Senior Director, Literacy and Humanities

District of Columbia Public Schools; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 180,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

District of Columbia Public Schools is seeking a Senior Director, Literacy and Humanities to lead the Office of Teaching and Learning’s work in English Language Arts, literacy across content areas, and social studies. The role collaborates with division leaders to align curricular resources and professional development with district priorities and equity goals.

The position oversees a team of directors and drives data-informed strategies, professional development, and school support plans to

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and five to seven years of related work experience, including experience teaching in the classroom or operating in an administrative position in the education industry.
• Master’s degree in education highly preferred.
• Experience managing large scale projects and using qualitative/quantitative data to evaluate programs.

Responsibilities

• Defines the connection between key OTL priorities and Content & Curriculum division workstreams for Literacy and Humanities.
• Supports the Deputy Chief in setting goals and benchmarks and monitors progress.
• Keeps leadership informed about innovations, policy developments, and research affecting division work.
• Leads Content Directors within Literacy and Humanities to coordinate OTL cluster-based support roles.
• Oversees development of professional development opportunities and school-based supports to raise instructional quality.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Teamwork

Management

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Master’s degree in education

Job description

Job Title: Senior Director, Literacy and Humanities

The mission of the OfficeofTeaching and Learning (OTL) is to provide educators with curricular resources, academic programs, and aligned professional development to ensure rigorous and joyful learning experiences foreverystudent. OTL team members support school-based staff in implementing DCPS's existing academic programs while simultaneously working to rethink and redesign school programming, academic and curricular resources, and educator professional development.

Divisions/Teams

• The Content and Curriculum division sets the vision for equity and excellence for each content area in DCPS schools by researching, creating, and curating curricular materials and providing aligned professional development experiences to ensure that all students have access to rigorous and joyful learning experiences every day in every content area. The division also supportsschools and develops curriculum and programming in arts, health, physical education, library programs, STEM, global programs, advanced andenriched instruction, and curriculum andassessmentinnovation.

• The Early ChildhoodEducation division supports schools andfamilies in providingPreKstudents withcomprehensivelearningexperiencesthat foster confidenceand independence.Approximately 6,000 childrenagesthree to five attend early childhood classrooms in 78 elementary schools across the district, including several schools thatoffer Head Start programming.Thedivisionalso manages Early Stagesprogramming whichworks exclusively with children ages 2 years 8 months through 5 years 10 months and is responsible for meeting the District’s obligation under the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B (619) to develop a comprehensive child findsystemto identify and locate all preschool-age children in the District who have a disability.Thedivision alsomanages theimplementation ofDCPS' Head Startgrant.

• The Language Acquisition divisionwelcomes families of linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds to DCPS, leads the process ofidentifyingMultilingual Learner students, and supports schools in developing programs that supports English language acquisition and academic growth.This includes support during the academic day and as part of ELSAP, which is a targeted summer program for ML students. The LAD also manages DCPS compliance with the DC Language Access Act, providing translation and interpretation resources to school and central teams.

• The Professional Learning and EducationalTechnology division sets a vision for professional development for DCPS as well as createssystems, tools, and structures to increase the efficacy of professional learning initiatives. This work includes LEAP, cluster-based PD, districtPDand other learning opportunities. The team works across all DCPSoffices to increase the cohesion of professional development and broad sharing of knowledge, while exploring new avenues and opportunities for meaningful development and learning for our educators. The team also leads efforts to enhance alignment and cohesion of professional learning initiatives and the integration of educational technology.

• The Specialized Instruction division works to reduce the opportunity gap between students with IEPs and their non-disabled peers; and increases equity and excellence in schools through specific academic programming, related services, professional learning, school leadership development, family engagement, dispute resolution, and community partnerships.

The Literacy and Humanities division is responsible for leading OTLs work in the areas of English Language Arts, literacy across content areas, Reading, and Social Studies. The team oversees related formative assessments, interventions, and the development of curriculum and professional development for teachers.

The Content and Curriculum division is responsible for leading OTL’s work in the areas of English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, World Languages, Dual Language, Library Programs, Academic Innovations, Arts, Assessments, and Health and Physical Education. Additionally, the team oversees related formative assessments, interventions, and the development of curriculum and professional development for teachers.

The Senior Director, Literacy and Humanities, performs a critical role supporting the Deputy Chief of Content and Curriculum in leading the work of the C&C division related to OTL and district priorities. The Senior Directorcollaborates closely with the C&C leadership team and other division leaders across OTL and DCPS to ensure the guidance, professional development plans, school support plans, curricular resources, and other work of the division are aligned to each other and to other Offices, directly promote district priorities, and lead to accelerated student outcomes and increased equity. The Senior Director will assist with the management of key initiatives and oversee the implementation of multiple models of school support that ensure responsiveness to schools’ needs, including maximizing effectiveness of supports provided via the Cluster Support Model, and the ongoing development and implementation of LEAP (LEarning together to Advance our Practice), DCPS’ school-based model of professional development.

This position has been designated as Protection Sensitive. Pursuant to section 410 of Chapter 4 of the D.C. Personnel Regulations; in addition to the general suitability screening, individuals applying for or occupying protection sensitive positions are subject to the following checks and tests: Criminal background check; Sex Offender Registry check; Traffic record check (as applicable).

Position Overview

The mission of the OfficeofTeaching and Learning (OTL) is to provide educators with curricular resources, academic programs, and aligned professional development to ensure rigorous and joyful learning experiences foreverystudent. OTL team members support school-based staff in implementing DCPS's existing academic programs while simultaneously working to rethink and redesign school programming, academic and curricular resources, and educator professional development.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

The below statements are intended to describe the general nature and scope of work being performed by this position. This is not a complete listing of all responsibilities, duties, and/or skills required. Other duties may be assigned.

• Defines the connection between key OTL priorities and Content & Curriculum division workstreams, as it relates to Literacy and Humanities.
• Supports the Deputy Chief in determining goals and benchmarks for success for key division workstreams; continually monitorsprogress and supports content directors in making adjustments and refinements as necessary.
• Stays closely aware of projects, high-level initiatives, and emerging issues across OTL and DCPS; pro-actively helps to advise the Deputy Chief and C&C leadership team; adjusts division approach based on changes in direction, priorities, and resources; and keeps informed about innovations, developments in policy, and research.
• Leads Content Directors within Literacy and Humanities and collaborates with Content Directors across OTL and DCPS, to increase coordination and effectiveness of OTL cluster-based support roles: English Language Arts, Language Learning, Social Studies, DC Reading Clinic, Library Programs, and Literacy Strategy content leads, ensuring integration/collaboration with Special Education, Language Acquisition, and Educational Technology.
• Works with Instructional Superintendents and school leaders to assess needs of core content area teachers and LEAP Leaders; and oversees the creation of professional development opportunities and school-based supports to address those needs and increase the quality of instruction.
• Leverages content expertise and management strategies to ensure guidance, professional development plans, school support plans, curricular resources, and other work of the division are aligned to each other and to other content teams and DCPS offices, directly promoting district priorities and leading to accelerated student outcomes and increased equity.
• Creates detailed timelines for each initiative; assesses and tracks progress regularly using various computer programs and tools; and drives project completion by holding others accountable for responsibilities and deadlines.
• Helps manage the analysis and presentation of data and progress of data-driven initiatives for senior leadership team and external audiences; communicates progress to key stakeholder groups; and incorporates their input.
• Manages a team of a manager and six directors who lead the implementation of content-specific professional development, assessments, interventions, and curriculum design.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and five to seven years of related work experience, including experience teaching in the classroom or operating in an administrative position in the education industry.
• Master's degree in education with a primary focus on one or more core content areas highly preferred.
• Previous exposure to or experience in the education sector a plus.
• Experience managing large scale projects.
• Experience using qualitative and quantitative data to design and evaluate programs.
• Extremely high expectations of oneself, colleagues, and clients; ability to communicate those expectations in a direct and motivating way; deep commitment to professional growth and learning; and thrives in a culture of continuous feedback.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to work under tight deadlines; ability to multitask and self-manage the deadlines of competing projects.
• Experience creating and managing systems to collect and monitor programmatic data, meeting benchmark indicators, and innovating solutions when necessary.
• Ability to learn quickly, work in a fast-paced and evolving environment, and handle multiple priorities effectively.
• Outstanding interpersonal, teamwork, and management skills.
• Strong acumen engaging in conversations and producing work products that are centered in equity and inclusion best practices.

DCPS Values

• STUDENTS FIRST: We recognize students as whole children and put their needs first in everything we do.
• COURAGE: We have the audacity to learn from our successes and failures, to try new things, and to lead the nation as a proof point of PK-12 success.
• EQUITY: We work proactively to eliminate opportunity gaps by interrupting institutional bias and investing in effective strategies to ensure every student succeeds.
• EXCELLENCE: We work with integrity and hold ourselves accountable for exemplary outcomes, service, and interactions.
• TEAMWORK: We recognize that our greatest asset is our collective vision and ability to work collaboratively and authentically.
• JOY: We enjoy our collective work and will enthusiastically celebrate our success and each other.

We are an equal opportunity employer and are committed to creating an inclusive, accessible workplace. We welcome and encourage applications from individuals with disabilities. Accommodation and/or application assistance is available upon request at all stages of the application and employment process. To request accommodation, please contact [e-mail].