About Atmosphere Academy

Atmosphere Academy is a SUNY-approved charter school that serves Bronx students and families in grades 6 through 12. Atmosphere's mission is to provide an "atmosphere" for learning in which students and teachers realize their potential as collaborative leaders. To realize this goal, Atmosphere has developed a suite of robust academic and enrichment programming that are designed to develop students’ skills, knowledge, and character. Similarly, the school promotes a professional culture for its staff that focuses on being a learning organization. 

Chief Instructional Officer

The CIO serves as the Chief Instructional Officer of the school and reports to and consults with the CEO on all matters. The CIO is the officer directly in charge of all instructional leaders/directors and indirectly in charge of all instructional managers and content teachers. The CIO manages the vision, strategy, workflow, facilitation of, and fidelity to all instructional professional development, evaluation, and academic data. He or she is directly responsible for the successful development and implementation of all instructional policies, processes, and partnerships in these distinct areas. Additionally, the CIO is expected to set a strategic vision, create a plan, and execute action in these areas of core responsibility.

Why Atmosphere

Atmosphere has designed a work environment that makes it a destination workplace for a diverse range of highly qualified, innovative professionals. The school offers team members:

• Culture - Atmosphere nurtures and promotes a professional and pioneering culture that is focused on continuous improvement and development. This is realized through embedded professional development, coaching, mentoring, teaming, self-reflection, self-evaluation, peer observation, instructional rounds, continuous feedback, and other important supports that promote participation in and contribution to a professional learning community.

• Compensation - Atmosphere offers salaries that are competitive with those paid by other charter and public schools in the New York area. Moreover, the school also provides an annual merit bonus of up to 16% that are tied to each employee’s performance evaluation and ability to meet specific annual goals.

• Benefits - Atmosphere provides a 401k plan (with employer matching up to 5%), health insurance plan (school pays 100% of premium), dental insurance plan (school pays 100% of premium), vision insurance plan (school pays 100% of premium), 10 paid personal days that can be banked or cashed out for a 5% bonus if unused (up to 50 days can be banked), up to $50,000 of term life insurance (school pays 50% of premium), short-term disability insurance, regular school vacations and breaks, and flexible spending plan.

• Flexibility - Atmosphere acknowledges that its staff needs to be afforded the flexibility to meet obligations they have to family and other responsibilities outside of work. By partnering with employees to customize their work schedules, Atmosphere is able to increase their productivity and level of satisfaction.

Qualifications

• At least 5 years relevant leadership experience, ideally in a charter school or other K-12 education organization

• At least 5 years direct experience successfully managing and developing instructional staff

• Education leadership degree preferred

• Experience using data to drive decision making and instruction

• Strong interpersonal skills and track record of collaborating with diverse stakeholders

• Strong communication, writing, and presentation skills

• Strong organizational skills with attention to detail

• Relentless determination to do whatever it takes to help Atmosphere students succeed

• Proactive and creative problem-solver

• Values input and feedback

• Team-player capable of working both collaboratively and independently

• Strong recommendations from prior employers, colleagues, and employees

• Master’s degree in a related field required

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field required

Responsibilities

Professional Development Duties

• Facilitate PD (directly or indirectly) for all instructional staff around, but not limited to, the following topics:

  • Checks for Understanding

  • Criteria for Success

  • Atmosphere Systems

  • Differentiation

  • Data-Driven Instruction

  • Gradual Release of Responsibility

  • Classroom Management

  • Co-Teaching Models

• Developing all department leaders via regular coaching, which includes:

  • Check-in meetings and conferences

  • Review of Director/IL/Manager feedback to and evaluation of teachers on lesson plans, Google Classroom entries, student work, planning and assessment design, RTI and other professional requirements. 

  • Conducting data dives

  • Guiding the development of an Individual Goal and Coaching Plan for each teacher

  • Review of Director/IL/Manager maintenance of teacher logs and portfolios

  • Directing the facilitation and the implementation of instructional cycles 

• Lead Instructional Leadership Team meetings:

  • Determine staff development needs and create a development goal and workshop plan for each year 

  • Develop and facilitate professional development workshops for staff

  • Contribute to a professional learning community by partaking in coaching and other activities and tasks focused on promoting professional learning and growth

Academic Data Duties

• Supervise the management of gradebooks by the local team through weekly Gradebook Audits

• Review gradebook data on a weekly basis to identify teacher trends and teachers at risk

• Analyze content specific student performance data (collected by teachers) in connection with achievement data to produce a full report of student performance, make proficiency predictions, identify departmental trends and suggest programmatic changes

• Utilize NYS exam data to inform adjustments to instructional scope and sequence and support the use of school systems

• Utilize student academic data to inform the Learning, Assessment and Reflection Cycle

Evaluation Duties

• INSTRUCTIONAL OWNERSHIP: Take ownership of all day-to-day instructional activities of the school in close collaboration with the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Curriculum Officer, and the Chief Learning Officer and through the supervision of department Instructional Leaders

• INSTRUCTIONAL FIDELITY: Promoting and monitoring for fidelity to and utilization of key instructional models and strategies and systems

  • Lesson planning 

  • Use of AAPCS Systems

  • Creation of and oversight of the Grading Policy

• INSTRUCTIONAL EVALUATION: Oversee the evaluation of all department Instructional Directors,Leaders, and Managers as well as all teacher evaluations through the school’s custom evaluation procedure.

• Annually review and revise all evaluation processes and documents in order to increase expectations and improve connections to school priorities. 

• Cultivating high-quality instruction by conducting mini, informal, and formal observations using the AAPCS Teacher Evaluation Rubrics & Forms to normalize scoring and assure adherence to procedures.

• Calculating teacher, Instructional Leader and Manager effectiveness scores, analyzing goal data and determining performance based bonuses

• Review and evaluate all teacher performance ratings and bonuses with the Instructional Leaders and Chief Learning Officer for final approval of the Chief Executive Officer. 

• Complete all evaluations of Instructional Leaders and Managers (in collaboration with the Chief Learning Officer)

  • Creating Instructional Leader and Manager portfolios, SOY, MOY, EOY evaluations through the use of narratives, ratings, and artifacts that include reports, notes, and images

  • Conduct observations of department meetings, professional development workshops and other events facilitated by Instructional Leaders. 

  • Maintain a log of Instructional Leader coaching sessions, observations, completion of deliverables

  • Collect evidence in the form of video, pictures, data, narratives and other artifacts to illustrate leader performance.

  • Using the above processes to help improve Leaders’ ability to collaborate, receive constructive feedback, and implement said feedback to improve their management or professional practice (build capacity and remain solutions oriented within the context of a learning organization)

• Managing Leaders’ use of and communication around PTO in a way that advocates for school needs, while empathetically supporting the staff member ,including, advanced notice of absences, evidence of emergencies, calendar entries, and accurate documentation in the Leader’s log and Employee Database.

• Identify Instructional Leaders needs for improvement, documenting progress and interventions, and recommending further action.

Global Leadership Duties 

Global leadership is defined as leading people who are spread across multiple areas of the organization. Global leaders have to engage very diverse groups of stakeholders and colleagues to get things done. They lead people across distance and cultures, as well as in complex organizational structures. Global leaders need to create a good understanding of where it adds value to be global and where it is better to be local. They need the flexibility to lead people with very different expectations about leadership, but also the resilience and authenticity to stand for something. Leading globally is a big step up in complexity and people need to develop the mindset and skill set required to succeed in this complex environment.

• Write and implement policies, procedures, handbooks across all buildings, schools, and stakeholders

• Communicate and respond to communication in a timely manner indicative of an officer 

  • Immediately for texts or URGENT emails without exception of day of week or day of year 

  • 24 hours for IMPORTANT emails regardless of day of the week, but with exception to holidays

• Work at least 5 days during the summer break to address key summer deliverables and then comp those days later in the year 

• Lead and facilitate all professional development days, including those only allocated to officers

• Set organization structure for your area of oversight

• Build and maintain partnerships and external relations in your core area and beyond

• Collaborate on planning, budgeting, operating, implementing, managing, and auditing projects, programs, and people

• Report each month to the board

• Maintain Key Performance Indicator (KPI) data 

• Determine and implement a strategic plan to successfully address the goals of the schools and the needs of the staff 

• Identify and maximize opportunities across all aspects of the school (expansion, outreach, recruitment)

Strategic Leadership Duties

Strategic leadership refers to a manager’s potential to express a strategic vision for the organization, or a part of the organization, and to motivate and persuade others to acquire that vision. Strategic leaders create organizational structure, allocate resources and express a strategic vision. They influence organizational members and execute organizational change. Strategic leaders work in a dynamic environment on very difficult issues that influence and are influenced by both internal and external factors. 

• Contribute as a member of the School Leadership Team, helping to make key organizational decisions and chart the future direction of the school in coordination with Board policies.

  • Utilize strategic vision and detailed planning to develop and build a strong instructional program

  • Make data-driven decisions and identify resources to support problem-solving, evaluate programs and implement school initiatives and short/long term plans

• Lead innovation in core area and developing creative new ideas that drive the organization forward into the future

• Proactively Plan Programs - The Atmosphere Way

  • Determine need for programs in area of oversight

  • Use relevant data to pinpoint specific areas of need and growth target

  • Construct short and long term goals and a specific timeline for implementation including benchmarks to assess the process 

  • Serve as the primary quality control expert, evaluating programs and personnel, in order to maintain or improve Atmosphere’s standard of performance.

• Data Analysis/Accountability 

  • Maintain and update Atmosphere databases

  • Screen data to obtain meaningful benchmarks 

  • Prepare regular reports and data analysis

  • Hold oneself and subordinates accountable through initial and frequent support meetings

  • Ensure all stakeholders have the proper tools to be successful in their area

• Urgently identify potential trends within programs, personnel, and projects that may be in crisis with a strategic and responsive plan

  • Develop robust criteria in order to define metrics for success 

  • Evaluate on an ongoing basis if all programs, personnel, and projects are meeting key benchmarks

  • Create and oversee the implementation of a strategic plan that calls to action all key stakeholders

Achievement Duties

• Facilitate Afterschool Achievement (2 sessions per week)

• Facilitating instruction on designated Achievement Days (Mandatory during April break, and 3 days of your choice during February Breaks and Saturdays. Comp time is earned for those 3 days.)

• Maintain a highly-engaged classroom setting that promotes good order and a love of learning

• Highlight student voices and promote student-led discovery of meaning

Professional Duties

• Attend professional development and targeted meetings for the Leadership Team (8)

• Seek out internal and external professional development opportunities that are either presented by Atmosphere or independently identified 

• Take part in school-wide special events or enrichment by serving as an advisor to a student activity or club, an athletic coach, a chaperone, etc. 

Other Duties

• Any and all other responsibilities as delegated and assigned by the Board of Trustees and the CEO

Equal Opportunity Employer

Atmosphere Academy Public Charter School is an equal opportunity employer and hires without consideration to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, or disability.