Senior Director, Language & Literacy

At Rocketship Public Schools, we believe in the infinite possibility of human potential. We believe that every student deserves the right to dream, to discover, and to develop their unique potential and it is our responsibility and our privilege to unleash the potential inside every Rocketeer we serve. Our non-profit network of public elementary charter schools propels student achievement, develops exceptional educators, and partners with parents who enable high-quality public schools to thrive in their community. We are a collective of parents, teachers, leaders, and students working together to transform the future for underserved communities across our country. At Rocketship Public Schools, we are unleashing potential.

Position Description

The Rocketship Public Schools Program Team is seeking an experienced individual for a Senior Director of Language and Literacy (SDoL&L) position. The Senior Director of Language and Literacy will provide leadership and vision in the ongoing planning, implementation, development, direction, review and evaluation of curriculum and instructional programs related to literacy, written and oral language. The Senior Director of Language and Literacy ensures that the network’s  education objectives are aligned to state frameworks and to instructional practices that yield the highest standards of student achievement, instructional excellence and whole child fulfillment. 

This individual will be a key strategic leader on the Language and Literacy team and will directly manage Associate Directors of Language & Literacy and Multilingual Learners. In this role the Senior Director of Language and Literacy will ensure that Rocketship schools remain a model for instructional excellence both in regards to student outcomes in literacy and language as well as continuing to serve all students through a culturally relevant lens. A successful candidate will ensure that Rocketship maintains a culture that puts our Rocketeers first and ensures outstanding support to our schools, school leaders, teachers, and entire school team while also ensuring a strong partnership with the Network Support Team (NeST).  This individual will combine a capacity for systems-level and strategic thinking, deep instructional knowledge, careful attention to detail, and strong interpersonal skills in building relationships with critical internal and external stakeholders.

The Senior Director of Language and Literacy reports directly to the Vice President of Academics.

The following are essential functions related to the role:

• Analyze and action plan around: student achievement data, observation and coaching data, and network targets
• Collaborate with other network achievement team members to provide comprehensive instructional support and resources
• Provide guidance to the Chief Academic Officer, VP of Academics, Directors of Schools, and Principals on effective instructional support and management of language and  literacy based blocks in order to realize strong outcomes for students and families while also realizing strong levels of staff satisfaction and retention 
• Develop and lead professional development to strengthen all components of the literacy block across Rocketship regions
• Support national curriculum adoption process by overseeing the implementation of new literacy and language-related curriculum across Rocketship regions

• Review and recommend textbooks, planning materials, development and other related educational materials
• Consult with external and internal partnerships 
• Strategically counsel, support and manage team members to achieve Rocketship’s mission 
• Build, develop, and lead a high performing team of mission-critical team members toward exceptional outcomes for students, families, and staff. 
• Manage team members through weekly meetings to determine and assess instructional priorities 
• Plan and conduct campus observations to inform ongoing language and literacy instructional and development strategy
• Develop and conduct highly effective mid- and end-of-year performance evaluations
• Invest, develop and influence regional achievement team members related to the Rocketship Public Schools’ language acquisition and literacy programming

• Training teachers and other instructional staff in new content and teaching strategies
• Mentoring and coaching school leaders  in content knowledge and pedagogy
• Observing work of teaching staff to evaluate internally created curriculum
• Providing feedback based on individual observations and student performance data
• Developing procedures for teachers to implement curriculum
• Help design and facilitate outstanding ongoing network-wide professional development
• Problem-solve solutions to challenges common to all schools in network
• Work with principals to design and implement excellent professional development for staff during weekly professional learning,, 1:1s, and any additional structure 
• Work with principals to set teacher professional development priorities for the year and break them down to cycles aligned to data and school needs

• 3-5 years of experience serving as an instructional leader in a high-performing charter or district environment  
• 2-4 additional years of successful teaching/instructional expertise with a record of strong achievement results
• Elementary teaching experience preferred 
• Experience designing and delivering PD to multiple audiences 
• A minimum of a Bachelor’s degree;
• 2+ years of experience and demonstrated track record in managing individuals towards high student achievement outcomes
• Minimum of 3-5 years of progressively responsible experience in the field of curriculum development, diversity training, project development/management, primary/secondary education, and/or school administration
• Expertise in curriculum design and development
• Excellent organizational and project management skills, including organization of work plans, timelines and reports
• Excellent research, writing and editorial skills
• Ability to simultaneously handle multiple assignments, work in a fast-paced environment and meet deadlines

• This role requires significant travel, which could be up to 25% of the Senior Director’s time.

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions. While performing the duties of this position, the employee is regularly required to talk, hear, and communicate with both adults and children. The employee frequently is required to use hands or fingers, handle or feel objects, tools, or controls. The employee is frequently required to stand; walk; sit; and reach with hands and arms. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds and occasionally climb ladders. Specific vision abilities required by this position include close vision, distance vision, and the ability to adjust focus. The noise level in the work environment is moderate to high.

Compensation:

Commensurate with qualifications and experience, plus excellent health and wellness benefits, 403b retirement plan, flexible spending account (FSA), and generous paid time off.

Rocketship Public Schools provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, amnesty, or status as a covered veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws. Rocketship Public Schools complies with applicable state and local laws governing non-discrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including, but not limited to, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

Rocketship Public Schools expressly prohibits any form of unlawful employee harassment based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status. Improper interference with the ability of Rocketship Public Schools’ employees to perform their expected job duties is absolutely not tolerated. Click here for our Sexual Harassment Policy.  For questions, concerns, or complaints, please contact Human Resources.