Director of Foundational Literacy

Company Description

KIPP Texas Public Schools is a network of 59 public charter, open-enrollment, pre-k-12 schools educating nearly 34,000 students across Austin, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. Together with families and communities, our mission is to create joyful, academically excellent schools that prepare students with the skills and confidence to pursue the paths they choose —college, career, and beyond—so they can lead fulfilling lives and build a more fair world.

Founded in Houston in 1994 and operating as KIPP Texas since 2018, we are looking to hire a diverse team of dynamic, collaborative, and dedicated individuals with an unyielding belief that every child will succeed. KIPP Texas is a team and family with an unwavering commitment to creating classrooms, offices, and communities rooted in belongingness, academic success and joy.

KIPP Texas is part of the national KIPP network of 255 college-preparatory public charter schools in 20 states and the District of Columbia. Nationwide, KIPP students complete four-year college at a rate of 36 percent, comparable to the national average for all students.

Job Description

The Opportunity
The Director of Foundational Literacy is an exciting opportunity for an individual with deep content knowledge of literacy at the primary school level (PreK through 2nd Grade) and passion for curriculum and instruction. The Director of Foundational Literacy will play a critical role at the state-level in one of KIPPs most progressive reform efforts in order to drive improved student results, including growth and achievement, college and career readiness, and closing the achievement gap.

General Role Description
• Developing and Implementing Strategy: Create a strategy for PreK-3rd Grade literacy aligned to priorities and metrics and execute plans effectively to ensure strong literacy implementation across the state.
• Teacher and Leader Content Knowledge Development: Create the structures and supports to launch Comprehensive Reading Academies cohorts by partnering with regional, school leaders and Education Service Centers.
• Data Analysis: Regularly analyze a variety of qualitative and quantitative data at the school-, region- and state-levels to identify strengths and gaps in the curriculum itself and/or its implementation.
• Professional Development: Plan and facilitate virtual and in-person professional development on curriculum and instruction to ensure all regions are on a path to implement the Foundational Literacy strategy with fidelity and achieve academic goals.
• Instructional Coaching and Management: Manage Early Literacy Leads across all four KIPP Texas regions to Coach and support school administrators, teachers, and regional academic teams to set, make progress towards, and achieve academic goals. This may include occasional travel to each KIPP Texas region (Houston, Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio).

Key Responsibilities
The Director of Foundational Literacy responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:
• Lead implementation of state literacy priorities, including but not limited to PreK, Foundational Literacy, Writing instruction across the state for grades PreK-2.
• Create strategy for literacy implementation, support, and coaching across matrices and teams to reach ambitious goals in literacy across the state.
• Manage the development, implementation, and evaluation of a comprehensive professional learning for K-2 literacy with Reading Academies comprehensive cohorts.
• Develop a comprehensive process for ensuring KIPP Texas is in compliance with HB3 requirements related to foundational literacy and High Quality PreK.
• Consistently analyze data from assessments to evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum and lead the team in making the appropriate adjustments
• Recruit, select and retain outstanding Early Literacy Leads for each KIPP Texas region.
• Support in managing the early childhood budget for PreK-2, ensuring alignment to state-wide priorities and maintains the principles of fiscal responsibility
• Coach, build relationships, and support to APs, SLs, teachers, and regional academics team members across the state to ensure strong implementation of literacy programs.
• Develop, manage, and lead literacy pilots across the state to innovate and try new programs, structures, and strategies; gather data and artifacts to make state-wide
programmatic recommendations for further years.
• Serve as a model of instructional coaching power moves of internalization, observation and feedback, and data- driven instruction. Coach APs, SLs, and regional academics