planning.
- Respond promptly to request; provide needed direction, assistance, training, materials and resources.
- Possesses highly effective project management skills to successfully lead numerous streams of work in a high paced demanding environment
