Education Associate, School Leadership

Position Type:
DE Dept of Education/DOE Certified Staff
Date Posted:
1/11/2024
Location:
Delaware Department of Education
Closing Date:
02/01/2024
District:
Delaware Department of Education
Position Title: Education Associate, School Leadership
Reports To: Director, Educator Excellence
Description of Position:
The Education Associate, School Leadership position will be critical in supporting Delaware educators' career continuum and developing and maintaining the leadership pipeline while driving and supporting student achievement through School Leadership. The School LeadershipEducation Associate position is key to working with state and national partners, local education agencies (LEAs), and leader preparation programs to leverage School Leadership as a primary driver for creating high-quality learning experiences for students and positive school culture. The Education Associate will work closely with districts and charter schools while creating stronger state support systems and seeding programmatic innovation at the state and local level.
Major Responsibilities:

• Lead a community of practice for leader preparation programs to share best practices and ensure alignment with National Educational Leadership Preparation (NELP) standards.
• Collaborate with leader preparation programs and LEAs to increase the diversity of leadership candidates, expand non-traditional leader pipelines, and increase leader retention.
• Continue to develop and launch equity-centered leader pipeline self-studies and plans to help LEAs improve their policies, processes, and structures related to School Leadership.
• Engage with LEAs and leader preparation programs to develop reports and information to measure and assess the quality of Delaware preparation programs in their ability to recruit, train, and develop quality leaders.
• As part of the Governor's Institute for School Leadership, lead and maintain an Executive Leadership/Principal Supervisor Academy in which district-level colleagues learn and engage in professional learning designed to build their capacity to increase the impact on principals and school communities through programs, policies, and practice.
• As part of the Governor's Institute for School Leadership, lead and maintain a Superintendents' Study Council in which superintendents and their direct reports engage in professional learning designed to support their knowledge of programs, policies, and practices relative to their work.
• As part of the Governor's Institute for School Leadership, lead and maintain an Assistant Principal Academy in which district-level identified assistant principals learn and engage in professional learning designed to deepen their knowledge of practices and dispositions relative to the principalship.
• Lead, maintain, and drive the development and implementation of a statewide Leader Tracking System (LTS) to track the leadership development of educators.
• Through partnerships with higher education and LEAs, coordinate, lead, and monitor Delaware's required first-year administrator induction program, by further developing Delaware's new leaders' instructional leadership skills and offering mentees and mentors learning opportunities aligned to the Professional Standards for Educational Leader (PSEL) as is required under DE Regulation 1503
• Coordinate and lead the recruitment and placement of second-year assistant principals with leadership coaches through the second-year coaching induction program for novice leaders, and to improve professional effectiveness and maximize performance.
• Supervise the continued implementation of DPAS-II for Administrators through training, monitoring, and promoting the system as a tool for standards-aligned leadership growth.
• Support 1st-year principals by providing intentional and specific leadership coaching relevant to their specific demographics and self-reported leadership needs.
• Lead in the collaboration and monitoring of Delaware's School Leadership Preparation Programs through IHEs and Alt Route programs working jointly in maintaining prep programs' quality, using educator preparation report data to drive continuous improvements, engaging in Quality Measures Self-studies, responding to outcomes, and building and maintaining partnerships between prep programs and school districts.
• Maintain systems of continuous improvements to inform programs, practices, and policies.
• Partner with other teams across the Department of Education to support high-need school leaders, such as the Academic Support Team, Student Support Team, and the Office of Innovation and Improvement
• Partner with evaluation, mentoring, and ed prep program teams in Ed Excellence to ensure that there are programs in place for school leaders as they implement initiatives driven by these teams.
• Serve on state and national committees and other boards and advisory groups.
• Position Delaware as a national leader in leadership development through program evaluation and stakeholder engagement to improve programming.
• Ensure stakeholders are regularly informed and aware of evidence-based practices and innovation in the state and nationally.
• Develop relationships with local and national organizations to spur innovation across Delaware's leader preparation and support systems.
• Develop and implement leader preparation and evaluation policy, which includes but is not limited to Delaware state code and regulation as well as other administrative policies and procedures.
• Support educator effectiveness initiatives on the Workforce Support Team related to educator evaluation, educator development, equity, etc.
• Follow procurement practices, including proficient management of contracts, close oversight of vendor work, and adherence to State procurement processes to ensure compliance and efficiency in all related activities.
• Manage multiple projects, demonstrating strong organizational skills to successfully plan, execute, and monitor projects to achieve timely and quality outcomes.

Essential Qualifications:
Education: Bachelor's Degree from an accredited college or university with a concentration in Education, Education Policy, or related field required. Master's degree preferred.
Experience:

• Minimum three (3) years of demonstrated successful administrator experience at the building and/or central office level with administrator certification.
• Knowledge of administrator pipelines, educator evaluation, educator mentoring, equity, program evaluation, and the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSEL).
• Experience with federal grants, department monitoring, and technical assistance preferred.

Skills:

• Superior project management skills, including a demonstrated ability to problem-solve effectively.
• Ability to focus on impact, particularly related to young people and educators, with the ability to support innovation across the public and private sectors and the integration of stakeholder and community voices.
• Must have excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Must be proficient in performing responsibilities with minimal supervision.
• Must be skilled in setting priorities, working under pressure, and working in collaboration with others.
• Must be able to proactively solve problems with professionalism.
• Must possess excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to deal with staff in a tactful, congenial, and personal manner.
• Must understand the Department's organizational aims and objectives.
• Must be experienced in exercising discretion and confidentiality in all professional duties.

Salary:
Salary will be computed in accordance with the education, experience, and training of the individual selected and in accordance with salary schedules for employees of the Department of Education. Direct deposit of payroll checks is a condition of state employment, and employees are paid on a lag pay schedule with the first payment made after approximately one month of employment.
Notes:
A criminal background check is required. The successful candidate must demonstrate during the interview process an understanding of diversity, educational equity and multicultural education. This job description is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of duties and standards of the position. The selected candidate should expect to perform any other related activities needed to deliver the position's key duties and responsibilities and follow any other instructions as defined by his/her supervisor.
The Delaware Department of Education is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in its employment practices or educational programs, services or activities based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, veteran's status or any other legally protected category. Inquiries should be directed to the Human Resource Office, 401 Federal Street, Suite 2, Dover, DE 19901. Phone: 302-735-4030.