Director of Teacher Pipeline and Licensure Support Programs (SY26-27)

Overview

Boston Public Schools (BPS), founded in 1647 as the nation’s first public school district, serves approximately 48,000 students representing more than 141 countries. With nearly 10,000 employees, including 4,800 educators, BPS is the largest and one of the most diverse districts in Massachusetts.

The Office of Human Resources (OHR) seeks to support the 10,000 employees at Boston Public Schools from the moment they apply for a job in our district until they retire. Our goal is to attract, develop, and retain a highly effective instructional team that is responsive to the diverse racial, cultural, and linguistic needs of our youth.Our vision is to ensure there are effective educators in every classroom and every school, every day who prepare students for college, career, and beyond. We aim to attract, cultivate, deploy, develop, and retain the most effective talent that is reflective of the cultural and linguistic diversity of our students.

Position Description

The Boston Public Schools seeks an Director of Teacher Pipeline Programs to provide strategic, instructional, and operational leadership for all teacher pipeline and licensure support programs across BPS, driving their growth to advance the diversity of the district’s teacher workforce as well as to successfully cultivate effective, equity-oriented teachers for Boston’s schools. This role oversees the full implementation of the following BPS programs: BPS’s three “grow your own” teacher pipelines programs; programs designed to cultivate and support quality and qualified early career teachers, and programs supporting educators with licensure and MTEL exams. The Director ensures that all participants in Pipeline programs and recipients of MTEL support progress toward meaningful careers in BPS, which in turn improves the school experiences that young people of Boston will have. The Director also serves as the district's primary administrator for the BPS Teaching Fellowship (one of the three pipelines programs), responsible for compliance to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE)’s guidelines for approved educator preparation programs, leading all aspects of DESE’s formal review process and also serving as the district’s primary liaison to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) for all educator qualification mandates.

The Director of Teacher Pipeline and Licensure Programs designs, revises, and implements programming in response to overlapping and interrelated changing landscapes: the multiple district priorities and operational changes and structures, the scope of the needs of the prospective educators being cultivated, and the vast and changing needs of the students. The Director drives system-wide policy transformation and carries out the final accountability for BPS’s portfolio of teacher pipeline pathways. The Director oversees programs that collectively serve as an engine for the transformation of the Boston teaching workforce, authoring the policies and embedding practices and procedures that will ensure a steady, yearly increase of BPS teachers who are effective, equity-centered, and whose demographics more closely reflect that of BPS students and families.

Finally, the Director of Teacher Pipeline and Licensure Programs works with other leaders in the Office of Human Resources to accomplish BPS’s strategic goals to improve the diversity among BPS teachers such that the demographics of our teachers matches that of our students and families:

• By 2030, BPS will strengthen and sustain a diverse, equity-centered educator workforce by maintaining a robust Early Hiring Process and scaling research-informed recruitment and development strategies. Through these efforts, BPS will increase the representation of educators who reflect the demographics of our students and their families and improve retention rates across all educator groups
• By 2030, BPS will have a smaller percentage of educators of color who are both hired and who remain waivers for more than two school years.
• By 2030, BPS will establish a transparent, equitable hiring process that school leaders and hiring managers will enforce during all hiring decisions. This process will involve the careful consideration of all candidates whose demographics closely reflect that of the students and families of BPS.
  
  

Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Vision

• Develop and execute a comprehensive vision of BPS’s “grow your own” teacher preparation model that expands access, identifies opportunities for new pathways, improves program quality, and advances equitable outcomes for all BPS students.
• Define and execute the district’s "grow your own" teacher preparation vision, ensuring all aspects of pipeline programs are student-centered, research-driven, and designed to advance equitable outcomes across the district.
• Oversee the entire educator development lifecycle—from cultivating paraprofessionals to licensing teachers of record—while leading professional learning for staff and ensuring strict adherence to state (DESE) regulatory standards.
• Lead all licensure initiatives in BPS, including MTEL support programming, liaising with DESE for endorsement or licensure of all BPS employees, and communicating licensure requirements and changing DESE regulations to the BPS community
• Facilitate multi-year planning with Central Office departments and school leaders to align program expansion with workforce needs, navigating complex district shifts such as school mergers, budget constraints, and specialized student needs.
• Stay current with educational and workforce development research and make recommendations for long-term adjustments, additions, and deletions in programs to meet changing student interest, job trends, and needs
  
  

Program Management & Oversight

• Oversee Licensure Support Specialists, teaching specialists, instructors, coaches, and tutors
• Lead initiatives within the Office of Human Resources, especially with the directors of the Data Team and the Recruitment and Staffing teams, to create coherent hiring process for all employees that leads to higher percentages of retention-eligible employees each year
• Use data to assess overall program performance, close opportunity and achievement gaps, and prescribe actions for continuous improvement
  
  

Budget & Resource Management

• Manage one large budget that includes the contracts, stipends, resources, and materials needs for each individual teacher preparation and licensure programs
• Allocate appropriate and equitable resources to individual programs as needed
• Develop coherent policies and practice for equitable resource distribution to individual teachers
  
  

Compliance & Reporting

• Serve as the district’s primary legal liaison to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) for all educator qualification mandates responsible for compliance to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE)’s guidelines for approved educator preparation programs as well as leading all aspects of DESE’s formal review process.
• Work closely with other senior leaders in OHR to revamp and sustain coherent policies and procedures in order to accomplish the following goals: increase the percentage of retention-eligible educators per year, ensure consistent practices between members of Recruitment & Staffing and Pipelines and Licensure departments, and reduce the administrative burden on school leaders when it comes to hiring candidates who require a licensure waiver
• Work closely with BPS Data team to maintain the most precise and robust tools for the successful management of multiple programs, initiatives, and processes- especially the hiring process
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Chief of Human Resources, Deputy Chief of Human Resources, and/or the Superintendent.
  
  

Required Qualifications

• M.Ed. required
• 5 years of successful teaching/teacher leader experience
• Familiarity with state regulations for educator preparation, state curriculum standards, and state licensure requirements
• Experience with teacher education curriculum design and implementation
• Knowledge of state regulations and guidelines for teacher and administrator licensure in all content areas and grade levels
• Ability to clearly articulate licensure nuances to licensure specialists such that they can effectively communicate with and provide support to BPS educators
• Demonstrated ability to in build, design, and successfully implement initiatives that attend to district priorities
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively with minimal supervision and within tight deadlines
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail; able to manage multiple complex projects
• Technological proficiency, including the ability to create user-friendly systems, tools, and communications
• Excellent interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills
• Clear evidence of leadership in eliminating racial opportunity and achievement gaps, and the ability to examine systems and policies through a racial equity lens
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated leadership qualities and interpersonal attributes necessary to work effectively with diverse groups of teachers, administrators, district-level leaders, and partners
• Experience with developing programs of adult learning and familiarity with urban public school environments, policy, and operations
• Successful experience measuring outcomes, troubleshooting, and producing desirable results
• Ability to think strategically and execute responsibilities effectively
• Capacity for accuracy and accountability
• High enthusiasm, strong organizational skills, and a strong work ethic
  
  

UNION/MANAGERIAL/RESIDENCY REQUIRED: Managerial

Terms: D62 ($132,430)

The Boston Public Schools, in accordance with its nondiscrimination policies, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, criminal record, physical or mental disability, pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions, homelessness, sex/gender, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, genetics, natural or protective hairstyle, military status, immigration status, English language proficiency, or any other factor prohibited by law in its programs and activities. BPS does not tolerate any form of retaliation, or bias-based intimidation, threat or harassment that demeans individuals’ dignity or interferes with their ability to work or learn. If you require an accommodation pursuant to the ADA for the application process, please contact the Accommodations Unit at accommodations@bostonpublicschools.org.