Managing Director of Teaching & Learning - New Jersey

Company Description

About KIPP New Jersey

KIPP New Jersey is part of the nationally recognized “Knowledge Is Power Program” network of free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public schools dedicated to preparing students for success in college and in life. In 2002, 80 fifth graders walked through the doors of our first middle school in Newark, New Jersey and KIPP New Jersey has since grown to educate 8,135 students in grades K-12 across 17 schools in Newark and Camden. More than 90% of KIPP New Jersey students currently qualify for free or reduced meals. 

By 2025, KIPP New Jersey will provide a world-class education to over 10,300 students across fifteen schools in Newark and five in Camden. To learn more, visit www.kippnj.org.

Job Description

Here's what you need to know:

KIPP New Jersey’s Managing Director of Teaching & Learning (MDTL) serves as a key member of the KIPP New Jersey regional leadership team and the KIPP TEAM & Family Teaching & Learning Team. This role will be largely New Jersey-based, with periodic travel to other KIPP regions and events as needed. The expected start date for this role is July 1, 2024.

Here's what you'll be doing:

Lead the Implementation and Management of a World-Class Academic Program in the KIPP New Jersey Region 

• Design and implement a strategy for curriculum and assessment adoption and/or modification and improvement, to meet the demands of the range of standardized tests we hold as our north star: i-Ready, mCLASS DIBELS, NJSLA, ACT/SAT, and AP. 
• Develop and oversee systems and protocols for quality control and vetting of curricular materials, assessments, and professional development resources. 
• Develop and oversee systems for data-driven instruction that facilitates the analysis of and response to mastery data and students’ GPA. 
• Actively respond to data (achievement, observation, perception, etc.) to engage in year-over-year improvement of program, as well as mid-year course corrections as needed. 
• Collaborate with Heads of Schools to deploy talent and resources (e.g. additional coaching support, model leadership, etc.), based on takeaways from academic progress monitoring. 
• Manage all academics and academic operations matters in the region, including but not limited to: report cards, grading and gradebooks, state testing coordination, curriculum purchasing, data and progress monitoring of academics, region-wide academic course correction, scheduling, etc. 
• Lead region-wide processes for driving student outcomes such as state testing, academic progress monitoring, test preparation, etc. 
• Develop and/or cultivate subject matter expertise across grades and disciplines K-12, in order to inform NJ-specific academic policies and decision-making about programs.
• Collaborate with the Data Team to develop and monitor outcomes on KIPP NJ dashboards.

Develop and Lead a Teaching & Learning TEAM in the KIPP New Jersey Region

• Work as a “bridge” between program and school management, by building relationships and investment with all parties and supporting the efficacy of T&L teammates in our schools. 
• Develop the short-term and long-term strategy for growth and build-out of the Teaching  & Learning TEAM in KIPP New Jersey.
• Directly manage Achievement Directors in the KIPP New Jersey region, including but not limited to weekly check-ins, observations and feedback on practice, and curriculum and artifact review. This will include working in schools across K - 12. 
• Achievement Directors are responsible for: 
• Managing an academic program (curriculum, assessment, implementation support) that upholds our vision for literacy or math instruction and long-term learning in a specific grade band and subject area. This looks like: 
  • With support and oversight from the broader T&L TEAM, adapt and/or create curriculum and assessments to meet the demands of the KIPP: NJ context, prioritizing places where the data most demands it.
  • Work from the curriculum resources our schools have adopted, and continue to iterate on and modify these materials based on data and needs.
  • Develop or modify rigorous assessments that align to the grade level expectations for each grade, and progress developmentally as our students advance in reading level proficiency. 
  • Develop (and modify as needed) the scope and sequence of lessons in the assigned grade and subject.
  • Prepare module overviews and guidance for internalization for each unit of study. 
  • Monitor the implementation of the curriculum, and make and communicate changes and improvements to content as needed.<