International Academy - Improvement Coordinator

Job Description:

The International Academy (IA) Improvement Coordinator leads the International Academy staff to create an outstanding learning environment for English language learners based on the core principles of the Internationals Network for Public Schools (INPS) model. The IA Improvement Coordinator works with all members of the community to support the program's mission and vision. This 10-month, 195 day Licensed position, reports to the International Academy Principal.

The International Academy is located within Alexandria City High School and is committed to the following pedagogical approach to educating English Language Learners:

• Heterogeneity and collaboration: schools and classrooms are heterogeneous and collaborative structures that build on the strengths of each member of the school community to optimize learning
• Experiential learning: expansion of the 21st century schools beyond the four walls of the building motivates adolescents and enhances their capacity to successfully participate in modern society
• Language and content integration: strong language skills develop most effectively in context and emerge most naturally in a purposeful, language-rich, interdisciplinary, and experiential program
• Localized autonomy and responsibility: linking autonomy and responsibility at every level within a learning community allows all members to contribute to their fullest potential
• One learning model for all: every member of our school community experiences the same learning model, maximizing an environment of mutual academic support. Thus all members of our school community work in diverse, collaborative groups on hands-on projects; put another way, the model for adult learning and student learning mirror each other.

Qualifications:

• Education: Bachelor's Degree; a Master's Degree is required.

• Certificates & Licenses: A Valid Virginia Department of Education Teaching PostGraduate License with an appropriate subject based endorsement, with the endorsement of Administration and Supervision being preferred.

• Experience:

• Student Centered: Belief that all students, regardless of background, can flourish and thrive in whatever college or career pathway they choose

• Equity & Cultural Competency: Demonstrated ability to create inclusive environments that honors and supports a diversity of backgrounds and perspectives; commitment to equity in a diverse school community

• Goal Oriented: Ability to establish clear goals and action plan for a team

• Student Achievement & Performance Management: Demonstrated patterns of student achievement, both in the classroom and from teachers previously managed; demonstrated resilience and focus on student outcomes; ensures that there are no artificial barriers between student support and instructional leadership

• Student Support Team: Coordinates with School Support Team members (e.g., counselors, social workers) to ensure students are supported and can be successful

• Behavior Management: Knowledge of behavioral management frameworks that reteach expectations and prepare students to be productive members of the school community

• Professional Learning Communities & Data Analysis: Supports the implementation of Professional Learning Communities to ensure that students' academic progress is monitored and supported; adept at data analysis; ability to extract meaningful insights across school-wide data

• Curriculum Alignment: Knowledge of school-wide academic standards and all state assessments required of students' knowledge and skills to demonstrate mastery; able to translate student mastery requirements into instructional plans and strategies; collaborates with teachers to monitor the implementation of curriculum.

• Instructional Leadership: Ability to provide instructional feedback to teachers to enhance instructional best-practices

• Differentiated Instruction: Knowledge of appropriate application and differentiation of high-leverage instructional strategies and pedagogy; provides appropriate and sustained professional learning to reinforce research-based best practices in curriculum implementation, instruction and assessment as well as differentiation and personalization

• Relationship Building: Expertise in cultivating relationships and managing a diverse group of stakeholders

• Collaborates with Central Office to ensure the appropriate levels of support are available to all students

• Performs other related duties, as assigned, to ensure the efficient and effective functioning of the work unit
  
  

Instructional Leadership

• Supports the Academy Leader's vision and takes an active role in mobilizing teachers to achieve the collective goals of the school; contributes to school-wide planning and prioritizes time to accomplish goals; provides input into the strategic planning of the school, and identifies areas of ownership for self and direct reports
• Provides high-quality instructional coaching with frequent and scheduled teacher observations, actionable and bite-sized feedback, and accountability for adjustment in practice; promotes academic excellence in a nurturing environment
• Informs teachers of professional development opportunities that develop teacher's knowledge of best practices in instructional methods and coaches teachers on how to match particular strategies to gaps in student mastery
• Participates in the school improvement planning (SIP) process and ensures the implementation of actions related to SIP goals (such as monitoring on-time graduation rate, special populations, etc.)
• With guidance from the Academy Leader, leads the planning and goal setting for the grades/departments he/she coaches and ensures alignment with school-wide goals
• Supports the Academy Leader in identifying and developing emerging leaders (department heads and/or grade level chairs) through goal setting, coaching and feedback
• Studies curriculum and assessment in order to develop understanding of content mastery, and what is required of students and teachers to accomplish mastery
• Coach teachers in data analysis to determine how data aligns to end-of-year goals; Support them in disaggregating data to analyze how diverse student groups are performing; Determine what data indicates about areas of student mastery and growth; Identify specific instructional actions and adjustments to fill students' knowledge and skill gaps within an appropriate timeline

School Operations and Learning Environment

• Model strong staff and student culture and manage school-wide character development and behavior management systems
• Supports teachers in student support and behavior intervention systems to ensure that limited time is spent on reactive student discipline
• Develop teachers to provide rigorous and high-quality instruction and support Academy Leader in planning, implementing, and enabling systems of MTSS
• Acts as the first leadership team contact for student intervention and parent engagement
• Creates and nurtures a positive school climate with high levels of effective collaboration and communication with all stakeholders
• Provides leadership and oversight for the International Academy program including monitoring of EL services.
• Serves as a point-of-contact or designee for campus-specific outside service providers
• Maintains high standards for appropriate conduct with and for staff and students
• Determines next steps for issues that rise above the teacher/grade level/department chair role
• Collaborates with the Academy Leader on hiring diverse, highly-effective teachers and school staff
• Promotes a safe, efficient, and effective work and learning environment

Parents and Community Engagement/Partnerships

• Maintains open and effective communications with students, parents and all school stakeholders in a timely manner
• Encourages collaborative relationships with familial organizations, i.e. PTA, and supports a productive relationship with community partnerships.
• Monitors community demographics, resources, and emerging trends to ensure the school program addresses student and community needs
• Fosters and maintains a strong community commitment of support for the school division and high school

Accountability:

• Testing, Remediation, Oversight of EL Plans/Schedules/Accom
• Collaborate with School Testing Coordinator and EL Accountability Specialist to develop and monitor a testing plan that ensures IA students receive appropriate testing accommodations, ideal testing environment, and equitable and effective communication with students and families

Graduation Rate:

• Maintain and curate data systems to monitor and support key programmatic and operational functions.
• Engage in regular reviews of data to ensure that students are on track for graduation and capture any students that are falling behind in attendance, grades, behavior, or language growth.
• MTSS: Oversee and maintain referral systems and communication that bridge conversations between guidance staff and teachers. Develop and refine protocols and maintain tracking systems to support the MTSS process. Including using student outcome data to identify priority students for staff to discuss during instructional and student support conversations.
• Academic Advising: Create or curate a vision and structure for all IA staff to share responsibility for academic advising that capitalizes on student strengths, promotes relationship building, and develops students' capacity for goal setting and reflection.

Scheduling:

• Intake: Build out, and maintain, the systems for intake including initial data collection of math skills, native language skills, English skills, and interviews to capture socio-emotional and physical needs.
• Scheduling: Engage staff in the development and/or revision of the four year course sequence as necessary. Analyze staffing needs and create the IA master schedule in accordance with the Internationals Network model. Organize student data and support creation of student cohorts that are heterogeneous. Coordinate with school leadership around electives scheduling and space allocation.
• Enrollment: Conduct outreach to local middle schools and newcomer students to distribute information about the program and ensure appropriate service delivery placement for EL students.

Collaboration:

• Engage in school and network-based learning opportunities targeted to Internationals' school leaders. Including bi-weekly meetings with Internationals to reflect on progress toward IA's goals and strategic initiatives. As appropriate, engage in instructional rounds or instructional leadership cycles with an Internationals coach.
• Coordinate with Hammond MS for the purpose of cohorting rising 9th graders to maintain a supportive classroom environment that is heterogeneous.
• Coordinating school visits from network schools
• Coordinating data handoff for students transferring from MS to HS IA at ACHS.

Instructional Leadership:

• Lead staff through a strategic planning process each year including vision/ mission revision and goal setting, including collaboration with Internationals staff.
• Develop and refine the vision for and structures related to team meetings and professional development time that supports data-driven and team-based collective inquiry approaches that lead to improved instructional outcomes, particularly related to language growth and development.
• Curriculum: Develop and execute a strategy for curriculum development and feedback and create a schedule to support teachers in designing and getting feedback on curriculum to ensure curriculum is VDOE standards-aligned and is grounded in the core tenets of the Internationals instructional approach.
• Instruction: Work with IA staff to define shared priority areas for instruction related to the instructional approach and communicate rationale and expectations for how these priority areas will guide the work of teams and individual teacher development goals.
• Team coaching: Develop teacher capacity to lead interdisciplinary (Team Leader) and content teams (PLC Leader) via coaching and meeting observation and feedback. Facilitate regular teacher dialogue about student data and student work.
• Teacher coaching: Provide individualized coaching and support for staff as needed.
• Professional Learning: Plans and delivers professional development in the summer and throughout the year. Communicates on a regular on-going basis with Internationals Network staff to arrange teacher professional development in collaboration with the network including engaging in and leveraging network-based PD opportunities. Generates a coherent PD plan and framework for the school year that is grounded in the findings from the SFS data analysis and strategic planning sessions from the previous year.

Compensation:

• Step Placement and Salary for this position is determined by The ACPS Teachers and Other Licensed Staff Salary Scale

Clearances:

• Criminal Justice Fingerprint/Background Clearance.
• Tuberculosis Skin Test.
• Public Health Compliance - Must follow safety and health protocols.

WP