Culturally Responsive Education Specialist

Chicago Public Schools; Chicago, Northern (IL, KY); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 106,000; Full time

Job summary

Chicago Public Schools seeks an Inclusive and Responsive Education Specialist to lead professional learning and implement culturally responsive practices district-wide.

You will collaborate with Content Specialists and CPS teams to scale student-centered, inclusive practices, aligning curriculum, instruction, and assessment with the Instructional Core vision.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field is required.
• Valid Illinois ISBE teaching certificate with appropriate endorsement is required.
• Experience in culturally responsive pedagogy is preferred.
• Master's degree is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and facilitate professional learning across content areas.
• Collaborate with CPS teams to implement Instructional Core with equity in focus.
• Lead inclusive practices in school decision-making and curriculum.
• Support identity work, student voice, and district-wide learning initiatives.
• Coach and build capacity of school leaders and teachers in inclusive pedagogy.

Skills

Equity & inclusion

Culturally responsive

Student voice

Collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree

ISBE teaching certificate

LBSI/ESL endorsement

Master's degree (preferred)

Tools

Google Suite

Job description

CPS Careers | Search | Apply | Get Hired

Posting Date

Posting Date

: Aug 10, 2026, 11:47:09 PM

Primary Location

Primary Location

: Southwest Side-501 W 35th St (Bridgeport)

CPS Non-Union Job Grade : SG1

Estimated Annual Salary Range

Estimated Annual Salary Range

: 90,000.00 - 106,000.00

Position Type : Non-Union Position

Overtime Status

Overtime Status

: Exempt

Final salary offers are dependent upon candidate qualifications.

JOB DESCRIPTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is a district on the rise, serving over 325,000 students in 500+ schools and employing over 45,000 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. Aligned with our transformed philosophy, we are steadfastly focused on ensuring that the District provides resources equitably to support every student, every school, and every community. Six core values guide the work we do every day for our students – student-centered, whole child, equity, academic excellence, community partnership, and continuous learning. Each role in the district supports our vision that every student deserves a rigorous, joyful, and equitable learning experience.

The Chicago Public School’s Instructional Core Vision centers identity, community, and relationships, which is called the “Inner Core.” Located within the Office of Teaching and Learning, the Department of Student Voice & Engagement (DSVE) leads the district's inclusive and responsive education strategy that aims to ensure all aspects of schooling in CPS are inclusive of and responsive to the lived experiences of students, and includes young people as key stakeholders in making decisions that impact them.

Job Summary:

Reporting to the Inclusive and Responsive Education Manager, the Inclusive and Responsive Education Specialist will collaborate closely with cross-departmental Content Specialists, as well as other CPS teams such as The Department of Professional Learning and the Department of Distributed Leadership to ensure a coherent vision for student-centered, responsive, and inclusive values and practices are scaled throughout CPS. This role will be responsible for leveraging experience and expertise in the areas of student voice, and responsive, participatory, inclusive, youth-adult partnership in support of the district’s Instructional Core vision. The primary objective of the Inclusive and Responsive Education Specialist will be to support the design and implementation of guidance, resources, policy, curriculum enrichment, and professional learning experiences that:

Center responsive and affirming curriculum, instruction, and assessment across all content areas, and

Uplift inclusive, responsive, and affirming practices across school teams and within decision-making structures in schools.

This position will also support the implementation of the Instructional Core strategy and help inform and execute a focused “Inner Core” quality alignment process for all internal and external district-level curriculum and professional learning. This is a full-time, exempt position that will be paid for time worked on a salary basis.

The Inclusive and Responsive Education Specialist will be held accountable for the following responsibilities:

Design, develop, and facilitate universal and curriculum-based professional learning (PL) that advances culturally responsive and inclusive systems and structures across:

All CPS content areas (Math, English Language Arts (ELA), Science, Social Science, World languages, PK, Spanish Language Arts (SLA), Computer Science, Arts, Health and Physical Education), grade levels (PreK-12), and

All areas of schools: CPS teams (Instructional Leadership Teams, Administration, Content Departments, Behavior Leadership Teams, etc.); and continuous improvement decision-making systems and structures (continuous learning cycles, CIWP, SQRP, etc)

Ensure professional learning content created for internal and external stakeholders deepens their understanding of culturally responsive and inclusive culture, curriculum, and instruction, and the practices that support it

Work in collaboration with CPS academic and cross-content departments and external partners to ensure shared understanding and implementation of the Instructional Core vision centered in identity, community, and relationships. Maintain expertise in the fields of culturally responsive pedagogy, inclusive partnership, and student voice and leadership through staying abreast of current research, practices, and innovation in the field

Ensure professional learning for CPS Network Chiefs/Deputies, Instructional Support Leaders (ISLs), school leaders, central office instructional leaders, external partners, and other educators successfully achieves the following:

Leads educators in developing, implementing, and refining professional learning plans that ensure the prioritization and support of district-wide learning and decision-making centered on the identities, relationships, and communities of our students, their families, and our teachers

Builds their capacity in supporting school leaders and teacher leaders with responsive and inclusive pedagogical values and practices.

Prepares them to lead inclusive, responsive school-based learning through coaching, team meetings, workshops, etc.

Ensure professional learning for Teacher Leaders successfully achieves the following:

Supports them in ensuring their contributions to their schools’ Instructional Leadership Teams are anchored in responsive and inclusive practices that promote identity work and strong relationships and community

Builds their capacity to lead their colleagues in content-specific learning and reflection grounded in student voice

Support the development of content-, school team-, and school context-specific guidance, resources, and policy to ensure a consistent representation of the “Inner Core” is promoted in all content areas, and within/across teams. Collaborate with cross-content teams (OLCE, ODLSS, OSEL, OECE) to design professional learning that is student-centered and promotes inclusive and responsive practices, incorporating best practices for supporting all students (English Learners, Diverse Learners, SEL perspectives) across all content areas and grade-levels, at scale

Model the intentional, effective use of culturally responsive and inclusive practices, values, and decision-making in professional learning contexts and daily work - including communications, organization, and management tasks

Other duties as assigned

In order to be successful and achieve the above responsibilities, the Inclusive and Responsive Education Specialist must possess the following qualifications:

Education Required:

Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field of study 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

LBSI, ESL, or Bilingual Endorsement, preferred

Master’s degree in a relevant field of study, preferred

Experience Required:

Minimum of five (5) years of relevant professional experience, including the following, is required:

Minimum of three (3) years of classroom teaching experience

Minimum of three (3) years of teacher or school leadership experience, such as leading school teams in the development of curriculum and assessments, analyzing student performance data, etc.

Minimum of three (3) years working with adult learners, including creating, organizing, and facilitating professional learning experiences to meet the needs of participants

Experience leading others in culturally responsive pedagogy, equity and inclusion, civic learning, and/or student voice and leadership is preferred

Experience designing and/or delivering human-centered professional learning and/or experience with human-centered design is preferred

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Deep commitment to equity, culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogies, and transformative learning experiences for all students and adults in CPS

Strong knowledge of anti-racist practices in education; knowledge of anti-bias, anti-racist, and anti-adultist pedagogy; commitment to providing an educational environment free of discrimination and bias

Commitment to CPS Instructional Core Vision

Ability to build inclusive and participatory classrooms, schools, and learning experiences: including student voice in decision-making in any/all aspects of schooling

Strong understanding of the needs of adult learners and learning science, and practices that support all learners in the classroom, including English Language Learners and Diverse Learners.

Expertise in reimagining adult and youth learning experiences through planning, designing, facilitating, and evaluating transformative professional learning

Knowledge of research-based practices; maintains up-to-date knowledge of changing or emerging best practices, concepts and standards in the areas of identity work, anti-bias work, dialogue and deliberation; inquiry learning; and building inclusive systems and structures that elevate varied voices (including youth) in decision making in any/all aspect of schooling

Knowledge of:

WIDA ELD Standards

Understanding by Design principles for curriculum design

Universal Design for Learning principles for instructional design

MTSS and SEL best practices

Exceptional organizational skills; ability to effectively manage several work streams simultaneously

Capable of building and sustaining positive, productive relationships with colleagues and stakeholders

Exceptional written and verbal communication skills; comfortable collaborating and communicating across a diverse range of audiences, including network teams, principals, teachers, and support staff

Ability to build consensus and leverage expertise with educators across the district

Exceptional project management and time management capabilities

Strong analytic and critical thinking skills and strong ability to analyze data, define problems, and outline valid conclusions and action steps.

Capable of using data to identify development needs

Excellent technology skills (Google Suite)

Health & Wellness: Your Care, Your Choice

CPS is committed to providing comprehensive health coverage to our employees and their eligible dependents. You'll have access to a variety of choices to best fit your needs:

Medical Plan Options

Pharmacy

Vision

Behavioral Health & EAP

Employee Wellness Program

Financial Security: Planning for Today and Tomorrow

We understand the importance of financial stability, which is why CPS offers strong retirement and savings options:

Basic Life Insurance

Life and Disability Insurance

Pension Plans

Supplemental Retirement Plans (403(b) and 457(b))

Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)

Spot Pet Insurance

Work-Life Balance: Supporting Your Personal and Professional Life

CPS values the well-being of its employees and offers competitive paid time off policies:

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.

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