Director, K-8 Mathematics

KIPP Public Schools is a national network of public charter schools that prepares students with the skills and confidence to create the future they want for themselves, their communities, and us all. We are a network of 280 schools, nearly 15,000 educators, and 175,000 students and alumni.

Our mission: Together with families and communities, we create joyful, academically excellent schools that prepare students with the skills and confidence to pursue the paths they choose—college, career, and beyond—so they can lead fulfilling lives and build a more just world.

Our vision: Every child grows up free to create the future they want for themselves and their communities.

The KIPP Foundation is a nonprofit organization that supports KIPP schools across the country. The KIPP Foundation trains and develops outstanding educators to lead KIPP public schools; provides tools, resources and training for excellent teaching and learning; promotes innovation; and facilitates the exchange of insights and ideas across KIPP and other public schools and organizations.

Position Overview

The Director, K-8 Mathematics will provide hands-on and direct support with a portfolio of small regions (Regions with less than 6 schools) to pursue their regional math achievement and instructional goals. In this role, you will collaborate with Instructional Leaders to build effective regional professional learning and academic systems through 1:1 check-ins, facilitating Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), and similar community learning spaces where you would work side by side work in schools and regions on formal professional development. You will also support program implementation as regions adopt new curricular or assessment resources, instructional coaching systems, or other academic programs related to math instruction by supporting planning, codifying and sharing effective practices, and collaboratively problem-solving. The position reports directly to the Senior Director, K-8 Math. They will work in close partnership with KIPP Foundation colleagues and KIPP network leaders, to support KIPP leaders and teachers in their daily work.

Key Responsibilities and Duties

Direct support and coaching of regional teams and school-based leadership

• Build and refine their lens for excellent and equitable math instruction and math coaching.

• Create routines and relationships for effective school visits.

• Coach through layers as coaches of coaches.

• Monitor, track and analyze student achievement data to drive content development and support math strategy.

• Monitor and improve the quality of instructional coaching and teacher development.

• Establish effective professional learning cycles from planning and execution of professional learning experiences, monitoring of participant learning and reactions, school support and implementation of new learning, to impacts on student outcomes.

Facilitate communities of practice to support program implementation

• Set and monitor goals for inputs, process, and outputs for communities of practice and regional implementation of aligned programming.

• Plan and facilitate professional learning experiences for instructional leaders, including formal professional learning and collaborative workspaces.

• Support implementation of shared learning through 1:1 coaching, on the ground support, resource development and curation, and codifying and sharing effective practices.

Evaluate and iterate on program implantation in region and design of community of practice.

• Establish a logic model/theory of impact for programs and supports with aligned goals around input, process, and outcomes.

• Gather, analyze, and respond to data on programming and program impact aligned to logic model/theory of impact.

• Support regional implementation of effective data practices aligned to program implementation.

Contribute to the strategy, vision setting, program research and design, and cross team-collaboration in response to Foundation and Network priorities

• Collaborate with teammates across contents and or teams in programs with shared goals.

• Participate in cross-team advisory, planning, or similar work in support of KIPP Foundation or Network priorities. Research, design, and lead projects emerging in response to emerging needs or priorities, in partnership with KIPP Foundation and Regional Stakeholders.

• Manage resource creation and development of supports for specific curricula.

• Manage partnerships with vendors and partners.

• Make recommendations into team’s budget planning, and responsible for managing against the grant budget and/or reporting on progress towards milestones.

Skills

• Mission & Student Focus: Demonstrated commitment to education equity; a passion for KIPP’s mission; desire and ability to uphold KIPP’s values (Focus on Excellent Results, Courageous Action, and Resilient Solutions Focus)

• Instructional Fluency in K-8 Mathematics: Strong math instructional and coaching expertise including deep K-8 math content knowledge, math pedagogical knowledge, knowledge of culturally relevant teaching practices and familiarity with current research; knowledge and skilled in effective professional learning and instructional coaching techniques. Understanding of teaching that is procedural based and focused on telling versus teaching in which the teacher facilitates student learning through rich tasks and understanding

• Achievement Orientation: infuses clarity in accountability and goals, ensuring measures of success are tied to student outcomes; Eliminates unnecessary bureaucracy/inefficiencies in pursuit of outcomes; record of results in achieving strong results in mathematics instruction.

• Process & Project Management: Can effectively manage complex projects with multiple stakeholders to deadlines while balancing multiple short- and long-term projects; demonstrates disciplined, independent, and innovative approach to translating strategy into priorities and project plans, even in unstructured spaces; continually applies strong attention to detail to the execution of all projects and constantly looks for ways to improve and to scale learning quickly.

• Communications Skills: Clear and effective communicator; Ensures content is written persuasively, clearly, and professionally, using correct grammar, vocabulary, and tone; Responds promptly to concerns and ensures that stakeholders are aware of actions that are being taken and explains the rationale for decisions and/or outcomes to the stakeholder; Asks questions to maintain clear communication regarding mutual and realistic expectations, desires or needs for improvement.

• Critical Thinking and Strong Judgement: Proven track record of exemplary performance in analytic and problem-solving skills; defining problems, framing options, conducting analysis and integrating new information, synthesizing and developing strategies; ability to navigate and lead through complexity; effectively leverages data effectively for strategic decision-making and driving improvement; can make courageous yet necessary decisions in the interest of students.

• Impact & Influence and Stakeholder Management: Track record of exemplary performance in a team-based environment with multiple stakeholders and in roles using creativity, relationship-building with wide range of audiences; achieving results while operating within dynamic, fast-paced environment in the face of ambiguity; able to stimulates others to act and accomplish goals, even when no direct reporting relationship exists. Gains the trust of key stakeholders by active listening and seeking to understand their views and needs.

• Cultural Competence & Commitment to Equity: A proactive cultural leader and team player who thrives on collaboration and learning in a dynamic work environment; can effectively collaborate with teammates across lines of difference; Commitment to anti-racism.

Experience & Qualifications

• 4+ years of math teaching experience.

• 2+ years of math instructional coaching/curriculum development/program implementation or similar out-of-classroom experience.

• 2+ years of experience math instructional leadership at a district/regional level or similar role supporting across multiple schools (preferred)

• Understanding of teaching that is procedural based and focused on telling versus teaching in which the teacher facilitates student learning through rich tasks and understanding

• Experience teaching or supporting Illustrative Mathematics, Open Up Resources, or Eureka Math2 (preferred)

• Strong math instructional expertise including deep K-8 math content knowledge, math pedagogical knowledge, knowledge of culturally relevant teaching practices and familiarity with current research.

• Strong math instructional coaching expertise and knowledge of effective professional learning and instructional coaching techniques.

• Successful project management experience with demonstrated ability to appropriately scope projects and work plans and to allocate resources accordingly.

• Track record of exemplary performance in a team-based environment with multiple stakeholders and in roles using creativity, relationship-building with wide range of audiences; achieving results while operating within dynamic, fast-paced environment in the face of ambiguity.

• Proven track record of exemplary performance in analytic and problem-solving skills; defining problems, framing options, conducting analysis and integrating new information, synthesizing and developing strategies, and implementation plans).

• Experience developing and leading professional development sessions for adult learners.

• Experience navigating complex academic and professional learning systems in education and navigating systems change.

Work Conditions

• Travel requirements: Approximately 30-40%

• Full, Exempt role

Location

It is preferred, but not mandatory for this role to be based out of a KIPP Foundation office. This role also has the option of working from a remote office full-time. KIPP Foundation offices are in NYC and Chicago.

Compensation and Benefits
In compliance with local law, we are disclosing the compensation, or a range thereof, for roles in locations where legally required. Actual salaries will vary based on several factors, including but not limited to external market data, internal equity, and relevant experience. The salary range for this position is $120,000-$145,500. In addition, KIPP Foundation provides a variety of benefits to employees, including:

• 25 holidays for + 18 days additional flexible PTO days (flexible PTO increases to 23 days for years 3 and 4 and to 28 days for years 5+).

• 100% paid parental leave

• 100% coverage of the premium for employee and 75% for employee + family’s medical/dental/vision plans.

• Wellness benefits such as fitness reimbursements, discounted tickets to theme parks/attractions, backup care support for children and adults/elders, and our employee assistance program

• Finance Security benefits include such as a 401K retirement plan with 4% match, employer-sponsored legal plans, life/disability insurance, and flexible spending accounts

KIPP Foundation embraces the opportunity to build a workforce that reflects the diversity of the students and communities with whom we work and the world that around them. Being an equal opportunity employer means that we take seriously our responsibility to consider qualified candidates on the basis of merit, without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, mental or physical disability, and genetic information, marital status, citizenship status, military status, protected veteran status or any other category protected by law.