High School KIPP Forward Achievement Director - Newark, United States - KIPP Team and Family (KIPP New Jersey & KIPP Miami)

Description

Job Description

About KIPP TEAM & Family

KIPP TEAM & Family is our network office that includes support teams - such as Leadership Development, Recruitment, Advocacy, Facilities, Finance, HR and more - dedicated to empowering our schools and ensuring the success of KIPP students throughout New Jersey and Miami. Our schools are part of the nationally recognized "Knowledge Is Power Program" network of free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public schools dedicated to preparing students for success in college and in life. The first KIPP New Jersey school opened in Newark in 2002 and since then our school network has expanded to educate 8,135 students in grades K-12. By 2025, KIPP New Jersey will provide a world-class education to over 10,300 students across fifteen schools in Newark and five in Camden.

In 2018, we grew our KIPP community in response to a need for high-quality school options for students in Greater Miami's Urban Core communities. That led to the creation of KIPP Miami, which currently educates more than 1,000 students in four schools, with plans to reach 5,800 students by 2025. By offering highly effective educators with strong bonds to families, more time in school learning, services that support a variety of student needs, and a culture focused on achievement, our students in New Jersey and Miami are on the path to and through college, career, and choice-filled lives.

Here's what you need to know:

KIPP Forward Achievement Director

The KIPP Forward (KF) Achievement Director (AD) is a critical part of our College & Career Readiness experience for students, driving instructional practice and key outcomes in our high schools. The KF AD will span two teams: the KIPP NJ Teaching & Learning Team and the KIPP Forward Leadership Team. Using best practices, standards knowledge, vertical thinking, input and feedback from a wide range of stakeholders, and an equity lens for developing content, the KF AD will develop and manage our College & Career Readiness (CCR) curriculum and assessment/project model, with the goal of improving long-term outcomes for students. In addition to managing curriculum and assessments, the KF AD is responsible for increasing the instructional leadership capacity of school-based leaders (including Heads of Schools, School Leaders, and Assistant Principals) by deepening everyone's CCR subject matter expertise and modeling and coaching the instructional power moves. Alongside the Senior Director of KIPP Forward, the AD of KF will develop strategy and oversee implementation of SAT testing across our schools, improving access for students to strong postsecondary options as a result of strong test scores. Lastly, the AD will continue our track record of strong partnerships with pre-college summer programs and other experiential learning opportunities, working to maximize student participation and expand options.

Here's what you'll be doing:

Specifically, Achievement Directors are responsible for driving academic achievement and growth on:

• SAT/ACT exams
• Internal assessments & critical projects
• Postsecondary matriculation

The KF AD will...

Design and Deliver Responsive Curriculum & Assessments

• Develop a CCR academic program (curriculum, assessment, implementation support) that upholds our vision for instruction and long-term learning at KIPP New Jersey and KIPP Miami
• Continue to iterate on and modify these materials based on data and needs
• Develop rigorous assessments & projects that align to the grade level expectations and most critical outcomes for students, and progress developmentally as our students advance in reading and/or math proficiency
• Develop (and modify as needed) the scope and sequence of curricular lessons across grades
• Prepare module overviews and guidance for internalization for each unit of study
• Monitor the implementation of the curriculum, and make and communicate changes and improvements to content as needed
• Review and respond to assessment data by making adjustments and modifications to the curriculum and/or by deploying coaching support to places most in need
• Ensure that curriculum and assessments are equitable, inclusive, and reflect the communities we serve by engaging in ongoing feedback, review, and improvement processes that engage students, staff, and families
• Develop expectations and protocols for superior intellectual prep with the curriculum
• Collaborate with the Achievement Director(s) in KIPP Miami/KIPP New Jersey and the KIPP Forward Leadership Team, serving as a thought partner for how to modify curriculum and program to fit the regional context and postsecondary access strategy

Coach and Support the Implementation of the Academic Program

• Support our schools to get extraordinary results in both growth and achievement, by engaging in coaching & strategy sessions with each school based on need
• By working with instructional leaders in each school, build our school-based leaders' content knowledge and instructional leadership capacity -- this may include engaging in walk-throughs, student work analysis protocols, coaching O3s, leading and monitoring content meetings, supporting PD implementation, and more
• Ensure that every one of our schools is creating equitable experiences for students by increasing support at high-needs campuses when needed, and partnering with Heads of Schools in order to drive rapid improvement in key academic systems and processes
• Analyze data and student work from major assessments and projects with instructional leaders at each school and make recommendations about responding to misconceptions and implementing critical next steps
• Serve as a point person for all things programmatic, operational, data-related, and logistical – from assessment questions to materials management – related to the grade level / subject the AD leads

Lead and Engage in Professional Development

• As a resident content expert, lead professional development for leaders and teachers in accordance with the T&L and KIPP Forward teams annual professional development strategy, including AP Cohort Meetings, Leading For Learning, Heartbeat Summit, etc. Note that, depending on the PD strategy, group sizes for professional development sessions may exceed 100 depending on the PD venue
• Support (co-plan, co-lead, lead/model) content TEAM meetings in schools, on an as-needed basis
• Embrace and develop skill in a wide range and methods of professional development and coaching, including real-time feedback, co-teaching and model teaching, observation and debrief, etc.

Oversee SAT Strategy & Implementation

• Act as point person in the region's move from ACT to SAT, ensuring logical components of testing are present at each school
• Alongside Senior Director of KF and other T&L Achievement Directors, develop clear strategy for SAT preparation in our schools, in order to maximize student scores and access to quality post-secondary options

Oversee & Expand Experiential Learning Opportunities for Students

• Building on KNJ's existing pre-college summer program for rising seniors in our high schools, expand program offerings and grades served
• Build strategic partnerships with college and career programs, working to secure institutional scholarships and seats for KIPP student participation
• Support KIPP Forward teams in executing student applications to and enrollment in pre-college summer programs
• Secure partnerships for other experiential learning programs such as internships, CTE programs and dual enrollment. Work with schools to implement programming at schools as needed

Serve as an Outstanding TEAMmate on the Teaching & Learning & KIPP Forward Teams

• Collaborate with other members of the T&L and KIPP Forward teams, to engage in coherent decision-making across the grade band, content area and high school experience
• Participate in routine meetings with the T&L and KIPP Forward teams, to solve tactical matters, engage in strategic work together, build vertical content knowledge and program, etc.
• Participate in routine and/or schedule ad hoc meetings with Heads of Schools, School Leaders, and APs, to solve tactical matters, engage in strategic work together, and respond to the most pressing needs our schools have
• In years that EKGs are in place, participate in the EKG Walk-Through process, to objectively score schools on instructional practice and to generate feedback designed to move schools forward
• Participate in teacher rubric scoring and rating, to help schools norm their scoring and calibrate the rubric scores for all teachers in a building

Must-Haves:

• Kid- and teacher-focused: makes recommendations and plans based on what is best for kids and teachers; exhibits a front-line obsession.
• Leadership experience -- has served as a School Leader, Assistant Principal, or network leader for two years or more. As a coach and leader for other leaders in our organization, the person in this role needs to have walked the walk.
• Exceptional college and career access content knowledge and alignment to our instructional vision -- knows the ins and outs of everything related to standards, assessments, and best practices within the discipline.
• Strong data analysis skills: can look at an assessment and data set (including sets of student work), diagnose challenges, and immediately recommend clear next steps for instructional leaders and/or teachers.
• Presence and gravitas: can command the attention of a room when delivering feedback, explaining data, or leading professional development.
• Responsiveness, service orientation, and ability to invest and inspire others -- our teams exist to support and serve our schools, and so a top-down mentality will not work well.
• Big picture thinking -- can develop and drive a vision that will serve schools across multiple cities. Does not get bogged down by logistics or uncertainty.
• Detail-orientation -- while keeping an eye trained on the big picture, simultaneously does not let important details slip through the cracks.
• Excellent communication skills -- can speak and write compellingly about the discipline and all the nitty gritty details stakeholders will need to know in order to achieve results.
• Proactiveness – does not wait for explicit direction but rather asks the appropriate questions and self-directs; takes on additional projects without compromising the integrity of existing ones.
• Flexibility -- sees unforeseen obstacles and challenges as an opportunity to design a better solution
• Ability and willingness to travel between schools, including Newark, Camden and Miami

Compensation & Benefits

In addition to a competitive salary, KIPP TEAM & FAMILY offers a full comprehensive benefits plan, including health care, retirement, a school laptop and transportation benefits for TEAMmates commuting into New Jersey from the New York City area.