Executive Director of School Improvement and Leadership Development

Reports to: Superintendent 

Supervises: Campus Principals and other assigned personnel

Funding: 40% Title I. Part A; 40% Title II, Part A; 20% Local Funds

Primary Purpose

Provide leadership, coaching, supervision, and technical assistance to campus principals to strenghten instructional leadership, improve the quality of teaching and learning, accelerate student academic achievement, close achievement gaps, and improve College, career, and Military Readiness (CCMR) outcomes.

Develop the capacity and effectiveness of campus principals and other school leaders through sustained, job-embedded coaching, professional learning, performance feedback, data analysis, and leadership-development activities.

Provide supervision and evaluation of campus principals and perform related district administrative responsibilities as assigned by the Superintendent. 

Lead and support the implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of district and campus improvement strategies identified through comprehensive needs assessment and incorporated into applicable district and campus improvement plans.

Qualifications

Education/Certification

• Master's degree from an accredited college or university
• Valid Texas Principal or Mid-Management Certification
• Texas Superintendent Certification preferred

Experience

• Successful experience as a campus principal required
• Demonstrated record of improving student academic outcomes
• Experience developing or coaching campus administrators preferred
• Central-office or multi-campus leadership experience preferred

Special Knowledge and Skills

• Extensive knowledge of effective instructional leadership and school improvement practices
• Knowledge of Texas accountability requirements and state academic standards
• Knowledge of College, Career, and Military Readiness indicators and strategies
• Knowledge of principal appraisal and leadership-development systems
• Ability to analyze student achievement, growth, student-group, attendance, graduation, and CCMR data
• Knowledge of comprehensive needs assessment and improvement-planning processes
• Knowledge of evidence-based instructional and school-improvement practices
• Ability to coach, develop, supervise, and evaluate campus administrators
• Ability to establish measurable performance expectations and monitor progress toward student outcome goals
• Strong organizational, communication, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills

Major Responsibilities and Duties

School Improvement and Student Achievement

Title I, Part A Emphasis

1. Provide intensive support to campus principals in developing and implementing strategies designed to improve academic achievement and accelerate student growth.
2. Work with campus leadership teams to analyze state, local, and campus performance data to identify student needs, achievement gaps, root causes, and priorities for improvement.
3. Assist principals in establishing measurable student performance goals and developing action plans aligned with identified campus needs.
4. Conduct regular campus visits, instructional walks, data reviews, and improvement meetings to monitor implementation and effectiveness of campus improvement strategies.
5. Support principals in developing systems for frequent monitoring of student learning, instructional effectiveness, interventions, and progress toward performance objectives.
6. Assist campus leaders in implementing evidence-based strategies for students who are failing, or are at risk of failing, to meet challenging state academic standards.
7. Support campuses in identifying and addressing achievement gaps among student groups.
8. Assist campus leadership teams with comprehensive needs assessment and campus improvement planning processes.
9. Ensure that Title I-supported school improvement strategies assigned to the position are aligned with identified needs and applicable campus and district improvement plans.
10. Evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of Title I-supported improvement strategies and recommend modifications based upon student outcome data.
11. Work collaboratively with district curriculum and instructional personnel to strengthen the alignment of curriculum, instruction, assessment, intervention, and campus improvement efforts.
12. Maintain appropriate documentation of Title I-supported activities, implementation, progress monitoring, and program effectiveness.

College, Career, and Military Readiness

1. Provide leadership and technical assistance to campuses to increase College, Career, and Military Readiness outcomes.
2. Work with secondary campus leadership to establish measurable CCMR goals and systems for monitoring individual student progress toward CCMR indicators.
3. Analyze CCMR data to identify gaps in participation, completion, attainment, and student-group performance.
4. Support campus leaders in implementing strategies related to advanced academics, dual credit, industry-based certifications, career and technical education, college preparation, military readiness, and other applicable CCMR measures.
5. Monitor district and campus progress toward CCMR goals and recommend interventions or changes in strategy when performance is not on track to meet established objectives.
6. Collaborate with campus and district personnel to establish systems that identify students who are not on track to achieve a CCMR indicator and coordinate appropriate supports.

Principal and School Leader Development

Title II, Part A Emphasis

1. Provide regular, individualized, job-embedded leadership coaching to campus principals.
2. Develop principals' capacity to serve as effective instructional leaders and improve teaching and learning within their campuses.
3. Establish individualized professional growth priorities with principals based upon leadership practices, campus needs, student performance, and other relevant evidence.
4. Conduct coaching observations, leadership walks, reflective conferences, and other professional-growth activities designed to improve principal effectiveness.
5. Provide principals with timely, specific, actionable feedback regarding instructional leadership, organizational leadership, data use, campus culture, and implementation of improvement strategies.
6. Design and facilitate sustained professional learning for principals and campus leadership teams based upon identified needs.
7. Develop principals' capacity to effectively coach, develop, provide feedback to, and evaluate teachers and other instructional personnel.
8. Strengthen principals' ability to use student performance and instructional data to make decisions regarding curriculum, instruction, intervention, professional learning, and allocation of campus resources.
9. Develop leadership practices that support effective teacher recruitment, development, support, and retention.
10. Facilitate professional learning communities and collaborative leadership structures among district principals.
11. Identify effective leadership practices within the district and establish systems for sharing and replicating those practices across campuses.
12. Support new and developing campus administrators through differentiated coaching, mentoring, professional learning, and technical assistance.
13. Evaluate the effectiveness of principal professional learning and leadership-development activities and adjust supports based upon evidence of effectiveness.
14. Maintain appropriate documentation demonstrating implementation of Title II-supported leadership development, coaching, and professional-growth activities.

Principal Supervision and Evaluation

Local-Fund Emphasis

1. Serve as the direct supervisor for assigned campus principals.
2. Conduct formal principal performance evaluations in accordance with applicable law, district policy, administrative procedures, and the district's adopted appraisal system.
3. Establish performance expectations for principals and monitor progress toward district and campus goals.
4. Conduct formal and informal conferences with principals regarding job performance, leadership effectiveness, campus operations, personnel management, and organizational expectations.
5. Develop directives, corrective-action plans, growth plans, or other performance-management interventions when appropriate.
6. Provide recommendations to the Superintendent regarding principal performance, contract status, assignments, professional growth, and other personnel matters.
7. Address administrative, operational, personnel, and management issues involving assigned campuses.
8. Assist principals in resolving significant employee, parent, student, operational, or organizational concerns requiring district-level administrative support.
9. Ensure that campus operations comply with district policy, administrative procedures, and applicable legal requirements.
10. Perform other supervisory and administrative responsibilities assigned by the Superintendent.

Continuous Improvement and Accountability

1. Establish regular cycles for reviewing campus academic performance, CCMR outcomes, implementation data, and progress toward district and campus improvement goals.
2. Facilitate formal progress-monitoring meetings with principals and campus leadership teams.
3. Identify campuses, programs, student groups, or performance indicators requiring intensified support or intervention.
4. Recommend changes to instructional programs, improvement strategies, professional learning, leadership supports, and district systems based upon evaluation results.
5. Provide regular reports to the Superintendent regarding campus performance, principal leadership development, improvement-plan implementation, and emerging areas of concern.
6. Collaborate with other district departments to ensure that resources and support are coordinated around identified campus and student needs.

Supervisory Responsibilities

Directly supervise and evaluate assigned campus principals and other personnel as assigned by the Superintendent.

Performance Measures

Performance of the Executive Director of School Improvement and Leadership Development should be evaluated using multiple measures, including:

• Improvement in student academic achievement and academic growth
• Reduction of achievement gaps among student groups
• Improvement in CCMR performance
• Progress toward District and Campus Improvement Plan objectives
• Effective implementation of evidence-based school improvement strategies
• Growth in principal instructional leadership capacity
• Effectiveness of principal coaching and professional learning
• Effective use of data and progress-monitoring systems
• Quality and effectiveness of principal supervision and evaluation
• Compliance with applicable federal program requirements
• Effectiveness of district and campus leadership systems

Funding and Cost Allocation

The position is supported through a combination of federal and local funds based upon the duties and responsibilities assigned to the position.

Title I, Part A — 40%

Title I, Part A funds support the portion of the position devoted to school improvement, student academic achievement, closing achievement gaps, CCMR improvement, comprehensive needs assessment, implementation and monitoring of improvement plans, data analysis, progress monitoring, and related activities that carry out the intent and purpose of the Title I, Part A program.

Title I-supported responsibilities shall address identified needs and be incorporated into applicable district and/or campus improvement planning documents as required.

Title II, Part A — 40%

Title II, Part A funds support the portion of the position devoted to improving the effectiveness of principals and other school leaders through job-embedded coaching, mentoring, professional learning, leadership development, instructional leadership support, professional growth systems, and related evidence-based activities intended to improve educator effectiveness and student achievement.

Local Funds — 20%

Local funds support the portion of the position devoted to formal supervision and evaluation of campus principals and other general administrative, personnel, management, compliance, and operational responsibilities that are not directly allocable to Title I, Part A or Title II, Part A.

The employee shall perform duties consistent with the applicable funding sources, grant requirements, district policies and procedures, and applicable federal cost principles. The district shall maintain documentation sufficient to demonstrate that salary and benefit expenditures charged to each funding source are reasonable, necessary, and allocable to the applicable program.