Director of Instruction and Student Support

Chicago Jesuit Academy is a tuition-free Jesuit school for young men and women from resilient communities impacted by historical disinvestment. The Academy is distinguished by a small student-teacher ratio, an extended academic day and a longer school year to prepare students for success in college preparatory high schools, universities, and positions of community leadership. Chicago Jesuit Academy helps students develop as young men and women who are open to growth, religious, seeking intellectual excellence, loving, and committed to doing justice in the service of others, in accord with the Jesuit mission and tradition. The school’s success in its mission is made possible by the disciplined sacrifices of our students, families, faculty, staff, volunteers, and benefactors.

Students who attend Chicago Jesuit Academy (CJA) will be the next generation of leaders. Talented people who wish to be employed by Chicago Jesuit Academy must demonstrate a past and continued commitment to academic excellence, professional development, and the Jesuit ideal of being people for others. Strong candidates are disciplined workers, compassionate listeners, and tireless advocates for the children they serve. Most importantly, they recognize that Chicago Jesuit Academy will ask them to approach their work as a vocation and make substantial contributions of their time and talents in the service of the students, alumni, and families of CJA.

As an instructional leader, the Director of Instruction and Student Support (Assistant Head of School) provides collaborative leadership and support for an equitable high quality educational program for all students. The Director of Instruction and Student Support works within our school-side professional learning community to support instructional programs, strengthen teaching strategies, and implement formative assessments that support mastery of grade level standards. Through this work, the Director of Instruction and Student Support ensures that all students (including English Learners, diverse learners, and students receiving Tier II and Tier III interventions in relation to academic and/or social-emotional learning) meet ambitious annual growth goals that will ultimately allow each child to manifest the values of a Graduate at Graduation per the Jesuit tradition.

The Director of Instruction and Student Support is appointed by the Head of School with the approval of the President and serves under the direct supervision of the Head of School. The Director of Instruction and Student Support works in concert with the Head of School, Director of Programs, Director of Mission and Ministry, and Director of Parent Partnership to establish, refine, and develop an instructional program that allows all students to strive for academic excellence.

The Director of Instruction and Student Support will:

● Ensure student access to standards‐aligned instructional materials through curriculum, instruction, and resources for mixed-grade, co-taught classes;

● Serve as a resource in identifying appropriate instructional strategies and interventions to improve student achievement for all students including English Learners, diverse learners, and students with diverse learning needs;

● Support the implementation of Responsive Classroom and instructional strategies to improve student achievement, including within a co-teaching model and mixed-grade classes;

● Evaluate the effectiveness of instructional initiatives and practices, including systematically assessing and monitoring student progress using objective and verifiable information;

● Provide professional learning on best instructional practices and associated resources in support of improving the instructional program and co-teaching;

● Assist in the formal evaluation of instructional staff according to the Danielson Framework for Teaching;

● Assist in coordination of school-wide assessments;

● In the spirit of ensuring that all CJA graduates hold a strong foundation in the Graduate at Graduation values, hold responsibility for the disciplinary situations that may arise for a subset of students, maintaining accurate records of such discipline;

● Communicate regularly with parents about student performance and behavior;

● Manage projects and prepare forms, records, and reports as directed;

● Have a sincere commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion with a belief that all children deserve equitable access to a high quality education;

● Perform related duties as assigned.

Strong candidates will hold an advanced degree in education. Strong candidates will have proven interpersonal, leadership, and management skills which result in strong relationships with a broad variety of people. In addition, strong candidates will have a minimum of ten years of teaching experience, preferably in high performing schools, or are able to demonstrate high academic growth and achievement of students under their own instruction.

Chicago Jesuit Academy Mission Statement

Mission: Chicago Jesuit Academy is a loving and academically rigorous tuition-free Catholic school for students and families from resilient communities impacted by historical disinvestment. We accompany our students and alumni from enrollment through the start of their careers as they develop their gifts and grow as men and women for others.

Means: Located in Austin on Chicago’s West Side, CJA admits students to all grades in our lower and middle school without regard for their race, ethnicity or religion, and CJA enrolls 3rd-, 4th- and 5th-grade students without regard for their past levels of academic achievement.

We use small class sizes, extended school days and an 11-month school year to give personal care to our students and help them develop as whole persons.

We accompany our alumni on their unique paths to meaningful employment and support them throughout high school, their post-secondary education and the start of their careers, always welcoming them back as leaders at CJA and in the broader community.

CJA students, alumni, parents, faculty, staff, volunteers and benefactors listen to and learn from one another and make disciplined sacrifices to accomplish our shared mission.

We partner with other schools and the broader community to create access to better educational resources, confront systemic racism and remove obstacles to educational equity.

We call one another to find God in all things and be men and women for others who are open to growth, loving, religious, seeking intellectual excellence and committed to doing justice.

Chicago Jesuit Academy, in accordance with our Jesuit tradition, is committed to fostering a diverse community of outstanding faculty, staff and students, as well as ensuring equal educational opportunity, employment, and access to services, programs and activities, without regard to an individual’s race, color, national origin, religion, age, disability, sex, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, predisposing genetic characteristic, or military status. Employees, students, applicants or other members of the CJA community (including but not limited to vendors, visitors, and guests) may not be subjected to harassment that is prohibited by law, or treated adversely or retaliated against based upon a protected identity.​