Deputy Chief, Teaching & Learning

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is a district on the rise, serving over 320,000 students in 500+ schools and employing over 44,000 people, most of them teachers. CPS has set ambitious goals to ensure that every student, in every school and every neighborhood, has access to a world-class learning experience that prepares each for success in college, career, and civic life. In order to fulfill this mission, we make three commitments to our students, their families, and all Chicagoans: academic progress, financial stability, and integrity. Six core values are embedded within these commitments - student-centered, whole child, equity, academic excellence, community partnership, and continuous learning.

The Office of Teaching and Learning provides content, resources, policies, learning and conditions to support the Instructional Core across the district. The Office of T&L comprises various academic and support departments, which work collaboratively to support students' growth and progress in meeting or exceeding state standards for academic excellence.

Job Summary:

Reporting to the Chief Teaching & Learning Officer, The Deputy Chief of Teaching & Learning Curriculum and Content Teams will support the Chief Teaching & Learning Officer in establishing a holistic, research-based strategy for high-quality Curriculum and Content Team work across K-12. The Deputy Chief will provide leadership support for key district initiatives, including continuous improvement and implementation of the PreK-12 Curriculum System, including the revision process, and expansion of high-quality curriculum access for all schools in key content areas, with a focus on the needs of multilingual learners, students with disabilities and culturally responsive and sustaining content. Additionally, this role will support visionary development for all content teams, professional learning, facilitation of continuous improvement cycles at the individual, program and department levels, strategic planning, and alignment to district priorities. This is a full-time exempt position that will be paid for time worked on a salary basis

The Deputy Chief of Teaching & Learning will be held accountable for the following responsibilities:

• Collaborate with the Chief Teaching & Learning Officer to provide strong strategic direction and leadership across multiple Teaching & Learning domains, including direct responsibility for supervising and supporting the following departments to deliver strong systems, structures, content, policies and learning for all educators:
• Arts Education
• Curriculum, Instruction & Digital Learning (Digital Curriculum, Multilingual Digital Curriculum and Initiatives, Digital Learning & Libraries)
• Humanities (Health & Physical Education, Literacy, and Social Science)
• STEM Programs (Math, Computer Science, Science)
• Other departments/teams as assigned
• Supervise, develop, and manage the performance of direct reporting staff, including department heads, to ensure high-functioning teams

• Create a culture of continuous improvement by proactively establishing systems to gather feedback from educators, students, practices, and student outcome data to inform policies and practices at the district level that support the daily experience for all students.
• Co-lead strategic planning in the Office of Teaching and Learning to align with the Continuous Improvement and Data Transparency Policy and the Five Year Strategic Plan, Together We Rise
• Support the development of Department strategic plans and work closely with department leaders to ensure all strategic plans are aligned and impactful, and have effective progress monitoring systems in place
• Coordinate supports with the Data team to support Office and Department strategic plans
• Partner with the Talent Office to support Talent Management processes, including but not limited to:Work closely with the Talent Office to facilitate effective hiring and staff support, and support other Talent-related processes

Assess, develop and implement an appropriate organizational structure for the Office of Teaching and Learning that aligns to the department's strategic plan and maximizes the strengths of each team member
Lead key district initiatives including but not limited to:

o Guiding a continuously improving PK-12 Curriculum system that meets the diverse needs of all students and addresses educator needs

o Supporting critical visionary development in content teams
Serving as key district lead on A.I. development and usage district-wide for educators and studentsSupport the Chief T&L Officer in managing operational tasks and processes including but not limited to the following

o Build effective, productive working relationships with internal departments throughout CPS to champion the daily experience for all students, with a focus on students with disabilities, multilingual learners, black students, and other student groups furthest from opportunity.

o Represent the Office of T&L through attendance at Board briefings

o Assist with preparing any materials necessary to brief Board members on key items and initiatives, including but not limited to those that require a Board vote

o Collaborate with chiefs across academic departments

o Work in collaboration with T&L's assigned Central Office Budget Analyst and team to develop, administer, monitor, and maintain annual budgets aligned to strategic priorities for all T&L departments to advance educational outcomes for all student needs.

• Partner with internal and external stakeholders to clearly communicate T&L priorities and actively engage in dialogue to inform the effectiveness of T&L work

• Other duties and workstreams as assigned

In order to be successful and achieve the above responsibilities, the Deputy Chief of Teaching & Learning must possess the following qualifications:

Education Required:

• Master's degree in Education from an accredited college or university required
• Valid teaching certificate/Professional Educator's License (PEL) issued by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) with appropriate content and/or grade level endorsement(s) is required
• Doctor of Education (EdD) or Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) preferred
• Focus in Education Leadership, Curriculum and Instruction, or related field preferred

Experience Required:

• Minimum of ten (10) years of experience in educational leadership and/or curriculum development, including the following, is required:
• Minimum of five (5) years of formal leadership experience leading a team of direct reports within a complex educational organization
• Minimum of three (3) years of experience as a school principal
• Classroom teaching experience, including responsibility for designing and building curriculum, developing assessments, and analyzing student performance data
• Experience developing differentiated instructional strategies that address achievement gaps and creating, organizing, and leading professional learning experiences for teacher leaders

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Ability to articulate a vision, set high standards, and effectively guide district leaders, schools, and principals in the realization of expectations set
• Expertise in leadership development and instructional leadership, including the ability to coach directors and managers toward excellence, build the capacity of content area teams, and develop meaningful, impactful professional communities for teachers and school leaders
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, including presentation, listening and drafting memos
• Ability to build collaborative relationships with a variety of constituent groups, including external partners, to ensure the entire system operates in the most effective manner possible to support schools and principals
• High levels of instructional expertise, integrity, honesty, credibility, and the courage to make difficult yet necessary decisions.
• Strong leadership and team-building skills, e.g. ability to develop high-performing teams united around a clear vision for serving schools and achieving student success
• Effective strategic planning capabilities, including the ability to establish long-term vision and goals, and align/manage activities toward goal fulfillment
• Knowledge of operations, budget/finance, management, and organizational development
• Ability to define problems, analyze data, and outline valid conclusions and action steps

Conditions of Employment

As a condition of employment with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), employees are required to:

• Establish/Maintain Chicago Residency - Employees are required to live within the geographic boundaries of the City of Chicago within six months of their CPS hire date and maintain residency throughout their employment with the district. The Chicago residency requirement does not apply to temporary/part-time positions, however, all CPS employees must be residents of Illinois.