Posted on February 21, 2013

print

Instructional Coach

Turnaround for Children, Inc. (Turnaround) works to transform low-performing, high-poverty public schools and bring about dramatically improved academic and life outcomes for their students. Through work in over 60 schools since 2002, Turnaround has developed a model to equip schools to address the recurring and predictable barriers to learning and healthy youth development that arise from the circumstances of poverty.

Turnaround partners with schools and districts to build capacity and staff proficiency in schools serving high-poverty communities, in order to optimize performance and drive improvement in student behavior and academics. Currently, Turnaround is working in partnership with 20 high-poverty, persistently low-achieving public schools in New York City and Washington DC.

With a central office in midtown Manhattan, Turnaround expects to continue to grow and add programs.

Position Overview:

Turnaround for Children is currently seeking dynamic and committed professionals to serve as Instructional Coaches in participating schools. The Instructional Coach has primary responsibility for developing the proficiency of ALL teachers in a set of high leverage instructional and classroom management skills and preparing school leaders to support and sustain these skills through focused observations, descriptive feedback and different forms of assessment and evaluation.

Responsibilities:

• Facilitate small and large group sessions for teachers to develop their proficiency in defined areas of focus, including but not limited to: establishing classroom rules and procedures, defusing disruptive behavior, regularly incorporating Cooperative Learning Structures in the learning experience, and embedding student-involved assessment practices in lesson and unit planning
• Support teacher growth through a variety of coaching supports, including classroom observation, descriptive feedback, co-planning, and modeling of lessons.
• Based on formative assessment data, provide differentiated, targeted support to struggling teachers as needed between group sessions.
• Work with the leadership to pre-load them with the underlying principles, the scope and sequence of the workshop series, and the proficiency criteria associated with the strand.
• As the relationship permits, conduct co-observations of teachers with the instructional leadership at each assigned school, as a way of developing the leadership’s capacity to observe for, support, and, eventually, hold staff accountable for the practices.
• Participate in rich, ongoing data collection, facilitate school-wide data collection in a variety of metrics, and support tracking and evaluation of program implementation
• As needed, support the work of school-based intervention teams to address the behavioral and/or academic needs of struggling students in the school

Qualifications:

• Significant experience as an instructional leader required; prior experience working in urban, low-income communities strongly preferred
• Demonstrated skills and experience coaching instructional staff
• Familiarity with cooperative learning structures and student-involved assessment practices strongly preferred
• Self-starter, who is comfortable operating with a lot of autonomy and has the capacity to self-manage to realize shared goals
• Proven ability to anticipate challenges, solve problems, and maintain a calm demeanor in high- pressure situations
• Proven ability to facilitate collaboration with school leaders and a demonstrated belief in the value of honest feedback
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills and the ability to establish and maintain effective and collaborative working relationships with a wide range of people and personality types
• Ability to operate within a defined system or model, yet demonstrate appropriate problem-solving skills and creativity
• Facility with technology and basic software applications (e.g. Microsoft Office Suite, databases)
• Strong commitment to the work and mission of Turnaround and a desire to learn and grow through this opportunity
• Master’s Degree in Education strongly preferred

Application Instructions

Please upload a resume and thoughtful cover letter, outlining how your skills and experience meet the qualifications of the position and stating how you heard about this opportunity, both in Word format, to Melanie Mullan at http://jobs.cgcareers.org/application.aspx?id=1999 . Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Turnaround for Children is an equal opportunity employer.

About Commongood Careers:

Turnaround for Children has partnered with Commongood Careers to conduct the search for Instructional Coaches. Commongood Careers is a mission-driven search firm that supports the hiring needs of the nation’s most innovative and high-performing nonprofit organizations. Since its founding in 2006, Commongood Careers has completed over 500 searches at 150 organizations in 26 states. Founded and staffed by nonprofit professionals, Commongood Careers offers personalized, engaged services to jobseekers and organizations throughout the hiring process, as well as access to a wealth of knowledge about nonprofit careers. Learn more about nonprofit jobs at Commongood Careers.