Director of Literacy

Position: Director of Literacy

Reports to: Chief Academic Officer (CAO)

Location: Central Office - Denver, CO

Salary: 60,000-75,000

THE CHALLENGE

Do you want to support our schools with improving our literacy outcomes? Your task is to support our teachers in delivering excellent instruction in English Language Arts across our network. We want to encourage a love of reading in students and support students in developing proficiency as readers, writers, historians, and critical thinkers ready to lead into the future.

OVERVIEW OF ROLE

STRIVE Prep is a Denver-based community of K-12 public charter schools, that challenges every student to discover and develop the skills and confidence necessary to succeed in college and beyond. Additions to the curriculum should feature readings that support, educate, and encourage our students to love themselves. Create relevant material rooted in the past and present day current events that reflect the identities of our students. The ideal candidate will bring a passion for forging strong relationships with teachers and leaders while also holding high standards for curriculum and instruction at STRIVE Prep. This candidate must have a strong content knowledge in literacy, an in-depth understanding of Common Core standards, as well as a high capacity for problem solving, logistics, building investment, and coordinating details in a fast-paced environment.

MUST HAVES

• You understand that teaching IS social justice. Through your past and present work, you fully embrace STRIVE Prep’s core belief of justice. You understand deeply that a curriculum that supports, educates, and encourages our students of color to love themselves is an act of justice that supports the community as our students leave our schools with the skills and agency to make change.

• Building curriculum is your gift. As an experienced teacher, you appreciate the value of exceptional curricular materials. You can bring your skills to build resources with your love and depth of knowledge in literacy and instruction to create an excellent program by both elevating quality resources and designing your own.

• Co-creation matters. You understand the principle of doing with, not doing to, and it informs your work with adults and students alike. You have the vision and the perseverance necessary to co-create an inclusive program across diverse stakeholders while also leading boldly for rapid change.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Vision and Capacity-Building:

• Ensure that STRIVE Prep’s ELA curriculum materials include best practices for supporting English Language Learners and students receiving Special Education services.
• In collaboration with the CAO, develop a clear vision of excellence for ELA curricular materials aligned to support implementation of our graduate aims in each of our middle and high schools. (Graduate aims are: Socially Conscious Leaders, Talented Learners, Radical Agents of Change, Identity Builders, Visionary Problem Solvers, Empathetic Communicators).
• Work with parents, students, teachers and community members to determine unit themes and specific content.

• Develop, plan, and lead high-quality professional development for teachers and instructional coaches to build capacity in teaching reading and writing well.

Curriculum Development and Resources:

• Update ELA units that are high interest to building scholar voice and agency and ensure Common Core alignment
• Work directly with Course Leads (teacher leaders) to support development and continuous refinement of high-quality, core curricular resources with Ethnic studies at the center.
• Regularly analyze student performance data to drive curricular refinement and prioritization.
• Work with instructional coaches to ensure clear understanding of curricular choices, themes, and priorities.
• Determine thoughtful journaling prompts that can co-exist in English and WS curriculums to provide reflection opportunities for students to connect their learning with themselves.
• Work with teachers to regularly share best practices, including strong lesson plans, reteach plans, and reassessments.
• Provide direct on-going support to instructional coaches to build their capacity in coaching excellent implementation of the ELA curriculum with attention to critical pedagogy in materials.
• Enhance our Project Based Learning opportunities for students inside and out of the classroom.

Collaborative Learning:

• Support teacher leaders in leveraging collaborative learning time to increase teacher capacity around standards, instruction, planning, data analysis, etc. in their content area by providing suggested agendas, data analysis protocols, and guidance on unpacking standards or assessment items.
• Develop and lead content-specific Professional Development (PD) modules and opportunities to be used during collaborative learning time.
• Develop and lead network summer training sessions in building teacher capacity and understanding of Literacy
• Lead with equity literacy - the knowledge and skills that enable us to recognize, respond to, and redress conditions that deny some students access to educational and other opportunities enjoyed by their peers.
• Lead with cultural competence - the knowledge, behaviors, and dispositions necessary to effectively interact with people across cultures.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS (OR PREFERENCES WHERE NOTED)

• Bachelor Degree (required)
• Three or more years of English teaching experience (required)
• Two or more years coaching English (or equivalent type courses) teachers (preferred)

TOTAL REWARDS

Employee retention is a top priority at STRIVE Prep. Therefore we offer competitive compensation and benefits including the following:

• Excellent Healthcare Plan: 100% of employee-only monthly premium paid by STRIVE Prep.
• Celebrated for Multilingual Abilities: We value our multilingual staff and the impact they have on our students and community. Therefore, staff that speak a language spoken by our families are eligible to receive an additional $2,000 to their base salary.
• Time Off To Refresh: Industry high 6 weeks of annual vacation/PTO. Hard work is rewarded with ample time to refresh.
• • Based on hire date, employees are eligible for up to 8 days of PTO
  • All employees receive 2 floating religious holidays
  • All employees receive summer vacation based on work location and position
• Community: Opportunity to work with passionate, mission-driven colleagues who are invested in your personal and professional growth. Join one of our Affinity Groups to build connections with staff across the network who share common identities.
• Career Support: Access to our Talent Team to support internal movement. We want you to grow your career at STRIVE!
• Family & Well Being Focus: Parental and medical leave of 6 weeks paid and 6 weeks unpaid for a total of 12 weeks.
• Mental Health Assistance: We value the wellness of our students and staff. That’s why we offer access to mental health support through our Employee Assistance Program with Optum.
• Resources and Development For Success: Equipment provided: laptop, Weekly coaching sessions
• Retirement Planning: Participation in the Colorado PERA retirement program, including a PERA 401k option.
• For more information, you can view our compensation and benefits FAQ here.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY AND DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION

STRIVE Prep is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, or any other status protected by law or regulation. STRIVE Prep works to make a college preparatory education for all students in our community the norm, rather than the exception. To achieve this we are committed to building and sustaining a diverse team by maintaining hiring and recruiting processes that are free from bias.