The Opportunity
Harlem Village Academies is a community of educators working to build an urban school district based on the ideals and tenets of progressive education. HVA is the demonstration site for the Progressive Education Institute.
The Instruction and Culture Director (ICD) owns instructional leadership and teacher development for one of HVA’s elementary schools. The ICD is a master teacher with deep experience in quality instruction and progressive classroom culture. The ICD has a sense of urgency around student achievement results and a passionate commitment to quality. The ICD will work closely with the principal and the network education leadership team to implement and contribute to the continual improvement of HVA's model of progressive, accountable teaching.
Responsibilities
- Directly manage and support teachers and instructional coaches to produce outstanding instruction and classroom culture that are aligned with HVA’s progressive vision:
- Develop teachers through professional learning with a focus on planning, modeling, and in-class coaching -- and follow-up with urgency to ensure teachers are effectively implementing what they have learned
- Use student work and data to drive instructional improvement and decisions and to help teachers achieve learning goals
- Co-lead with principals the teacher performance management process, including direct and clear ongoing feedback
- Teach daily at least 60 minutes or more to model exemplary teaching for coaches and teachers
- Develop, supervise, and support teachers in a progressive classroom culture that is respectful, focused, independent, and aligned with HVA's student culture principles and practices
- Lead and continually improve the effective implementation of school systems and structures related to curriculum, professional learning, informal daily assessments, authentic presentations, state test preparation, communicating student progress to parents, and data-driven tutoring
- Collaborate with and supervise the Special Education Coordinator to ensure all students are receiving appropriate services and making appropriate progress toward learning goals
- Collaborate with and supervise the reading remediation specialist to ensure all students are receiving reading remediation and achieving 1.5-2 years growth each year
- Collaborate with the Operations Director and teachers to ensure the learning environment is beautiful, clean, and designed to support student independence
- Support the leadership team to ensure effective implementation of logistics necessary for running a well-functioning school, such as scheduling, test administration, and other details
Qualifications
- Exceptional instructional skill and 7+ years of experience, particularly in literacy and literacy remediation
- A track record of strong quantitative student achievement results in an urban setting
- Experience analyzing qualitative and quantitative data to inform instructional decisions
- Experience leading teachers and/or managing a team to achieve ambitious goals
- Experience managing systems and programs with attention to detail, excellent organizational skills
- Ability to build strong adult culture and positive relationships
- Good judgment and ability to navigate challenging situations
- Incredibly high expectations for all aspects of schools and ownership over results
- Maturity, humility, and a strong work ethic – continually seeks to learn and improve
- Thrives in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment