Deputy Chief - Office of Early Childhood Education 

Job Number:

24000098 

Posting Date

: Feb 8, 2024, 4:36:29 PM

Primary Location

: Central-42 West Madison Street (Early Childhood Development)

CPS Non-Union Job Grade: S12

Estimated Annual Salary Range

: 133,000.00 - 176,000.00

Position Type: Non-Union Position

Overtime Status

: Exempt

Final salary offers are dependent upon candidate qualifications.

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

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is one of the largest school districts in the United States, serving over 320,000 students in 600+ schools and employing nearly 40,000 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. In order to fulfill this mission, we make three commitments to our students, their families, and all Chicagoans: academic progress, financial stability, and integrity. Six core values are embedded within these commitments – student-centered, whole child, equity, academic excellence, community partnership, and continuous learning.

CPS schools are organized into 18 networks. The Office of Early Childhood provides support, strategic alignment, and partnership development to schools within the 13 elementary school networks while also driving critical support that helps to boost student learning for our youngest learners.

The Office of Early Childhood provides school administrators and teachers with the professional learning and resources needed to engage students in rich and rewarding early grades learning experiences.

Job Summary:

Reporting to the Chief of Early Childhood, the Deputy Chief of Early Childhood will support the Chief of Early Childhood in establishing a holistic, research-based strategy that improves program and operational quality of Early Childhood Programs in Chicago. The Deputy Chief will provide leadership support for early childhood initiatives, the development of directors as leaders through formalized goal setting and alignment/convergence of work across academic departments, and support the Chief with the general operations of the Office.

Additionally, this role supports elementary school Early Childhood strategy and implementation to ensure high-quality teaching and learning in every classroom and to ensure student achievement across all schools supported by OECE schools.

The Deputy Chief of Early Childhood will be held accountable for the following responsibilities:

• Support the Chief in the leadership and operations (E.g., talent development, budget planning and management, etc.) of the Office of Early Childhood
• Provide districtwide leadership and early childhood program support aligned with federal, state, and locally mandated requirements and guidelines.
• Oversee the dissemination of information, policies, regulations, procedures, and reports to internal CPS departments, Network offices, and Office of Early Childhood staff.
• Co-design and lead the Office of Early Childhood strategic planning process with all stakeholders.
• Partner with Chief of Early Childhood to identify, and recruit highly skilled staff that are committed to a standard of excellence and desired results for early childhood education
• Lead, professionally develop, and evaluate direct reporting staff, including Early Childhood directors:
• Regularly provide feedback regarding individual, team and departmental progress
• Model a growth mindset, effective collaboration, data utilization and problem-solving
• Ensure expectations are clearly communicated to department leaders; maintain high levels of accountability related to progress toward achieving set goals and established expectations
• Support check-ins between Chief Officer and directors
• Serve as liaison to schools and community partners; monitor schools’ operational performance and compliance, resolve open issues pertaining to early childhood education.
• Work collaboratively with fellow colleagues to support a seamless PreK-8 learning community, inclusive of Diverse Learners and English Learners implementing a strategic plan to dramatically increase student success
• Build collaborative relationships with a wide variety of constituent groups, including external partnerships, to ensure the most effective manner possible to support school and principal needs
• Support a learning-oriented organizational culture that emphasizes quality experiences for children, collaborative relationships, continuous improvement, and high performance by developing curriculum
• Serve as a liaison to philanthropic and research partners to support collaborative projects and initiatives

• Oversee cross-team collaborative opportunities to ensure program alignment and stakeholder engagement
• Other duties as assigned

In order to be successful and achieve the above responsibilities, the Deputy Chief of Early Childhood must possess the following qualifications: 

Education Required: 

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university is required
• Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education is preferred
• Valid teaching certificate/Professional Educator License (PEL) issued by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) with General Administrative endorsement is required. (Candidates with a valid out-of-state, reciprocal license will be considered but must obtain ISBE licensure prior to onboarding.) 

Experience Required: 

• Minimum of seven (7) years of professional leadership experience, including the following is required:
• Minimum of three (3) years of Pre K - 8 classroom teaching experience; Experience teaching preschool to second grade preferred
• Minimum of four (4) complete school years of experience as a school principal, or three (3) complete school years and at least one (1) year of experience in a district administration role supervising staff
• Minimum of three (3) years of experience coaching and mentoring educators preferred
• Professional work experience in an urban education setting preferred
• Experience in Special Education leadership preferred

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Working knowledge of the field of ECE including necessity, funding streams, benefits, program design, and progress and changes in the field
• Ability to collaboratively articulate a vision, set high standards, and effectively guide staff and stakeholders to commit to high expectations for all students by setting actionable, measurable goals and seeing them through to completion.
• Expertise in leadership development and instructional leadership. Able to coach department leaders to excellence, build the capacity of instructional leadership teams, and develop meaningful and high-impact professional development for school leaders and early childhood teachers..
• Strong communication skills (Oral, Written, Listening, Presentation)
• Project planning and strategic planning capabilities, including the ability to establish long-term vision and goals, and to align and manage activities toward execution of identified goals.
• Strong leadership and team building skills; Ability to develop high-performing teams united around a clear vision for serving schools and achieving student success.
• Knowledgeable of instructional and leadership best practices, operations, management, and organizational design.
• High level of moral imperative to work in the best interest of children.
• High level of instructional expertise, integrity, honesty, credibility, and courage to make difficult yet necessary decisions is critically important.
• Ability to define problems, analyze data, and outline valid conclusions and action steps.

Conditions of Employment

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.
• Be Fully Vaccinated Against COVID-19 - Unless approved for a medical or religious exemption, all employees are required to be up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccinations, including boosters, and to submit proof of vaccination to the district within 30 days of hire. “Up-to-date” on vaccination is defined as being at least two weeks past all primary vaccine doses and any applicable boosters.