Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Training (CIT), Citizen Schools

Organization Link
Citizen Schools
Position Description

The Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Training (CIT) role is critical to influencing program quality and ensuring that a culture of achievement is in place in every Citizen Schools program across the country. The Director of CIT will support program staff’s delivery of all instructional aspects of Citizen Schools’ out-of-school program for low-income, urban middle school students: apprenticeships with volunteer Citizen Teachers, homework support, study skills, team-building activities and community explorations.

The Director will design and support delivery of training for program staff; set priorities and develop curriculum for Citizen Schools’ core program model; and guide regionally-based staff in setting priorities for continuous improvement of the program. The Director will be part of a 10-person National Program Department dedicated to supporting 36 program sites across 16 cities and 6 states and will directly manage a 3-person curriculum and training group and lead regional Program Directors on all aspects of curriculum, instruction and training. Citizen Schools plans to grow to 75 sites by 2012 and the Director will be a critical contributor to ensuring consistent results and supporting an expanded network.

This is a full-time position beginning in late spring or early summer, reporting to the Chief Learning Officer and working in close partnership with the Research and Evaluation Department, National Network, and state offices. The position is located in Boston, with some travel (up to ~20%).

Responsibilities Include


Leadership – Internal and External

  • Lead and supervise the work of the Curriculum, Instruction and Training Manager and National Volunteer Manager to ensure the delivery of high quality training to campus staff and volunteer Citizen Teachers across the network
  • Serve on cross functional teams to continuously forge alignment of all aspects of the program model
  • Work in collaboration with the Chief Learning Officer and state office staff to identify and respond to curricular and instructional needs of campus staff
  • Work with state office staff to ensure Citizen Schools’ responsiveness to the needs of our school partners across the network
  • Work with leaders within and outside the organization to promote out of school time as an untapped resource in broader school reform efforts
  • Cultivate and manage relationships with external partners who provide content knowledge and expertise in curriculum and instruction
  • Serve as a resource to instructors in the joint Citizen Schools/Lesley University Master’s Program (Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction with a Specialization in Out of School Time)

Content Development and Delivery

  • Serve as an organizational content expert on current trends and research in teaching and learning
  • Oversee the development and refinement of high quality apprenticeship curricula for volunteer Citizen Teachers
  • Support the Curriculum, Instruction and Training Manager to develop and manage effective knowledge capture and sharing systems relative to curricular and instructional practices across the network
  • Develop and deliver engaging trainings that reflect the best research within the fields of in-school and out-of-school education, in collaboration with other departments

Program Quality and Evaluation

  • Use Citizen Schools’ evaluative tools to assess and direct quality improvement efforts in the areas of curriculum, instruction and training
  • Collaborate with the Research and Evaluation Department on authentic formative and summative assessments of our program’s target outcomes that are deeply linked with Citizen Schools’ experiential forms of teaching and learning

Qualifications

All candidates should have demonstrated leadership skills, deep knowledge of curriculum and instruction, a passion for education and community engagement, and effective collaboration skills.

Other qualifications include

  • 5-10 years of experience in the field of education, preferably including a combination of teaching and administrative experience, in both school and out of school time settings
  • Understanding of and experience with hands-on, experiential, community-based and/or project-based learning models
  • Demonstrated record in achieving results with low-income, urban adolescents
  • Experience developing curriculum for other educators to implement and guiding the professional development of young educators
  • Familiarity with approaches (and research on approaches) to differentiated instruction, mixed-skill and age groupings, culturally relevant teaching practices, formative assessment techniques, and working with English Language Learners and students with learning disabilities
  • Strong team orientation, ability to provide and accept feedback, and ability to work effectively in collaboration with diverse groups of people
  • Results-driven; excellent organizational and project management skills
  • Demonstrated commitment to diversity
  • Ability to model Citizen Schools’ core values: Pride, Joy, Respect, Courage, Teamwork, Perseverance, and Vision
  • Bachelors degree required; M.Ed. or other relevant graduate degree from an accredited institution preferred

ABOUT CITIZEN SCHOOLS

Citizen Schools is a leading national education initiative that uniquely mobilizes thousands of adult volunteers to help improve student achievement by teaching skill-building apprenticeships after school. Our programs blend these real-world learning projects with rigorous academic and leadership development activities, preparing students in the middle grades for success in high school, college, the workforce, and civic life. Launched in Boston in 1995, Citizen Schools currently serves 3,000 students and engages 2,200 volunteers in 15 cities nationwide. Over the next five years, the organization will grow to serve 7,700 students in 8-10 states while growing its budget from $15M today to $34M in 2012.

Citizen Schools has been recognized as a national model program by the U.S. Department of Education, has been named a national winner of Fast Company Magazine’s Social Capitalist Award in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007, and has been chosen by the Skoll Foundation as a winner of the Skoll Social Entrepreneurship Award. The organization is on an exciting path to become one of the premier education reform and community-building organizations in the country.

Learn more about our programs, our results, our plans to advance the after-school field, and how to get involved.

How to Apply

Please send cover letter and resume via e-mail to jobs@citizenschools.org. Candidates will be reviewed on an on-going basis.

Compensation
$10-$12/hour, DOE
Deadline
May 27, 2007