School Network Staff Teacher Leadership Coach
Job Description
Overview of Teach Plus
The mission of Teach Plus is to empower excellent, experienced, and diverse teachers to take leadership over key policy and practice issues that advance equity, opportunity, and student success. The organization empowers expert teachers to advance policy changes and improve instructional leadership and teacher supports; trains and coaches teacher leaders to successfully mobilize and lead teacher teams; and empowers teacher leaders to be change agents among their peers and policy makers. Since 2009, Teach Plus has trained thousands of teacher leaders across the country who are driving policy changes and improving the instructional practices of teachers to create an education system driven by equity, access, and excellence for all students.
Position Description
For the next three years, Teach Plus will be partnering with Independence Mission Schools, a non-profit network of 15 Catholic elementary schools in Philadelphia, to launch cross-school, grade-level, teacher-led professional learning communities (PLCs) supporting effective implementation of early literacy curriculum and best practices. This three-year partnership follows a successful first year of collaboration to develop structures and systems for cross-school PLCs and the launch of the Literacy Content Cadre, a group of 18 pre-K-8 teacher leaders who have received several months of coaching and professional development in preparation for leading PLCs in the fall. We are hiring for a Teacher Leadership Coach who will lead the partnership and provide coaching and support to the IMS Literacy Content Cadre teacher leaders to ensure their successful facilitation of PLCs.
The Coach will support teacher leaders in developing capacity to be:
- Purpose-driven instructional leaders
- Evidence-based decision makers
- Skillful facilitators of adult learning
- School wide change agents
- Equity advocates
Beginning in fall 2021, the Teacher Leadership Coach will provide Literacy Content Cadre teacher leaders with the following supports as they lead their PLCs:
- Biweekly one-on-one coaching sessions, focused on PLC planning and agenda creation, feedback, and individualized leadership development
- Biweekly after-school cohort meetings, focused on content knowledge development (in partnership with IMS’ Director of Literacy as well as IMS’ content partners, SchoolKit and EL Education) and Leadership Attribute Continuum growth
- Annual three-day Summer Institute in June, developed and facilitated by the Teacher Leadership Coach with support from the National Instructional Leadership Team
- Monthly feedback on their PLC facilitation and agenda drafts
In addition to providing the above supports to literacy CCLs, the Teacher Leadership Coach will provide the following supports to IMS leadership:
- Meeting monthly with the network leadership to share trends in teacher leader progress and achievement
- Regular communication and collaboration with other leaders and partners across the network, such as SchoolKit, Jounce, and TNTP, to ensure aligned approaches to teacher and student support
- Participating in network walkthroughs with experts from the leadership of EL Education as well as SchoolKit, to help connect professional learning to instructional practice and further alignment (upon request by IMS)
To support program and evaluation, the Teacher Leadership Coach will also:
- With support from the National Evaluation Team, collect, analyze, and share data on the impact of the program, including student achievement data, teacher survey data, and data on PLC function and impact.
Teach Plus invests heavily in the development of the coaching team, ensuring that coaches learn from and with each other in the following ways:
- Comprehensive onboarding & orientation
- Regular Teach Plus PA and national coaches’ meetings
- Monthly national practice team meetings
- Consistent feedback and support through one-on-one meetings with the Teach Plus PA Executive Director and/or the National Instructional Leadership Team
Qualifications
To be successful in this role, ideal candidates should have:
- 6+ years in the education field, with preference given to candidates who have both a teaching background and experience coaching teachers and school leaders in an urban environment
- Expertise in early literacy and the science of reading, with a demonstrated track record of student reading gains and experience working with high-quality curricular materials
- Excellent written and oral communication skills
- Experience with coaching, leadership development, leading professional development, and/or facilitating adult learning
- Strong project management skills and the initiative to complete tasks independently
- Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build relationships with and value the perspectives of diverse stakeholders
- A passionate commitment to improving educational experiences for underserved students
Start Date
The start date for this position is July 2021.
Commitment to Diversity
In order to better-serve the teachers and students at the core of our mission, Teach Plus is committed to maximizing the diversity of our organization. We are an equal opportunity employer and encourage individuals of all ethnic and racial backgrounds and gender identities to apply to our positions.
Compensation and Benefits
Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience. Full time employees have access to Teach Plus’s benefit package to include medical and dental insurance, retirement, life insurance, disability, and generous paid time off benefits.
