Early Literacy Multi-Classroom Leader (SY 26-27)

EARLY LITERACY MULTI-CLASSROOM LEADER

About Jackson Public Schools

Jackson Public Schools is the second largest school district in Mississippi, serving nearly 17,000 students, representing more than 80 percent of school-aged children in the state's capital.  Jackson Public Schools is an innovative, urban district committed to excellence that will provide every student with quality education in partnership with parents and the community.

About the Early Literacy Multi-Classroom Leader

An educator in the Multi-Classroom Leader™ role leads a small team of teachers, paraprofessionals, and teaching residents in early literacy to meet the standards of excellence. These team leaders establish each team member’s roles and goals at least annually, determine how students spend time, and organize teaching roles to fit each teacher’s strengths, content knowledge, and professional development goals. Each team leader engages in curriculum-based content cycles with their team, co-plans, co-teaches, models, coaches and gives feedback, and leads and supports the team in building a tutoring culture. They also teach students part of the time. The leader organizes the team to analyze student learning data and change instruction to ensure high-growth learning for every child. The leader collaborates with the team, using the team’s ideas and innovations that the leader agrees may improve learning. The leader also guides and directs any paraprofessional with whom they work. The team leader is fully accountable for the learning and development of all students taught by the team members.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated expertise in science of reading principles (certification, coursework, etc.) and willingness to learn.
• Master’s Degree or Science of Reading Aligned Coursework/Certification (e.g., AIMS, LETRS, CERI Certification, etc.).
• Mississippi teaching certificate with appropriate teaching licensure. 
• Prior evidence of high-growth student learning in the relevant subjects (in the top 25% compared to other teachers in a state or on national tests)
• 5 years of teaching experience, preferably in early literacy
• Demonstrated interpersonal and group effectiveness working with adults and students, including interpersonal understanding and action to maintain relationships needed for success in a school or similar environment

The Early Literacy Multi-Classroom Leader is responsible for the following:

Planning and Preparation

• Set high expectations of achievement that are ambitious and measurable for all students taught by team
• Establish methods and create instructional tools and materials that team teachers use in all classrooms
• Lead team to:
  • plan backward to align all lessons, activities, and assessments using a high-standards curriculum 
  • design and lead instruction that is enriched (developing higher-order thinking skills) and personalized (reflecting learning levels and interests of individual students), prioritizing small-group teaching and tutoring and offering accelerated learning
  • design assessments that accurately assess student growth
  • prepare to deliver small-group teaching and tutoring

Classroom Environment

• Lead team to:
  • hold students accountable for high expectations of behavior and engagement that are ambitious and measurable 
  • create physical classroom environments conducive to collaborative and individual learning
  • establish a culture of respect, enthusiasm, and rapport 

Instruction

• Lead team to:
  • proficiently implement evidence-based literacy strategies
  • hold students accountable for ambitious, measurable standards of academic achievement
  • maximize student learning by incorporating small-group teaching and tutoring 
  • identify and address individual students’ social, emotional, and behavioral learning needs and barriers 
  • identify and address individual students’ development of organizational and time-management skills
  • invest students in their learning using a variety of influence techniques
  • incorporate questioning and discussion in teaching
  • monitor and analyze student assessment data to inform engaging instruction and small-group teaching and tutoring 
  • communicate with students and keep them informed of their progress

Professional Responsibilities

• Facilitate cycles of professional learning (Content Cycles) on evidence-based literacy strategies and the district-adopted HQIM
• Lead coaching cycles (observations & debriefs) aligned to content cycle learning
• Engage teachers in district-adopted coaching framework collaborative lesson planning, role play, and examining student work
• Conduct instructional rounds with school administration to assess alignment to content cycle learning
• Solicit and eagerly receive feedback from supervisor and team members to improve professional skills
• Lead team to maintain regular communication with families, and work collaboratively with them to design learning both at home and at school, and to encourage a home life conducive to learning success
• Organize and schedule team time to ensure alignment of instructional vision, prioritize small-group teaching and tutoring in all classrooms, and troubleshoot students’ persistent learning challenges
• Determine how students spend instructional time based on strengths of all adults on the team
• Allocate instructional process elements (lesson planning, minimal large-group instruction, a focus on small-group instruction, individual interventions, data analysis, grading, etc.) among team based on strengths, content knowledge, and professional development goals
• Allocate non-instructional administrative duties among team 
• Model instructional tasks to aid team development
• Clarify and adjust team members’ roles and provide feedback, developmental advice, and assignments to develop their effectiveness
• Participate in outlined professional development opportunities at school and district level

Critical Competencies

• Achievement (ACH)
• The drive and actions to set challenging goals and reach a high standard of performance despite barriers
• Initiative and Persistence (I&P)
• The drive and actions to do more than is expected or required in order to accomplish a challenging task

Key Competencies

The ideal candidate will demonstrate the following:

• Excellent oral and written communication skills, problem-solving and consensus-building expertise, and ability to delegate responsibilities effectively
• Strong instructional foundation and current knowledge of library sciences
• Loyal, honest and dependable. Takes ownership and pride in their work
• Ability to interpret policy, procedures and data

Salary Information:

Jackson Public Schools does not discriminate in any aspect of employment on the basis of race, color, ancestry or national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or age.