School Network Staff School Designer/Coach
Job Description
For over thirty years, NYC Outward Bound Schools has provided transformative educational experiences in communities that have been historically marginalized. We operate a network of schools in partnership with the NYC Department of Education and bring our most effective and replicable practices to a growing number of public schools outside of our network as well. Our uniquely powerful program combines the Outward Bound approach with the principles of EL (Expeditionary Learning), joining together demanding, engaging learning with an emphasis on community and character.
Serving nearly 200,000 students since our inception, we are redefining what educational excellence looks like in New York City public schools. Thanks to our robust and personalized professional development and coaching model, our transformative field programming, our focus on community and character building, and our understanding and support of students as individuals to unlock potential, our results are strong. Our overall graduation rates regularly surpass the city average by 10+ percentage points and we have achieved particularly impressive results among underserved subgroups. This past year, our Black and Latinx students graduated at rates that were 12 and 14 points higher than their peers citywide, respectively, and our students with disabilities graduated at a rate 27 points higher than their counterparts. Each year nearly all of our graduates are accepted to college.
Our network schools serve a predominantly high-needs student population. We support our schools by providing:
- Coaching and professional development for teachers and school leaders in the implementation of EL Education, a nationally-recognized school-wide model with its roots in Outward Bound.
- Character and leadership development programming for students.
- To & Through College” programming aimed at supporting our students to successfully identify, pursue and complete college or alternative post secondary pathway such as vocational training or a career.
We bring our approach and activities to a growing number of public schools outside of our network through our new Select Strategies professional learning services and our Adventure and Team Building programs.
Position Summary
The School Designer/Coach is part of a team that is a critical component of success in NYC Outward Bound Schools’ work to support greater equity in NYC public schools. This role supports both our Network and Select Strategy Schools through the use of a continuous improvement framework with a focus on equity and impact. In our Network Schools, the School Designer/Coach functions as the cornerstone of our supports, typically spending 12-35 days per school per year supporting strategic planning, curriculum development, high quality instruction and assessment practices, and continuous leadership growth that create the conditions for greater equity and student impact. In our Select Strategy Schools, the School Designer/Coach works to support the school community in implementing a specific strategy and related practices such as Crew (advisory), student engaged assessment, or project based learning in order to strengthen teaching and learning.
This position is a full-time role reporting to the Chief Schools Officer. School Designer/Coaches work predominantly in their assigned schools as well as remotely and/or out of our headquarters office in Long Island City.
Essential Functions
School Coaching:
- Partner with principals and school leadership teams in implementing EL Core Practices through a model of shared leadership in order to support greater equity for BIPOC and low income youth.
- Provide leadership coaching for principals and assistant principals in a variety of areas including strategic planning, the use of a continuous improvment framework to improve equity, and leading an anti-racist community.
- Design and facilitate high quality professional development (PD) at the school relating to the EL Core Practices, i.e. curriculum, instruction, assessment, leadership, and school culture and character that results in improved teaching and learning.
- Use of modeling, co-teaching and observation and feedback to support teacher growth in effective instructional practices.
- Facilitate rapid inquiry cycles with school teams following a Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) model.
- Support teachers and teams in the design of culturally relevant and demanding learning expeditions and case studies (curricula) student-engaged assessment strategies, and active pedagogy.
- Foster an authentic sense of belonging and engagement for all youth in schools through supporting teachers in the development of relevant and engaging curriculum and effective Crew (advisory) structures.
- Support the integration of NYC Outward Bound Schools’ To & Through College and Crew Expedition program supports.
- Shepherd the annual work plan cycle for each school from design to execution and manage processes for documenting, tracking, and reflecting on school progress toward achieving long term performance benchmarks.
- Support schools on the pathway to EL Credentialing.
- Counsel principals, assistant principals, and IGs on PD options and choices that support the school-wide PD plan as well as individual teacher development.
- Actively collaborate with members within the Programs Department in support of meeting the organization’s mission.
Out of School Professional Development and Supports:
- Participate on the School Coaching Team and engage fully in the team’s theory of action for improving education equity in our partner schools.
- Lead an area of the team’s work such as coaching supports, professional development planning, or team facilitation.
- Design and facilitate off-site professional development for partner schools (Institutes, Seminars, etc.) which take place during the school year and in the summer.
- Support internal NYC Outward Bound Schools projects designed to improve equity and impact.
- Participate in external and internal professional development opportunities and support structures.
Professional Experience/Qualifications
- Passion for our mission; solid understanding of the education ecosystem and student communities served by NYC Outward Bound Schools.
- A strong commitment to educational equity for BIPOC youth and supporting explicit anti-racist work within our organziation and our partner schools
- Minimum 5 years of classroom teaching experience at the secondary level in a school with components compatible to Outward Bound’s approach
- Minimum 2 years effectively coaching and facilitating individual adults and teams in schools
- Demonstrable success with interdisciplinary, project-based learning and active pedagogy
- Deep content knowledge and pedagogical expertise in at least two of the following areas; culturally responsive teaching and learning, social and emotional learning, mathematics, science, and the humanities.
- Strong affinity with the Outward Bound approach and belief in the EL Design Principles and Core Practices
- Prior experience in NYC or a comparable urban district strongly preferred
- Experience with new school design a plus
- Experience with and an interest in the use of educational technology a plus
- Experience with restorative justice practices and advisory a plus
Additional Competencies and Desired Skills
- Values impact, quality and sets high standards for him/herself and for others
- Flexible, hard-working and effective multi-tasker
- Builds strong working relationships and strong teams (teacher teams, leadership teams)
- An efficient and effective coach who creates and tracks coaching plans, with attention to details, superb follow up and a consistent track record of delivering on promises
- An independent, action oriented practitioner with an “anything is possible” attitude who can maintain humor and flexibility and work in all types of contexts and environments simultaneously
- Engenders understanding and trust by helping others develop to the highest possible potential—meeting each individual at his or her starting point, without judgment, adopting a growth mindset
- A teacher of adults, who understands adult learning and knows how to inspire, engage and teach, and how to bring out the best in all people
- A lifelong learner who is constantly seeking self-improvement and continually developing a deeper understanding of best practices related to student growth and learning.
Compensation and Benefits
- We offer a competitive salary commensurate with experience and qualifications.
- We offer medical, dental, and vision coverage as well as HRA/FSA/Transit accounts, life insurance, 403(b) with employer match after one year, sick leave, and generous PTO.
NYC Outward Bound Schools is an equal opportunity employer. We prohibit discrimination against, and harassment of, any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, gender, pregnancy, genetic information, ethnic or national origin, sexual orientation, marital status, familial status, military or veteran status, qualified individuals with a disability on the basis of the disability, or any other category which may be protected under applicable state or federal law.
No phone calls please. We appreciate all responses, but due to the high volume of resumes received, we can only contact those applicants whose qualifications best match the position requirements.
