Director of Middle School English Language Arts

Organization Overview

Excel Academy was founded in 2003 with the mission to provide a high-quality, free, and public education to students in East Boston and Chelsea Massachusetts, communities that are predominantly low-income and Latinx and historically have faced significant social and educational barriers. Our success in Massachusetts is proof that the opportunity gap can be closed and we opened a new school in Rhode Island in 2022. At Excel Academy Charter Schools, we believe that when a student has the support and tools to pursue a productive post-secondary pathway aligned to their personal identity and values, it can fundamentally change their life trajectory.

At Excel Academy we learn from our students, families, and staff and make improvements. We have increasingly adapted to provide a holistic education that values our community as collaborators in the learning process, social-emotional support, equity for diverse learners, and fosters identity development. We prioritize an approach that is both rigorous and inclusive. Our team of passionate, intelligent, driven, and loving staff are at the core of the work we do.

This role will report directly to the Managing Director of Academic Leadership and Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion.

About the Role

The Director of Middle School English Language Arts (ELA) will drive the curricular and instructional efficacy of ELA across all Excel middle schools, building the capacity of the ELA team. This individual is responsible for ensuring a mission-aligned academic vision that is both vertically-aligned across all grade levels and horizontally-aligned within each grade level. This role supports educators in implementing high-quality learning experiences that reflect evidence-based practices, principles of equity and inclusion, and other appropriate concepts and practices to promote student learning and success in English Language Arts aligned to the principles and practices of the Common Core Standards. This individual envisions, creates, and directly provides and supports a robust professional development program that will allow our instructional team to reach ambitious academic goals with our students. This individual, in conjunction with members of the Network Academic Team, ensures that we have a common, aligned, and rigorous assessment system, inclusive of but not limited to benchmark, quarterly, and weekly assessments, and this individual both leads and works with Heads of School to effectively analyze and action plan from standards-aligned data.

The ideal candidate has strong experience in teaching and achieving results across grade spans, in creating and/or managing the implementation of standards-aligned, college preparatory curriculum, and in leading a team to ambitious and measurable results with a first-generation college-bound school community.

Your Impact

A key focus of this position will be to provide pedagogical guidance and support for ELA curriculum and course transformations that involve the purposeful implementation of curricular materials, all in the name of supporting great teaching. This will happen through:

1. Oversee, support, and implement curricular materials in alignment with our mission, vision, goals, and needs;
2. With the Managing Director of Academic Leadership and Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, ensure that the ELA vision horizontally aligns with the grade level expectations and experiences at each grade level;
3. With the Managing Director of Academic Leadership and Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, identify and manage the ELA assessment program 5-8;
4. Support Heads of School and school-based instructional leaders in curriculum implementation;
5. Support Heads of School and school-based instructional leaders in assessment implementation;
6. Support Heads of School and school-based instructional leaders in data analysis, ensuring curricular resources and academic teacher supports to address teacher and student needs and propel dramatic academic growth each year;
7. Work collaboratively with the Managing Director of Student Supports to ensure efficient and professional access to curricular resources that meet the needs of diverse learners, including but not limited to students with disabilities and Multilingual Learners;
8. Provide professional development training and secure external trainings as needed to support teachers in the development of their content knowledge and instructional strategies aligned to our academic goals;
9. Oversee, support, and manage the development of internal curricular materials as needed;
10. Establish, train, and create team alignment on a formal and detailed vertical ELA vision;
11. Regular observations and feedback to middle school ELA teachers as well as their managers to support aligned and targeted feedback across all campuses;
12. Design, develop, and facilitate professional learning opportunities for teachers with varied teaching experiences, both individually and collaboratively;
13. Assist educators to adopt, plan, implement and adjust the ELA curricula to meet the needs of their students based on regular data;
14. Use qualitative and quantitative data to assess student growth in learning regularly with educators and leaders throughout the year;
15. Work with school leaders and administrators to share bright spots across Excel schools.

Qualifications

Education:

• A bachelor’s degree.
• A master's degree or higher in Education, English Literature, Curriculum Development, or a related field is strongly preferred.
• Teaching certification/license is strongly preferred.

Experience:

• Minimum of 5 years of experience teaching English Language Arts or English across K-12 grades.
• Experience in a leadership role (such as an Instructional Coach, Dean of Curriculum & Instruction, Assistant Principal) overseeing ELA programs or academic departments required.
• Demonstrated success in achieving measurable results in student learning outcomes.
• Experience in curriculum development, implementation, and assessment, preferably in a college preparatory setting.

Leadership Skills:

• Strong leadership skills with the ability to create and implement a cohesive vision for the English Language Arts program.
• Ability to effectively manage and support a team of educators to achieve ambitious academic goals.
• Experience in providing professional development and training to teachers to enhance their instructional practices.

Analytical Skills:

• Proficiency in data analysis to inform instructional decisions and drive academic growth.
• Ability to analyze standards-aligned data and develop action plans to address student and teacher needs.

Communication Skills:

• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, to effectively collaborate with school leadership, academic deans, and teaching staff.
• Ability to articulate a clear academic vision and provide guidance and support to ensure alignment across all grade levels.

Professional Development Expertise:

• Experience organizing and facilitating professional development sessions for educators, including securing external training opportunities.
• Knowledge of current best practices in instructional strategies and content knowledge development.

Mission Alignment

• You share a commitment to and belief in all students and the mission of Excel Academy Charter Schools, including Excel’s values and educational model;
• You are committed to addressing racial and economic inequity in education;
• You work effectively in a team environment and have a willingness and desire to support others in doing their best work;
• You are open to change, are willing to problem-solve, and seek feedback for your own professional growth and improvement.