What are the responsibilities and job description for the Principal Eligibility Specialist position at Chicago Public Schools - CPS?
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 approximately 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.
The Department of Principal Quality (DPQ) is charged with identifying, developing, supporting, and retaining strong principal leaders who are committed to actualizing that vision.
Job Summary:
Reporting to the Director of School Leader Transitions, the Principal Eligibility Specialist will oversee the Principal Candidate Pool, including the administration of the Principal Eligibility Process (Eligibility Process). This role will ensure compliance with CPS Board policy and state and federal laws.
The Principal Eligibility Specialist will be held accountable for the following responsibilities:
In order to be successful and achieve the above responsibilities, the Principal Eligibility Coordinator must possess the following qualifications:
Education Required:
Experience Required:
Other Requirements:
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
Conditions of Employment
As a condition of employment with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), employees are required to:
The Department of Principal Quality (DPQ) is charged with identifying, developing, supporting, and retaining strong principal leaders who are committed to actualizing that vision.
Job Summary:
Reporting to the Director of School Leader Transitions, the Principal Eligibility Specialist will oversee the Principal Candidate Pool, including the administration of the Principal Eligibility Process (Eligibility Process). This role will ensure compliance with CPS Board policy and state and federal laws.
The Principal Eligibility Specialist will be held accountable for the following responsibilities:
- Create and support practices for implementation of the CPS Principal Eligibility Board Policy (Policy), including oversight of the drafting and Board approval process for any future amendments to the Policy
- Maintain an accurate database of members in the CPS Principal Candidate Pool (Pool)
- Regularly update personal information on the members of the list
- Design and execute a process and cadence to audit membership in the Principal Candidate Pool aligned to the Principal Eligibility Policy
- Maintain ongoing membership ad hoc changes to members' status in the Pool
- Maintain a public list of members in the Pool that is updated quarterly and reflects members' decisions to opt-out
- Ensure the ongoing accuracy of the list by:
- Communicate members' status updates in the Pool within the time frame required by policy
- Manage the DPQ Discipline/Misconduct Review Committee
- Facilitate regular Committee meetings to ensure that members of the Principal Candidate Pool meet CPS' standards of conduct and professionalism
- Train new members of the Committee on processes and procedures
- Design and maintain tracking tools to ensure decisions made are fair, unbiased, and consistent with Policy
- Manage and monitor the logistics and flow of the grievance process to ensure that grievances are completed with fidelity and within the timeframe required by policy, including:
- Conduct an initial review of grievances to ensure that the information is complete
- Gather relevant information from the District regarding the membership determination
- Schedule meetings, conferences, and grievance hearings with the appropriate parties
- Maintain all relevant documentation related to the grievance process in alignment with the law
- Send and track related communications to stakeholders related to the grievance process
- Manage the Principal Eligibility Process (Eligibility Process) to ensure it is a fair and valid process
- Determine when process revisions are necessary and take the appropriate steps to implement the revision process, including Board processes and vendor requests
- Establish transparent guidelines for the implementation of the process
- Develop and facilitate informational sessions to increase awareness of the purpose and practices aligned to the Eligibility process, including, but not limited to, webinars and network meetings
- Set and monitor program outcomes and key performance indicators
- Recruit, select and train qualified principals to serve as Lead Eligibility Assessors, a role that ensures the quality, consistency, and fairness of Eligibility assessors
- Manage program logistics, budget and distribution of incentives, resources, and stipends
- Create, update, and maintain processes, practices, and systems for the administration of the process
- Construct, in collaboration with the School Leader Engagement team, a marketing plan to increase awareness of the purpose and practices aligned to the Eligibility process, including, but not limited to, webinars and network meetings
- Oversee and execute logistics for the process
- Maintain up-to-date applicant records, including maintaining physical and electronic files in accordance with CPS policy and state and federal laws
- Manage vendor relationships and contracts supporting the Principal Eligibility process
- Maintain data systems for the Eligibility processes (e.g. Salesforce, Formassembly, Google site), partnering with vendors as appropriate
- Provide written feedback to all applicants who attempt the Eligibility Process within the required timeframe
- Manage the Lead Eligibility Assessor program:
- Build and oversee the Principal Eligibility Assessor (Assessor) pool, including designing and implementing the assessor selection process and training sessions
- Communicate status updates to members, as needed, within the time frames required by policy
- Collaborate regularly with DPQ colleagues on projects related to principal readiness and principal selection
- Create regular and ad hoc reports on the Principal Candidate Pool, Eligibility Process, and other related work. Utilize data to monitor for equitable practices.
- Accountable for Local School Council (LSC) principal selection support
- Collaborate with OLSCR and ONS to confirm official vacancies and approval of postings
- Create and post LSC principal vacancy advertisements
- Screen applicants for required licensure and membership in the Principal Candidate Pool
- Compose and send Candidate Slates to LSCs
- Perform other related duties in support of the overall work of DPQ as required
In order to be successful and achieve the above responsibilities, the Principal Eligibility Coordinator must possess the following qualifications:
Education Required:
- Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university is required
- Master's degree preferred
Experience Required:
- Minimum of five (5) years of professional experience, including the following, is required:
- Involvement in driving multiple complex projects within a large organization
- Experience coordinating logistics and maintaining accurate records
- Minimum of three (3) years of professional experience, including the following, is preferred:
- Experience managing large-scale programs and projects
- Experience managing partnerships with internal and external stakeholders
- Experience leading a team
- Intern or other direct experience may be considered
Other Requirements:
- Ability to travel within the City of Chicago to schools and professional development sessions
- Flexibility of schedule as required to support professional learning sessions and/or the CPS Principal Eligibility assessment, which may occur outside of normal business hours
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
- Strong analytical and organizational skills; Ability to use quantitative and qualitative data to drive programmatic improvements
- Strong communication skills (Verbal, Listening, Written)
- Ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships with a variety of constituent groups, including CPS employees of all levels and various external partner agencies
- Demonstrates a sense of urgency in accomplishing goals and objectives to ensure success
- Ability to manage multiple work streams simultaneously while meeting deadlines and producing high-quality work
- Excellent judgment; Ability to function as a key advisor while balancing multiple priorities
- Commitment to pursue and implement innovative ideas and methods: Commitment to seeking out and sharing current research and evidence-based best practices
- Demonstrated commitment to continuous improvement and an unwavering belief that all students can achieve at high levels
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.
- 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.