Submit your application to be hired as the Director of School Leadership at Unlocking Potential. (2190 hits)
Director of School Leadership
Unlocking Potential is a nonprofit school turnaround organization which rapidly transforms chronically underperforming urban public schools into extraordinary, high-performing, sustainable schools. Our turnaround schools ensure that students acquire the knowledge, skills, and strength of character necessary to succeed on the path to college and to achieve their full potential. UP Academy Charter School of Boston, Unlocking Potential’s first turnaround school, opened in summer 2011 as an in-district charter school. It serves almost 500 students, a significant percentage of whom previously attended the Gavin Middle School, an underperforming Boston Public School that was closed in June 2011. In summer 2012, we will launch our second turnaround middle school in Lawrence, MA. That school will serve 100 students in 6th grade in fall 2012 and more than 300 6th-8th grade students in fall 2013. In summer 2013, we will launch our first turnaround elementary school, likely in Boston, pending state approval.
Role: The Director of School Leadership will manage the instructional leaders of Unlocking Potential’s turnaround schools. S/he will also work on developing a robust and meaningful plan through which organization-wide professional development is planned, executed, and evaluated. S/he will oversee the development and roll-out of aligned curriculum and assessments across Unlocking Potential schools. The Director of School Leadership reports directly to the CEO and serves on Unlocking Potential’s senior leadership team.
Specific Responsibilities: • School Leadership o Provide scalable instructional program leadership to all school leaders with specific responsibility for planning, development, implementation, assessment and improvement across all current and future schools; o Develop and lead principals in their roles as instructional leaders and managers; o Monitor, provide feedback to, and evaluate principals; o Determine and implement the organization’s academic priorities; o Review assessment tools on a regular basis and analyze performance for effectiveness in improving student achievement; o Support leadership at schools to ensure high quality implementation of the schools’ educational design, including standards, assessments, instructional guidelines, and the school culture; o Assist school leaders in monitoring and evaluating effectiveness of programs as well as identifying and acquiring appropriate program resources to ensure that curricula are student-focused and aligned with school’s mission and goals; o Facilitate collaboration among principals and school sites; o Collaborate with school leaders on hiring of staff when appropriate; o Assist school leaders with on-boarding of new teachers and staff; and o Support school leaders on creating coherency in culture and routines within the school culture.
• Unlocking Potential Growth and Strategy o Work with leadership team to evaluate strategic external and internal issues and to identify proposed solutions; o Work with leadership team to set annual organizational goals; o Assist the CEO in the development of a strategic plan and scalability of the existing instructional model that will ensure excellence and high standards as Unlocking Potential expands to serve more students; and o Assist CEO with stakeholder engagement as needed (ie, key stakeholder meetings, etc.).
• Academic Leadership o Provide organizational leadership regarding academics; o Oversee the development of an aligned curriculum and assessment tools across schools; and o Oversee the roll-out of aligned curriculum and assessment at Unlocking Potential Schools.
• Professional Development o Develop a vision around Unlocking Potential professional development, including scopes and sequences for the development of new and experienced teachers and leaders; o Determine organizational priorities related to professional development for all school-based staff members; o When appropriate, plan, execute, and evaluate organization-wide professional development activities and events; and o Create systems through which professional development is rigorously developed, executed, and evaluated.
Qualifications: • A bachelor’s degree (a master’s degree is strongly preferred); • At least 5-7 years of work experience (experience in school leadership is strongly preferred); • A passionate belief in Unlocking Potential’s mission, values, and educational model; • An ability to thrive in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment and a capacity to remain calm and focused when faced with unexpected challenges; • Strong written and oral communication skills; • An obsessive attention to detail; • An ability to manage multiple projects and assignments at one time; • A sense of humility in the face of success; and • The ability to take initiative, prioritize tasks, and work independently.
Compensation: We offer a competitive compensation package, including, when relevant, a salary equal to (and in some cases above) the district scale and comprehensive health benefits.
To Apply: If you are interested in applying for this position, please visit http://www.unlocking-potential.org/careero... and formally apply for this position through our on-line application system.
Unlocking Potential provides equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees.
