Senior Director of Academics

Envision Education • San Francisco, CA

11d • $130,000 - $150,000 • Onsite

About The Position

Envision Education seeks a Senior Director of Academics. This is a network-level instructional leader who sets a vision of excellence for our academic program, drives achievement of that vision through systems-level planning and collaboration, provides top-notch professional development for our leaders and teachers, stewards the development of our students’ literacy skills, and ensures that all students are receiving high-quality instruction in alignment with the Envision Way.
WHO WE ARE
Our mission is to transform the lives of students - especially those who will be the first in their family to attend college - by preparing them for success in college, career, and life. Envision Education currently operates four small schools in San Francisco, Oakland, and Hayward, as well as a national educational consulting firm called Envision Learning Partners. Envision Education has made an explicit commitment to becoming an exemplar network of schools with an instructional and cultural vision rooted in an anti-racist and pro-Black framework. The following represents Envision Schools’ vision for 21st-century skills, character traits, and cognitive and social-emotional skills that learners need for success in college, career, and life.
Knowledge and Love of Self and Land
Collectivism
Critical Thinking
Self Determination
Criticality
Leadership
WHO YOU ARE
You are equity-focused. You are unapologetic about your deeply held belief that all children can achieve. You believe that anti-racist and pro-Black practices and frameworks are essential to change the status quo for all students.
You are collaborative. You make decisions in partnership with others, focused on what is best for the students
You are invested in our core values. You hold high expectations for the entire school community. You examine your own biases in your pursuit of equity for all. Every opportunity to learn something new excites you.

Requirements

• At least 7-8 years of leadership experience in education.
• At least 5-8 years of experience in academic programming or coaching.
• A Bachelor of Arts or Science Degree, Preferred: Related MA Degree or M.Ed.
• Demonstrated success working with parents and families, especially Black, African American, Latino/a/x, and immigrant families.
• Previous experience developing and facilitating adult learning/training.
• Adept at thinking strategically, translating plans into action, and exhibiting excellent judgment.
• Detail oriented with exceptionally strong follow-up and follow-through skills.
• Superb communication skills, both written and verbal. Can distill complexity into clarity.
• Naturally and readily assumes responsibility to fix problems and create improvements.
• Ability to quickly and effectively build relationships with, motivate, and engage a diverse group of stakeholders.
• Skilled at analyzing, interpreting, and using data to collaborate, identify best practices and areas for improvement, and drive results.
• Commitment to the mission of Envision Education.
• Commitment to anti-racist and pro-Black leadership and practices in the workplace.
• Once hired, continuous current California residency.

Nice To Haves

• Training in or familiarity with the Relay coaching model (preferred).
• Training or experience in project-based or inquiry-based learning (preferred).

Responsibilities

• Leading and Codifying Envision’s Academic Program
• Communicate a vision for excellent teaching and learning across Envision Schools.
• Ensure that all Envision students have access to high-quality, grade-level curricula in every subject, aligned to state standards and the Envision model.
• With fellow leaders, develop functional objectives as well as mid-term and long-term plans to achieve vision for curriculum and instruction.
• Lead continuous improvement of curriculum, instruction, and assessment, informed by student performance data across the network.
• Collaborate with school site leaders to maintain a course catalog and master schedule that prepares students for success in college (including A-G access, Advanced Placement, etc.)
• Document the what and the how of Envision’s academic program so that schools understand it and can implement it with fidelity.
• Ensure that instruction at Envision exemplifies rigor and inquiry and provides students with opportunities for project-based learning and high-quality performance assessment.
• Engaging and Challenging Our Students as Readers and Writers (ELA focus)
• Provide focused leadership of our English Language Arts program.
• Implementing with fidelity the network-endorsed or network-approved ELA curriculum so that it meets our students' needs, culturally and pedagogically.
• Design a robust system of diagnostics and interventions for students’ literacy skills. Organize and maintain ELA instructional programs and services in a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS).
• Through professional development, develop the skills of site-based ELA teacher coaches, in partnership with school leaders.
• Assessing Our Learners
• In collaboration with the Senior Director of Assessment, implement a coherent assessment system that is holistic, compliant with state standards, and exemplifies the Envision commitment to high-quality performance assessment.
• Manage and continuously improve Envision's diagnostic and interim assessments to gather meaningful formative data.
• Develop and implement systems for teachers to use data in their planning and instruction and for that data to be shared with students.
• Lead the analysis of performance data and drive network-wide and classroom-level action as a result.
• Designing and Implementing High-Quality Professional Development
• Develop and implement professional development arcs for teachers, coaches, and site leaders that are aligned to our vision.
• Lead—and support others to lead—professional development for school leaders, coaches, teachers, and learning specialists.
• Steward the quality of Envision’s coaching model, which includes practices in observation-feedback, intellectual preparation, and student work analysis.
• Assess the impact of PD and continuously improve based on performance data and promising practices.

Benefits

• Paid sick leave.
• Paid vacation time.
• Excellent health benefits package with employer contribution to benefits.
• Excellent Optional Flexible Benefits Plan, including dependent care, medical care, parking, and commuter benefits.
• Retirement system from CalSTRS
• 403b Plan.
• Life Insurance at no cost to employee.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director