Director of Literacy

Director Of Literacy

KIPP, the Knowledge Is Power Program, is a national network of free, open enrollment, college preparatory public schools dedicated to preparing students in underserved communities for success in college and life. There are 255 KIPP schools across the nation and the District of Columbia, serving more than 100,000 students. Nationally, KIPP students are graduating at 3x the national average for low-income students.

Founded in 2008 with 50 students in 5th grade, KIPP Columbus currently serves nearly 2,000 students in grades Kindergarten through twelfth. The mission of KIPP Columbus is to create a system of schools where students develop the intellectual, academic, and social skills needed to understand and take action on issues they encounter in everyday life.

KIPP Columbus continues to rank as one of the top five schools for academic growth of any school in the state of Ohio, and is a top performing urban school in the state for academic growth. In our second class of graduating high school seniors in the spring of 2021, 100% of students were accepted to college with over $20 million in merit scholarships from colleges and universities awarded.

In addition to academic excellence, KIPP Columbus also partners with more than 100 community organizations to provide extracurricular activities, programming, health and wellness services, meals, and more to KIPP students, families, and the broader community. KIPP is also a member of the Ohio High School Athletic Association, offering more than 10 varsity sports.

The KIPP Columbus learning campus will continue to advance student learning, expand partnerships, enable superior programming, and serve as a teaching and leadership lab for schools nationwide, reimagining education through a deeper lens of antiracism, excellence, and joy.

The Opportunity

At KIPP Columbus, it is critically important that we provide an excellent and equitable education to all students. Under the direction of the Chief Schools Officer, the Director of Literacy is responsible for providing leadership to all aspects of the region's K-12th grade literacy instructional program. The Director of Literacy will work closely with School Leaders and Assistant School Leaders to align current practices, curriculum, lesson delivery, and development to the Science of Reading and principles of effective and joyful literacy instruction. This position offers an exciting opportunity for a talented and committed educational leader to accelerate KIPP's efforts to drive toward high quality student achievement outcomes and positively impact the lives of our students in Columbus.

Job Description

Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Provide leadership for all aspects of the KIPP Columbus literacy programming, including early literacy skills, academic standards alignment, instructional quality, use of data and assessment, professional development, and curricular implementation.
• Ensure that instruction and learning resources support an outstanding educational experience for students, grounded in the Science of Reading.
• Train teachers and leaders on curricular implementation, assessment and best practices and principles of effective literacy instruction.
• Provide on-going coaching, feedback and literacy content development to Assistant School Leaders and School Leaders.
• Design and implement enhanced professional development experiences for School Leaders and Assistant School Leaders and teachers based on individual campus and region-wide needs.
• Carefully monitor school performance through frequent classroom observations and in-depth data analysis in order to identify areas of strength as well as opportunities for improvement.
• In collaboration with the regional academic team, ensure that educators have efficient access to high quality student achievement data and can meaningfully use this data to drive instruction.
• Support data analysis with school teams and lead next step and initiatives review/development, and strategic planning.
• Hold school leaders accountable to high standards of excellence while providing high quality support to help schools meet these standards and achievement targets.
• Collaborate with and implement strategic initiatives in partnership with the KIPP Foundation.

Qualifications

• Master's Degree in Education, or related field
• A minimum of 5 years of professional experience with specific experience in teaching, school leadership, curriculum development or program leadership.
• Experience as a teacher-coach and principal preferred.
• Deep knowledge of the Science of Reading and learning theory, including current educational methods, research and technology.
• Experience with DIBELS assessment preferred
• Demonstrated ability to improve literacy skills in measurable ways
• Experience with tiered instructional planning and delivery
• A demonstrable commitment to pursuing equity
• A strong track record of experience and results as a trusted member of an organization's senior leadership team
• Excellent written and oral communication skills and ability to interact effectively and influence all levels of the organization and the school network
• Exceptional strategic, analytical and critical thinking skills
• Belief that outstanding school leaders, staff and teachers can achieve excellent outcomes for all students
• Ability to persevere with a sense of optimism, strong problem solving skills and desire to learn and grow in a collaborative professional learning community
• Willingness and commitment to go above and beyond to prove the possible with students
• Ability to mult-task and work with an ambiguous, fast-moving, start-up environment, while driving toward clarity and solutions
• Extreme flexibility, with a strong work ethic and an entrepreneurial spirit to accommodate high levels of responsibility and multiple priorities
• Model the values of KIPP Columbus (Imagine, Navigate, Seek, Persevere, Integrity, Responsibility, and Empathy)

Additional Information

Compensation and Benefits

KIPP Columbus offers a competitive salary and a comprehensive benefit plan including medical and dental insurance, as well as group term life insurance, retirement plan and paid time off.

Statement of Non-Disclosure

KIPP Columbus is committed to a policy of equal treatment for all individuals applying to the school for consideration of any position (admission, employment, etc.). KIPP Columbus does not discriminate on the basis of disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic that is contained in the definition of hate crimes set forth in Section 4112.02 of the Ohio Revised Code.