Director of Early Childhood Education

The primary function of the Director of Early Childhood Education is to support the accomplishment of the District’s vision/mission while ensuring that all Early Childhood TAP metrics are achieved.  The Director is responsible for supporting the development, implementation, administration, supervision, maintenance, monitoring, and evaluation of all Early Childhood programming and services.  The Director will ensure federal, state, and district policies/procedures are followed while maintaining compliance with all federal and state laws and regulations.  In addition, the key function of the Director is to work collaboratively with the administration to ensure improved academics and services for all Early Childhood students.

The Providence Public School District (PPSD) serves approximately 22,000 students attending our 37 schools. PPSD employs more than 3,200 professionals who work in and provide support to our schools, which include 20 elementary schools, 7 middle schools, 11 high schools and 2 public district charter schools. Of our employees, approximately 2,000 are educators, and more than 600 others directly support students and families in our schools. Our schools are diverse learning communities. Approximately 68% of our students are Latinx, 15% Black, 7% White, 4% Asian, 5.5% Multi-racial and 1% Native American. Approximately 40% of students are multilingual learners, and about 16% of students receive special education services.

Approximately 55% of students come from homes where English is not the primary language spoken. Combined, our students and families speak more than 55 different languages and hail from 91 countries of origin.

REPORTS TO: Chief of Student Support Services

**Contingent upon funding**

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS:

• Masters in School Administration and/or District Level Administrator Special Education OR
• Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education OR
• Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Special Education

RIDE Requirements:

• Building Level Administrator Certification AND

• Early Childhood Teachers Certification (Pre-K to Grade 2) AND

• Early Childhood Special Education Teacher

ESL preferred

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION STANDARDS:

• Ability and willingness to adhere to attendance requirements, including regular and punctual employee presence.
• Knowledge of AI, Google, Word, Excel and Outlook systems 
• Ability to utilize a fax machine, phone system, and other office materials as necessary for the position 
• Ability to respond quickly to phone calls, text messages, and emails 

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES & RESPONSIBILTIIES:

• Establish a department mission and vision that includes implementation plans and roadmap that leads to the accomplishment of meeting all PPSD Turn around Action Plan (TAP) Early Childhood Goals.
• Supervise the Early Childhood department to ensure a high functioning team built on the principles of efficiency, productivity, and collaboration 
• Create a collaborative culture where all members of the Early Childhood teams expertise is maximized and acknowledged
• Supervise department personnel/teams:  Special Education Evaluation Teams, Child Outreach Coordinator/Screeners, Early Childhood Coordinators, Clerks, & Support Staff
• Supervise Community Itinerant Model to ensure program efficiency and effectiveness
• Lead the district-wide implementation of Bright Stars, Rhode Island Early Learning & Development Standards and the Providence Public School District Early Childhood Curriculum for all General Education and Specialized Instruction Early Childhood classrooms.
• Supervise, monitor, and regularly evaluate the quality and delivery of the instructional programs in all Early Childhood classrooms including but not limited to the following:
  • Review, prepare, and expand the menu of materials and resources that support instructional programs in an environment of increasing high quality Early Childhood instruction that meet Bright Stars standards.
  • Research and implement research based best practices and other pertinent information that supports instructional programs and meets the needs of students.
  • Ensure delivery of rigorous high quality Early Childhood instruction.  
• Align all academic services to the district’s strategic plan and goals as outlined in the district Turn Around Action Plan (TAP).
• Work in collaboration with the Early Childhood Education Coordinators, Child Outreach Coordinator, Early Childhood Department Managers, and school administrators to support and manage ongoing assessment and reporting of student outcomes, academic/non-academic goals to ensure the reporting of this information is shared in a timely manner to all relevant stakeholders.
• Develop and manage the implementation of professional development that supports Bright Stars Standards, and instructional programs/services, and builds the knowledge, skills and practices needed for high quality Early Childhood programs/services that leads to increased student achievement.
• Meets regularly with Early Childhood Managers, Early Childhood Coordinators, Child Outreach Coordinator, and school leaders to review expectations, goals, and progress towards goals through the use of data analysis.
• Meets regularly with school leaders to review expectations and provide support/resources to ensure schools are meeting Bright Star Standards.
• Regularly visits Early Childhood classrooms providing feedback and recommendations to school staff.
• Participates and supports school based early childhood common planning time sessions to ensure successful curriculum implementation and Bright Stars Standards.
• Coordinates and plans professional development opportunities that are aligned to department priorities and goals for Early Childhood Managers, Early Childhood Coordinators, Child Outreach Coordinator, Evaluation Team members, Child Screeners,  Community Itinerant Model Staff, Department Clerks, School Staff (Admin, Teachers, TA, etc.) focused on Bright Star Standards.
• Collaborate with all district/community/department partners, and agencies identified in federal, state, local grants and/or related to accreditation of high quality Early Childhood programs.  
• Support the recruitment and community engagement efforts of the Child Outreach including annual lotteries, typical peer identification while collaborating with PPSD Registration Department.
• Lead, manage, and annually evaluate all personnel managed by this position (Including but not limited to Early Childhood Manager/Coordinators, Evaluation Team, Child Outreach Coordinator/Screeners, Community Itinerant Model Staff, Department Clerks)
• Work collaboratively and cooperatively with teams of all PPSD departments.
• Develop and maintain all department budgets including local and grant funds to ensure efficiency and effectiveness of funds.
• Work collaboratively with the Executive Director and Directors of the Office of Specialized Instruction & Exceptional Student Services to ensure alignment between both departments. 
• Meets weekly with the Chief of Student Support Services to provide updates and reports on progress of department priorities and goals.
• Serves as the Hiring Manager for all department positions while supporting school leaders with the hiring of Pre-K staff.
• Supervise all evening/Saturday Evaluation Team days
• Works in partnership with PPSD legal team to address all Early Childhood legal cases, Due Process Cases, and/or RIDE Complaints
• Supervise the planning, implementation, and evaluation of Extended School Year (ESY) and school year break/summer evaluation team services.
• Work collaboratively with PPSD contracted providers such as (TSG, THRU, etc.)
• Approves enrollment of Pre-K students who will need to attend a school out of the district.  Collaborates with the Director of Specialized Instruction to review and place said students.
• Supports and educates families on how to support and advocate for their child
• Perform all other duties as assigned by the Chief of Student Support Services
• Public speaking, large/small group facilitation skills.

Salary : $123,312 - $131,658