Job Title: Network Director of Instruction and Teacher Development

Philosophy

Phoenix Charter Academy's mission is to challenge young people in our area with an academically rigorous and individually tailored curriculum. Phoenix scholars will have the support, resources and training needed to succeed academically in high school and college, and become economically secure in their future. Phoenix Charter Academy is named after a mythological figure of strength, healing and renewal.

Phoenix schools challenge resilient, disconnected young people with rigorous academics and relentless supports, so they take ownership of their futures and succeed in high school, college, and as self-sufficient adults.

Leadership Commitments

Leaders are expected to go above and beyond to ensure student achievement and believe that all students can achieve. All leaders model the core values and mission of Phoenix Charter Academy in every piece of their work and at all times. In order to be successful, all leaders must be innovative, relentless, humble and communicative with all members of the Phoenix community. Further, leaders should have a strong desire to take ownership of various projects and should possess an entrepreneurial spirit.

Qualities of a Phoenix staff member:

• Unwavering Belief in Phoenix Scholars - Phoenix staff operate with the deeply held belief that all young people want to and can succeed even in the face of what can seem like insurmountable barriers and societal constraints.

• Ability to Put Scholars First - Phoenix staff go above and beyond to ensure mastery of the skills and development of positive self-identity that will ensure success for college, careers and beyond.  Phoenix staff find every opportunity to engage in teaching and learning with scholars, using conflict to build supportive relationships with scholars and never taking things personally.

• Eager to Learn Under Pressure - Phoenix staff must be able to learn as they go in a fast paced, ever evolving, urgent environment. They have the desire to receive direct feedback and the ability to implement the feedback into practice quickly.

• Humility - Phoenix staff approach problem solving with curiosity and desire to understand the perspectives of others.  They carry an internalized sense of “I can always learn more” from others, and know that adults at Phoenix must model the qualities of being open-minded and willing to make mistakes and learn from them.

• Experience with Low Income Communities -  Staff have the proven ability to work across cultures and experience serving low-income communities and/or academically-disconnected adolescents.  

• Ability to Find Inspiration In the Small Things - In the face of challenge and hard work,  Phoenix staff must have the ability to find humor, inspiration, success and joy in the day to day interactions with scholars and the larger Phoenix Community.

• Personal Commitment to Cultural Proficiency and Ongoing Development - Phoenix staff are ongoing learners about diversity, equity and inclusion and seek to understand the ways that their self-identity and experiences impacts and interacts with their daily work, colleagues and scholars.

Specific Responsibilities

Vision and Curriculum Development:

• With Chief Academic Officer and the Managing Network Director of Curriculum and Instruction develop a vision for Phoenix classrooms that prepare all Phoenix scholars for college and 21st century careers in a competency-based, personalized, rigorous, and culturally responsive school.

• Develop and build curriculum and assessments aligned to the competencies and college readiness with rigor and relevance to build communities grounded in Positive Youth Development (High Expectations, Consistency, Caring and Supportive Relationships, Student Voice, Engaging, Rigorous, and Relevant Learning Experiences)..

• With the Chief Academic Officer and Managing Network Director of Curriculum and Instruction, lead the development of a Network-wide opportunity map aligned to college and career expectations
• Analyze existing curriculum resources and identify areas of growth
• Develop a plan for aligning curriculum to Phoenix Competencies and the opportunity map and areas of growth.
• Train and coach school-based leaders in developing curriculum aligned to competencies.

• Develop a strategic plan with the Managing Network Director of Curriculum and Instruction to foster culturally proficient curriculum and instructional practices as part of a community anchored in Positive Youth Development to support diverse Phoenix scholars.

• Develop systems to evaluate the alignment and rigor of Quality Performance Assessments across the Network (QPAs)

• Lead a process to develop advisory curriculum aligned to the competencies that incorporates the core tenets of Positive Youth Develop including but not limited to opportunities to explore identity, social-emotional learning, self-expression and wellness, activism, and college and career readiness.

• Develop curriculum resources for College Services Departments aligned with competencies that support scholars to identify their strengths, passions, and plan for their future.

• Support and coach College Service Content Team Leader to plan and lead content team days.

Assessment & Data Design

• Build capacity in teachers and leaders to implement a mastery system that uses data and mastery as benchmarks for promotion.

• Teach, monitor, and evaluate common practices for grading, curriculum design, course structure.

• Develop common understandings of levels in the competency performance indicators

• Create a process to build a system-wide set of exemplars and anchor papers aligned to the performance indicators.

• Support the development of common assessments and rubrics aligned to graduation milestones and opportunity maps

• Support the development and implementation of a student-facing learning management system for tracking student progress against competencies and graduation requirements across schools.

• Lead the implementation and analysis of network-wide common assessments such as STAR, ACCESS and diagnostics.

• Lead the work of preparing to transition successfully to high levels of performance on MCAS 2.0 in the spring of 2019.

Teacher & Leader Development and Coaching  

• With the Managing Network Director of Curriculum and Instruction develop and oversee systems and practices that provide all teachers with high quality feedback loops.

• Develop and implement vision and expectations for teacher development including coaching, supervision and evaluation, and professional development.

• Develop and implement specific systems and structures for coaching and supporting new teachers.

• Develop the skills of teachers to implement classrooms that exemplify the components of Positive Youth Development.

• Build the capacity of leaders and teachers to build relationships and facilitate learning that reflects a culture where focused learning is sacred, integrates restorative and trauma informed practices in the spirit of positive youth development.

• Create materials, resources, and trainings to be utilized across campuses to support teacher development in designing relevant and rigorous Quality Performance Assessments, competency based learning, curriculum design, personalized learning strategies and restorative justice and trauma informed cultural practices in service of Positive Youth Development.

• Support the growth and development of teachers in all subject areas and levels, teachers with a wide variety of experience. Ensure that all teachers are learning and growing in their practice through observation and coaching meetings.

• Provide formal and informal feedback on observations, lesson plan review, classroom culture and curriculum design for teachers and leaders supporting instructional improvement at the home base school and across the network.

• Coordinate with Instructional Leadership Teams and content teams so that a unified instructional vision is experienced by scholars throughout their Phoenix education

• Plan and deliver Network-wide professional development with the Managing Network Director of Curriculum and Instruction

**It is understood that this Job Description is a summary of the primary duties and responsibilities of the position. It is not intended to be a complete and total description of each and every duty and responsibility. As such, this job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by this employee. He or she will be required to follow any other instructions and to perform any other duties requested by his or her supervisor.

It is also understood that the Network retains the right to modify this Job Description at any time, for any reason, at the Network’s sole discretion**

We seek a diverse workforce. Phoenix Charter Academy is an Equal Opportunity Employer. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, Phoenix Charter Academy is committed to providing equal opportunity to staff and applicants in all areas of employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status, or any other area protected by federal, state or local law. Phoenix Charter Academy is committed to making any reasonable accommodation necessary to support an individual's employment.