Literacy Achievement Director - Camden

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 2027, KIPP New Jersey will provide a world-class education to over 10,300 students across Newark and Camden. To learn more, visit www.kippnj.org.

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.  

The Literacy Achievement Director serves as a key member of the Teaching & Learning TEAM at KIPP New Jersey.

Job Description: 

Design and Deliver Responsive Curriculum & Assessments in Literacy 

• Develop literacy program (curriculum, assessment, implementation support) that upholds our vision for literacy instruction and long-term learning at KIPP New Jersey, and aligns with the KIPP Foundation’s OneKIPP initiative 
• Develop rigorous assessments that align to the grade level expectations for each grade, and progress developmentally as our students advance in reading level proficiency 
• Develop (and modify as needed) the scope and sequence of lessons across a grade band
• 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 literacy curriculum and/or by deploying coaching support to places most in need
• Develop expectations and protocols for superior intellectual prep with our normed curricula and the other aspects of our literacy program and approach 

Coach and Support the Implementation of the Academic Program 

• Support our schools to get extraordinary results in reading proficiency by engaging in coaching & strategy sessions with each school in your grade-band in our Camden region 
• 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 one on ones, leading and monitoring content meetings, supporting PD implementation, and more 
• Analyze data and student work from major assessments with instructional leaders at each school and make recommendations about responding to misconceptions and implementing instructional next steps
• Serve as a point person for all things programmatic, operational, data-related, and logistical – from assessment questions to materials management –  related to your grade band’s  curriculum

Lead and Engage in Professional Development

• As a resident content expert, lead professional development for leaders and teachers in accordance with the T&L team’s annual professional development strategy, including AP Cohort Meetings, One TEAM, One Sound, 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 content TEAM meetings in literacy and potentially math, on an as-needed basis
• Engage in research and professional development opportunities within and outside of the T&L team, to continuously grow and develop our team’s knowledge based, spread best practices, and improve on our collective coaching and leadership skills 

Serve as an Outstanding TEAMmate on the Teaching & Learning TEAM 

• Collaborate with the Achievement Director(s) in KIPP Miami and KIPP Newark to share and understand best practices
• 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
• Participate in routine meetings with the T&L team, to solve tactical matters, engage in strategic work together, build vertical content knowledge and program, etc. 
• Participate in routine meetings with Managing Directors, School Leaders, and APs, to solve tactical matters, engage in strategic work together, and respond to the most pressing needs our schools have 

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 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 -- the T&L TEAM exists 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

Nice-to-Haves:

• An advanced degree in Literacy, or extensive study in the science of reading. 

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.