Director of K-8 Literacy

Company Description

KIPP Nashville Public Schools is entering it’s 20th school year in 2024-2025 - operating 9 schools in North, East and South Nashville educating over 3,200 students - and will open our 10th school in Summer 2025. We are a results-driven and collaborative team striving for excellence through a deep commitment to our core values of Growth, Shine and Team. Our team of exceptionally talented, racially diverse, and high performing individuals are grounded in a deep commitment to our students.

Our mission is that, together with families and communities, we create joyful, academically excellent schools that prepare students with the skills and confidence they need to pursue the paths they choose - college, career, and beyond - so they can lead fulfilling lives and build a more just world. If you share this belief, if you have a proven willingness to do what it takes for students to achieve, if you thrive in an environment that is both collaborative and entrepreneurial, then you are already a KIPPster.

Job Description

Position Overview
KIPP Nashville Public Schools is committed to providing a college preparatory literacy education to all students, and operating in line with the national ONE KIPP strategy to drive literacy achievement. The Director of K-8 Literacy plays a critical role in realizing this mission by providing schools with high-quality curriculum and assessment materials that are vertically aligned across grade levels and aligned with the national KIPP network best practices, ensuring that every KIPP Nashville student is ready to matriculate into rigorous high school literacy courses.

Key Responsibilities:
Responsibilities of the Director of K-8 Literacy include, but are not limited to:

Vision Setting 

• Invest leaders, teachers, students, and families in KIPP Nashville’s literacy vision 

• In collaboration with regional academic leaders and school-based leaders, continually refine KIPP Nashville’s vision for academic excellence

Change Management

• Internalize the current + future  literacy  curriculum materials and assessments 

• Build investment from Assistant Principals (APs) and teachers around what excellence looks like in a literacy lesson

• Ensure literacy teachers are well-trained and supported for the current curriculum

• Develop a cohesive and strategic rollout plan to ensure schools and teachers are ready to implement Fishtank in SY25-26

• Ensuring alignment to ONE KIPP through implementation of content-specific arcs throughout the school year

Curriculum Frameworks

• Create and support the rollout plan of regional supports for the literacy curriculum

• Create and manage the K-8 literacy curricula, including scope and sequences, daily aims, and lesson resources

• Ensure curriculum alignment to TN state standards 

• Set the assessment vision for K-8 literacy, including testing calendar and grading deadlines 

• Collaborate with the KIPP high school English department chairs to ensure vertical alignment between K-8 and 9-12 curricula and instructional approaches.

Assessment and Data-Driven Instruction

• Write and/or edit assessments for K – 8, including quizzes, end of modules, and interim assessments 

• Analyze assessment data and use it to drive action with APs 

• Prepare data for, and participate in, regional Academic Progress Monitoring meetings

• Support teachers and leaders in analyzing assessment data

Professional Development

• Plan and lead summer PD to launch shared vision and build teacher toolkit

• Plan and lead shared PD during the year to support ongoing teacher execution

• Set the vision for literacy internalizations, including protocols and schedules 

• Lead a weekly content internalization meeting for a specific elementary and middle school grade band 

• Develop literacy content leaders by observing internalizations and providing feedback 

• Co-observe with APs monthly to drive alignment of execution 

• Observe instructional practices in schools to identify and address curriculum design and professional development gaps.

Qualifications

Desired Qualifications:

• Minimum 4 years exemplary literacy teaching experience with strong student achievement results

• Minimum 2 years exemplary, full-time teacher coaching and adult management experience

• Minimum 2 years curriculum develop