This position reports to principal of a midsize urban school district located in the Capital region of Upstate New York. The Instructional Supervisor is expected to execute practices that incorporate research based strategies and methodologies that will lead to improvements in the areas of teaching and learning, equity, engagement and efficiency. The Instructional Supervisor will provide strong professional development on cultural competence, equity, and social justice so that teachers and staff can improve classroom instruction for all students. The Instructional Supervisor is tasked with evaluating current programming, articulating areas for instructional improvement and ensuring teachers are meeting the learning needs of all students. The Instructional Supervisor must create a culture of high expectations that makes data-driven decisions and implement research-based instructional practices using culturally responsive lens. The Instructional Supervisor fosters a learning environment that connects learning between home, school and the community. This position requires a high degree of creativity, innovation and collaboration.

Instructional Supervisor Expectations

Establish a Shared Vision of Learning that leverages student racial, cultural and linguistic identities:

• Embody, advocate and operationalize the mission, vision and strategic direction of the SCSD;
• Within the framework of the tenets of the APPR process and culturally responsive practices, supervise and coach teachers by adhering to precise instructional systems, visiting classrooms to observe instruction, modeling effective instructional practices, providing support, and giving feedback;
• Assist the building leader in driving the implementation of a rigorous and coherent culturally relevant curricula appropriately aligned to the Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS) in coordination with classroom teachers, staff, and administrators;
• Assist the building leader in implementing processes and structures that support organizational improvement and learning related to own area of responsibility.

Establish a School Culture and Instructional Program that will accelerate staff professional growth and advocate, nurture and sustain the success of every student:

• Support an equity informed and achievement-oriented culture, which reflects SCSD's mission and high expectations;
• Guide teachers through the process of collaborative reflection on implicit biases and planning, in alignment with SCSD's goals and values;
• Support teacher culturally responsive analysis and use of assessment data to reflect on teaching practices, make instructional decisions, inform lesson plans and meet the needs of diverse learners;
• Assist the building leader in developing a culture of caring, collaboration, trust, learning and high expectations by facilitating and encouraging staff to work together on key projects (e.g. new student induction processes, discipline procedures, parent communication, better planning for student transitions, program design, integrated curriculum and/or other individual or organizational projects);
• Supports a comprehensive, rigorous, and coherent culturally relevant curricular program that addresses all levels of thinking, enables students to develop knowledge and skills related to a concept, problem or issue, and supports their construction of meaning during the most important lessons and tasks or ensures that those they supervise meet this expectation;
• Supports the development of the instructional and leadership capacity of staff;
• Promotes the use of the most effective and appropriate technologies to support teaching and learning and ensures that necessary resources are available;
• Gathers input from staff and surveys from students as well as formal assessment data as part of process to monitor and evaluate the impact of the instructional program;
• Utilize data to ensure professional development that targets areas of highest impact - diagnoses, prescribes and delivery;
• Coordinate with the staff to implement culturally responsive activities and events.

Establish a management system that cultivates organization, operation, and resources for a safe, efficient, and effective learning community:

• Obtains, allocates, aligns, and efficiently utilizes human, fiscal and technological resources to meet the learning needs of students;
• Promotes and protects the welfare and safety of students and staff;
• Partners with students, staff, and families to address student discipline issues;
• Monitors, evaluates and revises management and operational systems;
• Ensures teacher and organizational time is focused to support quality culturally responsive instruction and student learning;
• Monitors, evaluates, and revises student disciplinary management and student reporting systems;
• Monitors FBA's/BIP's;
• Assist building leader in ensuring teacher and organizational time is focused to support quality culturally relevant instruction and student learning.

Collaborate with faculty and community members, while responding to diverse community interests and needs, and mobilizing community resources:

• Communicate and collaborate with families in order to promote a culture of ongoing family engagement through use of effective customer service and communication skills (for example evening engagement);
• Collects and analyzes data and information pertinent to the educational environment, and uses it to make related improvements;
• Promotes understanding, appreciation, and use of the community's diverse cultural, social, and intellectual resources through scheduling or supporting diverse activities;
• Builds and sustains positive relationships with all families and caregivers
• Advocates for children, families and caregivers.

Model a culture of Integrity, Fairness, and Ethics:

• Engage in understanding, responding to, and influencing the political, social, economic, legal and cultural context;
• Considers and evaluates the potential moral and legal consequences of decision-making;
• Assumes responsibility for thoughtfully considering and upholding mandates;
• Models principles of self-awareness, reflective practice, transparency, and ethical behavior;
• Safeguards the values of democracy, equity and diversity;
• Promotes social justice and ensures that individual student needs inform all aspects of Support organizational and board decisions and direction relative to matters pertaining to individual school buildings.

Goal-Setting and Attainment:

• Engages in the goal setting process as part of ongoing work for equitable school improvement;
• In the goal setting process, works with other school and district leaders to consider the school and/or district vision and student learning needs, as well as information gathered about teacher practice, academic results and/or the learning environment;
• Goals are stated in ways that allow progress toward them to be assessed and utilized data where possible; they are both actionable and measurable;
• Identifies anticipated, specific measures of success aligned with equity;
• Articulates culturally responsive and equity based strategies supporting actions, and reasons for selecting them;
• Prioritizes goals by considering what can be gained by pursuing each;
• Action plans through creating an action plan that delineates steps and strategies for all goals, regardless of whether they are short or long term implements the action plan; monitors and refines goals and/or action steps based on formative assessment of evidence collected.

Instructional Supervisor Key Qualities

• Engages in visionary leadership;
• Supports culturally responsive teaching;
• Cultivate intensive academic interventions that ensure equity;
• Explicit acknowledgement of student and family identities to ensure strategies are aligned with their lived experiences;
• Facilitate opportunities for family and community engagement;
• Models growth mindset;
• Promotes restorative practices;
• Demonstrated ability to learn; good problem solver; enthusiastic;

• Promote buy-in for school changes;
• Proven ability to motivate staff and students to achieve excellence;
• Team development and leadership skills;
• Ability to work collaboratively with staff members, and administrators;
• Ability to build strong relationships with students, staff, parents and the community;
• Excellent organizational, verbal, and written communication skills.

• SBL, SAS, or SDA certification required;
• Demonstrated administrative experience within public education;
• Minimum of 4 years demonstrated success as a classroom teacher and is a tenured teacher:
  • knowledge of multiple curricular areas, CCSS and culturally responsive education;
  • demonstrated project management experience – planning and leading;
  • excellent interpersonal skills including facilitation and consensus building;
  • excellent and effective communication skills, both oral and written;
  • excellent analytical skills including demonstrated success in data-driven problem-solving with an equity lens;
  • demonstrated success at building alliances with diverse groups of stakeholders;
  • demonstrated effectiveness in developing relationships.