Great Oaks Legacy

At Great Oaks Legacy Charter School, Achievement Directors serve first as members of our PreK-12 Academic Team, and then as leaders of their discipline in the academic program. Using best practices, standards knowledge, vertical thinking, input and feedback from a wide range of stakeholders, and an equity lens for developing content, Achievement Directors develop and manage our curriculum and assessment model, with the goal of improving long-term learning for kids. In addition, Achievement Directors are responsible for increasing the instructional leadership capacity of school-based leaders (School Directors, Academic Deans and Department Chairs) by deepening everyone’s subject matter expertise and modeling and coaching the instructional power moves.

Reporting to and supervised by the Managing Director of Prek-12 Academics, Achievement Directors will lead all content instructional activities and programming, setting a clear content vision aligned to ambitious and rigorous regional goals that drive student achievement. Achievement Directors served as dotted line managers for Academic Deans. 

Specifically, Achievement Directors are responsible for driving academic achievement and growth on: 

• State and standardized tests (NJGPA/NJSLA, SAT, AP)
• Internal assessments (i-Ready, end of unit tests, cold read quizzes, cumulative review quizzes, quarterly assessments, midterms, finals)

Key Leadership Competencies & Role Responsibilities: The Director of Secondary (5-12) Literacy Achievement…

Leads Self: GOLCS Achievement Directors know that their ability to impact students and the adults they lead starts with a deep understanding of self and a willingness to continually strive to improve. 

1. Self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and regulation: Achievement Directors at GOLCS know that self-awareness is foundational to leading self, leading people, cultivating teams and driving results and outcomes. They use reflection, self-understanding, and feedback to adjust behaviors, grow, and persist through challenges. They use emotional intelligence to navigate difficult conversations and situations with key stakeholders with ease and emotional consistency.
2. Diversity, equity, inclusion & belonging: Achievement Directors at GOLCS know that the work to achieve educational equity for students and to dismantle White Supremacist Culture begins with self. They continuously explore their intersectional identities, building awareness around interpersonal and systemic dynamics to lay the foundation for a thriving network academic programming.
3. Integrity: Achievement Directors at GOLCS are committed to being honest and have strong moral principles as demonstrated by their interactions and engagement with all key stakeholders.
4. Continuous Learning: Achievement Directors at GOLCS know that the work of personal development is ongoing and vital to their personal and professional success. Achievement Directors hold themselves accountable to evolving, growing, learning and unlearning in ways that improve results for students, adults, and the larger community.

Leads People & Cultivates Teams: 

1. Building Relationships & Stakeholder Engagement: Achievement Directors know that relationships with key stakeholders are essential to transformational change. Those they work with most closely feel seen, known, and cared about as their full selves and trust that commitments made will be kept. Additionally, Achievement Directors possess the ability to influence and engage all key stakeholders before making decisions and executing a project/idea; they ultimately understand that the Academic TEAM exists to support and serve our schools, and so a bureaucratic approach will not work well. 
2. Change Management: Achievement Directors drive collective action and systemic improvement in alignment with their content/grade band vision and goals, knowing that transformational change is the work. They leverage their influence to improve processes and outcomes, deeply invest teams of Academic Deans and other stakeholders in necessary changes such as curriculum adoptions, and align the work in support of the changes they seek.
3. Managing People: Achievement Directors prioritize developing and managing (via a dotted line) Academic Deans in their content areas/grade band including ensuring Academic Deans are clear about their roles and have strong impact in alignment with their school and organizational goals. As a result of this focus, those they work with stay at the organization, feel developed and supported, use their strengths daily in their role to achieve excellent outcomes.

Drives Results & Outcomes 

1. Vision setting & strategic planning: Achievement Directors at GOLCS know that to walk the path of excellence with Department Chairs, Academic Deans, and School Directors, they must create a clear and compelling annual content vision, set grade band goals, and make decisions that allow Academics Deans to drive the work they are best positioned to impact. As a result of this work, key stakeholders are highly invested in the shared vision and are positioned to be proactive, accountable, adaptive, and successful. 
2. Prioritization of time: In addition, Achievement Directors know that their role is twofold. They make time for developing a scope and sequence for the year against our network calendar, fully internalizing the curricula’s materials and assessments, publishing and packaging them for leaders and teachers, developing assessments, preparing unit overviews/pacing guidance as well as being present in schools, observing and coaching. 
3. Ongoing data analysis and action planning: Achievement Directors understand the value of student achievement and observation data and examine and analyze these key data points weekly including identifying trends, bright spots, and red flags to make programmatic shifts and decisions and/or alter coaching style for specific leaders. They also review and respond to assessment data by making adjustments and modifications to curriculum materials and/or by deploying coaching support to places most in need.
4. Coaching Leaders and Teachers: Achievement Directors at GOLCS drive themselves and others to equitable outcomes for students and teammates by building Academic Deans’ content knowledge and instructional leadership capacity by engaging in weekly coaching and strategy sessions with Academic Deans. This may include walkthroughs, coaching 1:1s, observing a 1:1 coaching session, LASW protocols, leading or observing department meetings. In addition, Achievement Directors are resident content experts who lead professional development for leaders and teachers in accordance with the Academics Team year long professional development strategy.

Collaborates with the Network and School Based Teammates: 

1. Strengthen the Network: Achievement Directors provide input to strengthen the network’s support, seeks to cultivate a partnership rather than an “us-them” relationship with senior leaders,, and proactively works to ensure a true feeling of alignment and collaboration throughout GOLCS.
2. Strengthen the Academics Team: Achievement Directors collaborate with other members of the Academic Team to engage in collaborative decision-making across the grade band and content area and participate in routine meetings with the Academics team, to solve tactical matters, engage in strategic work together, build vertical content knowledge and program, etc. 
3. Strengthen Schools: Achievement Directors participate in teacher and leader rubric scoring and rating, to help schools norm their scoring and calibrate the rubric scores for all teachers and leaders in each school building. 

Qualifications

Must-Haves:

• College degree: has a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university
• Teaching & Leadership Experience: has taught for a minimum of four years in English and has student achievement scores to speak to their ability to drive results and has served as a School Director, Academic Dean/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. 
• Deep content expert: stays afloat of current content area research in Literacy and the Science of Reading via reading and professional development and deeply knows the ins and outs of everything related to standards, assessments, and best practices within the discipline and grade band 
• 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
• Visionary and dreamer: can develop and drive an inspirational and audacious vision that will close gaps in educational equity and student achievement across our schools
• Detail-oriented and logistical: prioritizes the micro details as much as the vision and can take an idea from theory to practice
• Excellent communication skills: can speak and write clearly, specifically, and cohesively about the discipline and all the nitty gritty details stakeholders will need to know in order to achieve results for students
• Just do it: does not always need to be told what to do; has insight to determine what needs to be done based on assessing gaps and asking the appropriate questions; can manage multiple projects at once

Nice-to-Haves:

• An advanced degree (Masters or Doctorate) in Literacy, English, Curriculum and Instruction or Educational leadership 
• A state issued license as a teacher, supervisor, or principal

GREAT OAKS LEGACY CHARTER SCHOOL

The Great Oaks Legacy Charter School is a high-performing, innovative charter public school in Newark NJ, serving students from Pre-K to 12th grade on campuses across the city of Newark. Our mission is to prepare Newark’s students for success in college and beyond.

Our model is based on the following guiding principles that guide our work daily:

1. Creating a community that is built upon genuine and meaningful relationships. GOLCS staff rate our commitment to students as the #1 reason they teach/work at our schools.
2. Being surgical in our approach to differentiation of instruction and support for all students and team members. Our students receive daily tutoring embedded into their school schedule - facilitated by our AmeriCorps team members. Staff members receive individualized coaching and support in their roles.
3. Setting and exceeding high expectations for academic growth and character development for all students, in preparation for success in college and beyond. Currently, the historical college matriculation rate for GOLCS is 79% - nearly twice the national average for economically underrepresented students.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

Great Oaks Legacy Charter School offers competitive salaries commensurate with experience and a comprehensive benefits package, including:

• Robust medical, dental, and vision insurance plans w/ comprehensive network coverage.
• Up to $5,250 per year in tax exempt student loan and tuition reimbursement.
• Reimbursements for external professional development aligned to your role.
• Wellness reimbursements including gym memberships, spa services, and more.
• Online counseling services - for staff and their dependents - via top-rated therapy app.
• Pre-tax state pension plan benefit w/ additional. options available via voluntary retirement plans.
• Pre-tax dependent care, health, and transit flexible spending plans available.
• Convenient health screening and telemedicine support via VitalCheck Wellness platform.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, & ACCESSIBILITY

GOLCS is committed to building a talented team that reflects the diverse backgrounds and experiences of our students. Furthermore, we believe that racial justice and equity is critical to our mission of preparing students for success in college and beyond. We strive to be an organization that is diverse, equitable, inclusive, and elevates our student voices in preparing them for life and college.

GOLCS VACCINATION POLICY & COMMITMENT TO SAFETY

Great Oaks Legacy Charter School is committed to ensuring healthy and safe working and learning environments, and maintaining our educational commitment to GOLCS students and families - with minimal disruption to instruction. With this in mind, as of October 2021, Great Oaks Legacy requires vaccination against COVID-19 for all employees. Candidates who would like to apply for a reasonable accommodation from this policy based on a qualifying disability or sincerely held religious belief should reach out to HR@greatoakslegacy.org for more information.