Executive Director of School & Leadership Development

Executive Director of School & Leadership Development

Job Description

Reports to: Chief Resources Officer

Purpose:

This leader works directly with elementary and secondary school principals to improve student outcomes and transform low performing schools by providing intensive academic support, school culture support and systems support. Oversees and facilitates principal coaching in individual and small group settings to impact continuous improvement for school leaders. Provides support to school leaders for continuous improvement strategies that align with the strategic plan.

Primary Job Responsibilities:

• Builds capacity for schools identified as low performing by coaching principals who have high potential to transform their schools and substantially improve student academic performance.
• Provides onsite coaching, support and modeling of leadership strategies to improve schools' academic culture and micro political leadership.
• Provides targeted coaching on academic rigor, supervision, and observation of staff, and data driven instruction.
• Collaborates with Executive Directors of Schools and Chief Academic Officer to implement a coaching process/model for identified principals. Establishes short-term and long-term goals, creates action plans, supports implementation, and monitors school performance. Assists in school data collection and regularly assesses progress toward coaching goals.
• Facilitates connections and leads teams to engage and learn from highly successful schools, locally and nationally. Interacts with a diverse collection of schools and school models, including the district's most successful school leaders, to identify, share, and implement best practices.
• Supports schools in the use of PLC structures, quarterly benchmark assessments and curricular framework. Collaborates with school principals, critically assesses teacher's backwards plans, and delivers rigorous instruction. Ensures the synergy of curriculum, instruction, and assessment at identified schools.
• Supports school leaders in implementing best practices around transformational school culture helping school principals build a culture of collaboration and rigor focused on dramatic student achievement gains. Supports school principals in building the systems, routines, and proactive strategies to create a joyful, engaging school environment.
• Critically reviews how schools/school principals are using assessments to improve student learning and achievement. Supports school principals in using assessment as a means to gather individualized data on students and differentiate instruction to meet student needs.
• Designs and conducts professional development opportunities for school leaders and their Instructional Leadership teams, allowing for hands-on application to build leadership capacity and to ensure the implementation of best practices. These sessions will offer an opportunity to develop role clarity, reflect on current processes, and create action plans to support next steps.
• Leads sessions with key district staff to review progress on principal coaching and assess growth toward Key Performance Indicators. These sessions will serve as valuable opportunities to benchmark district progress, develop strategic next steps, and ensure cross-departmental collaboration to drive school improvement.
• Performs other related duties, as assigned.

Qualifications:

• Master's degree in school administration or curriculum development, and five years of successful experience as a principal; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Demonstrated success as a school administrator and working with high needs populations.
• Commitment to educational excellence and continuous improvement demonstrated through the development and implementation of successful elementary or secondary instructional programs or exercised in the selection, training and evaluation of staff.

• Extensive knowledge of the principles and practices of public school administration
• Extensive knowledge of data analysis and statistical control techniques useful in assessing and improving program quality and effectiveness;
• Demonstrated success in planning for and implementing systems that establish, track and evaluate achievement of desired outcomes, including experience with quantitative and qualitative data usage.
• Comprehensive knowledge of school operations.
• Knowledge of research and current trends in public school education.
• Deep understanding of elementary or secondary school teaching and learning with experience leading at the elementary or secondary school level strongly preferred.
• Exceptional conceptual, analytical, organization, and management skills.
• Belief that transformational change within a low performing school setting is possible and an urgent desire to see such change occur.
• Ability to recognize, and is sensitive to, the multicultural needs of schools, staff, and community, and motivated to ensure equitable outcomes for all students.
• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely in both oral and written forms using a variety of communication techniques and tools to ensure the appropriate flow of information, collaborative efforts and feedback.
• Strong ability to collaborate and to establish and maintain solid working relationships with all staff and students throughout the district.
• North Carolina Professional Educator's License for School Administrator-Principal.
• Experience coaching school leaders strongly preferred.

Physical Requirements:

This job operates in professional office and school environments and has a noise level of mostly low to moderate. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, scanners, and copiers. The position routinely interacts with school administrators, teachers, support staff, students, central office staff and other community members. Work is considered light physical work, requiring the exertion of up to ten pounds of force. The work frequently requires driving automotive equipment.