Director of Learning & Development, Alpha - $200,000/year USD

• On-site in Bethesda, MD | Chicago, IL | Piedmont, CA
• $200,000 annual salary, paid weekly. Health, dental, and vision from day one
• Relocation assistance provided
  
  

The greatest act of support for a student who scores 99% is to decline labeling it 100%. If that statement unsettles you, this role is not the right fit. If it resonates, continue reading.

Students at Alpha do not passively attend lectures. They advance rapidly through adaptive applications, absorb material at double the speed of conventional classrooms, and acquire practical life competencies in parallel. Your responsibility is to ensure three core commitments are fulfilled for every child in your cohort: a genuine enthusiasm for school, accelerated learning at 2x traditional pace, and the development of capabilities no standard curriculum provides. You will also train the Guides who uphold these same commitments throughout your campus.

Your day begins with performance data. You review analytics to determine which students are progressing and which require additional support. By mid-morning, you are facilitating a live workshop—guiding K-8 students through exercises in public speaking or concentration using Alpha's structured methodology. Post-lunch, you observe a Guide's session and follow up with targeted coaching, delivering three precise adjustments to refine their execution. On certain days, you serve as the motivational catalyst in group sessions, converting leaderboard standings into momentum. You maintain direct engagement with your own student cohort while simultaneously elevating Guides to meet your benchmark; as their capability grows, your influence scales from a single cohort to an entire campus.

You will witness reserved children present with confidence before adults. You will observe a student who previously "despised school" request extra time. And you will understand that the standard you maintained is precisely what enabled their transformation—because upholding expectations is how you demonstrate belief in someone's capacity to meet them.

If you have exceeded benchmarks, transformed underperformers into top achievers, and are prepared to do so for children: submit your application now.

What You Will Be Doing

• Facilitating one-hour live workshops for K-8 students covering life competencies such as public speaking, concentration, and feedback exchange, adhering to Alpha's established framework
• Developing Guides through direct observation, precise feedback, and active coaching to ensure they execute workshops with equivalent energy and accuracy
• Conducting daily motivational sessions designed to propel 100% of students toward their weekly learning objectives using developmentally appropriate incentives including school currency and leaderboards
• Analyzing Coachbot data and student records to pinpoint individuals requiring intervention, then providing direct support
• Directly mentoring a small cohort of students, demonstrating the coaching and motivational techniques you require from all Guides
  
  

What You Won’t Be Doing

• Developing lesson plans or creating curriculum. Students engage with adaptive applications; your focus is elevating the people who support them.
• Delivering traditional classroom lectures. Your role is 80% performance, 20% content expertise; if presenting at a whiteboard appeals to you, this position is not aligned.
• Accepting "nearly there" as sufficient. 100% mastery is the standard, and reducing it does not constitute compassion.
• Operating from an office processing administrative documents. The majority of your time is spent directly engaging with students and Guides.
  
  

Director Of Learning & Development Key Responsibilities

Execute Alpha's 3 Promises: ensure every child develops enthusiasm for school, achieves learning at 2x velocity, and masters life competencies—both within your cohort and across the cohorts managed by your Guides.

Basic Requirements

• Currently located in or willing to relocate to Bethesda, MD; Chicago, IL; or Piedmont, CA (relocation assistance available)
• Bachelor's degree in Education, Psychology, Business, or related discipline
• Minimum 5 years of professional experience in education, learning and development, coaching, or related field
• Demonstrated experience creating and executing educational programs, curricula, or training initiatives
• Proven track record managing a team of 5 individuals, including responsibility for hiring and performance-based termination decisions
• Experience providing coaching, mentoring, or constructive feedback to enhance engagement and performance outcomes
• Experience working with youth aged 5-14 in educational or developmental contexts
• Proficiency leveraging data and metrics to inform decisions and drive continuous improvement
• Legal authorization to work in the United States
  
  

Nice-to-have Requirements

• Master's degree in Education, Psychology, or Business
• Experience as an athletic coach, camp director, or youth program leader where you directly motivated children to achieve quantifiable goals
• Experience coaching adults in positions where performance was measured and evaluated
• Confidence performing before large groups of children—the type of presence that commands attention from a room of 8-year-olds.
  
  

About Alpha

Want to join a learning rebellion that’s transforming the traditional classroom?

Alpha School is on a mission to reshape education with a bold approach that harnesses AI to accelerate learning and unleash student potential.

They don’t play by the old rules.

Alpha is creating a new paradigm where students master core academics in just two hours a day, freeing up time for hands-on, passion-driven learning that truly prepares them for the real world.

Alpha School is rewriting the rules of education.

Sounds too good to be true? It’s not.

There is so much to cover for this exciting role, and space here is limited. Hit the Apply button if you found this interesting and want to learn more. We look forward to meeting you!

Working with us

This is a full-time (40 hours per week), long-term position. The position is immediately available and requires entering into an independent contractor agreement with Crossover as a Contractor of Record. The compensation level for this role is $100 USD/hour, which equates to $200,000 USD/year assuming 40 hours per week and 50 weeks per year. The payment period is weekly. Consult www.crossover.com/help-and-faqs for more details on this topic.

Crossover Job Code: LJ-5628-US-Frisco-DirectorofLear.022