Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is one of the largest school districts in the United States, serving over 320,000 students in 600 schools and employing nearly 40,000 people, most of them teachers. CPS has set ambitious goals to ensure that every student, in every school and every neighborhood, has access to a world-class learning experience that prepares each for success in college, career, and civic life. In order to fulfill this mission, we make three commitments to our students, their families, and all Chicagoans: academic progress, financial stability, and integrity. Six core values are embedded within these commitments – student-centered, whole child, equity, academic excellence, community partnership, and continuous learning.

District-run CPS schools are organized into 18 networks. The Office of Network Support provides administrative support, strategic direction, and leadership development to the schools within each network while also driving critical support that helps to boost student learning.

Job Summary:

Reporting to the Director of Data Analytics, the Network Data Strategist will support 1-2 networks with approximately 20-40 urban schools. In partnership with network leadership and school principals, the Network Data Strategist will serve a critical role in building a robust data strategy for the assigned networks and schools in order to facilitate strong planning processes around increasing student achievement.

The Network Data Strategist will be held accountable for the following responsibilities:

• Build capacity among school and network leaders to engage in robust cycles of strategic planning and data inquiry -
• Coordinate with and support the Chief of Schools’ (chief) strategies to develop principal and school team capacity in alignment with the Continuous Improvement Process. This includes supporting the chief in assisting principals and their teams in conducting root cause analyses, developing theories of action and building coherent multi-year strategies.
• Support principals and school teams in the development, implementation, and evaluation of their schools’ Continuous Improvement Work Plans (CIWP) by building capacity around strong cycles of inquiry and the use of data for planning.
• Provide frequent, actionable feedback to assist principals and their leadership teams in improving their data strategy to achieve better results.
• Build the capacity of school teams to execute strong, data-driven instructional cycles.

• Act as a process expert and sense maker for data inquiry spanning multiple Central Office Departments and CPS Initiatives (e.g.; Assessment Data, MTSS protocols, etc) -
• Remain knowledgeable of changes in data-relevant CPS policies and initiatives such as those of accountability and assessment.
• Counsel school teams and leaders on how to interpret data with fidelity to best analytic practice and the content of CPS policies and initiatives.
• Build the capacity of school and network leaders to plan with regard to CPS Accountability policies, Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (“MTSS”) protocols, and Assessment metric calculation.

• Data access, analytics, and selection -
• Provide schools and networks access to datasets as needed to support robust engagement with cycles of data inquiry.
• Provide expertise and consultation on the selection of leading and lagging metric indicators for planning purposes.
• Support chiefs so that they can assist principals and Instructional Leadership teams in setting goals and selecting appropriate measures to monitor the progress of school-based programs.
• Provide strategic data analysis to the Chief of Schools to improve student outcomes and the effectiveness of schools, programs, and district initiatives.
• Identify implications of school and network performance data and make strategic recommendations to chief and network staff.
• Serve as the network expert and resource in understanding and accessing CPS’ data systems.
• Other related duties as assigned.

In order to be successful and achieve the above responsibilities, the Network Data Strategist must possess the following qualifications:

Education Required:

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university required; Preferred field of study - Computer Science, Business, Education, or related field
• Master’s degree preferred

Experience Required:

• Minimum of five (5) years of professional experience in data analysis (E.g., data cleaning, transformation, modeling/regression analysis, summarizing and data visualizations, and trend analysis) and relationship management required
• Experience working with data analytic tools (SAS, R, SPSS, STATA, other related tools) required
• Experience writing code preferred
• Experience with Microsoft Power BI preferred
• Experience working with High School or Elementary Assessments, team structures, and data cycles preferred

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Strong Consulting skills
• Self-starter with an eagerness to learn and proactively problem-solve challenges
• Intermediate knowledge of Excel and/or Google Sheets, including the ability to combine and report on datasets
• Ability to use statistical techniques and develop meaningful metrics
• Ability to clearly and accurately communicate data and methodological details to non-technical audiences
• Strong analytical, data management and data visualization skills
• Strategic thinker capable of generating actionable insights from data and making recommendations to instructional leaders for improving instructional practice
• Ability to take a logical approach to research and analysis opportunities
• Strong knowledge of critical issues in education and school planning
• Ability to work with or coach adult learners in designing and facilitating professional development for classroom teachers and school leaders
• Excellent report writing and project management skills; Strong attention to detail
• Ability to build trusting relationships and function effectively with various internal and external departments and partners
• Excellent communication skills (Verbal, Written, Listening)

Conditions of Employment

As a condition of employment with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), employees are required to:

• Establish/Maintain Chicago Residency - Employees are required to live within the geographic boundaries of the City of Chicago within six months of their CPS hire date and maintain residency throughout their employment with the district. The Chicago residency requirement does not apply to temporary/part-time positions, however, all CPS employees must be residents of Illinois.
• Be Fully Vaccinated Against COVID-19 - Unless approved for a medical or religious exemption, all employees are required to be up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccinations, including boosters, and to submit proof of vaccination to the district within 30 days of hire. “Up-to-date” on vaccination is defined as being at least two weeks past all primary vaccine doses and any applicable boosters. Unvaccinated staff with an approved exemption must submit to weekly testing.