Managers of Teacher Leadership Development (MTLDs) are at the heart of Teach For America's work. As a MTLD, you will cultivate the leadership skills and mindsets necessary for systems change through managing, coaching, and developing our corps members (CMs) as classroom teachers. Our team works toward two layers of change: first, we develop CMs as culturally relevant practitioners so that their classrooms are places further unleash the brilliance of Milwaukee students as the current and future leaders of our city. Second, through our coaching, we ensure that CMs develop a lifelong commitment to a connected network of systems-level leaders pursuing educational equity.
As a MTLD, you will strategically manage your time to support a group of approximately 25 CMs toward these outcomes. You will help corps members’ students achieve major academic and with personal growth. You will build leadership in corps members through short and long term coaching cycles You will also be deeply involved in our communities and our schools, engaging with our principals, students and families.
Among our regional team, you will regularly collaborate and problem solve with colleagues to ensure the success of the region. You and your team play important roles in achieving critical organizational goals in multiple functional areas (for instance, selecting new corps members, building community partnerships, recruiting alumni to join staff, or helping out at regional events, facilitating large group professional development experiences.).
Lead on the Teacher Leadership Development Team (70%)
- Build authentic relationships through multiple touch points with a diverse group of teachers and school leaders; including frequent meetings and communication on evenings and weekends
- Develop a cohort of up to 25 corps members toward enhanced leadership, systems-level thinking & culturally relevant practice (develop coaching goals, execute classroom observations, coach toward outcomes)
- Lead CM learning through session planning and facilitation of key professional development (7 week summer institute, roughly 4 Saturday all corps meetings, evening sessions)
- Foster corps members’ understanding of the community in which they teach and provide strategies for corps members to build meaningful relationships with multiple stakeholders within the community
- Invest in personal professional development in coaching, identity reflection and culturally relevant pedagogy
- Develop summer institute programming through collaboration and additional training in the winter and spring months.
Lead among the team (30%)
- Present as a steward of Teach For America-Milwaukee in our interactions with corps members and external community members
- Engage deeply with the regional team through fostering relationships, awareness of our shared goals, and participating in team meetings and initiatives
- Collaborate on full team lifts from selecting and matriculating our corps to supporting our alumni connections, and many events in between including but not limited to team meetings, interview fairs, school leader events
- Participate in Teach For America National trainings, partnerships, and development opportunities.
- Experience managing or providing professional development to adults is preferred, but not required
- Minimum of 5 years of experience achieving ambitious outcomes as a classroom teacher in a low-income community
- Experience in grades 1-5 or high school special ed highly preferred
- Deep knowledge of culturally relevant pedagogy
- Teach For America corps member experience preferred, but not required
Approach to Work
- Have a deep commitment to Teach For America's mission and core values
- Center corps members professional development and growth trajectory such that when they face skill, mindset, or knowledge challenges they are framed as learning opportunities for further development
- Focus to constantly keep "eye on the prize" and remember the end goals- even when the going gets tough
- Build deep relationships and connect with others, including those who are quite different from you
- Make smart choices about what to prioritize and what matters most, especially when things get busy
- Reflect and proactively work to grow and improve
- Connect and build relationships with key influencers in the community
- Ability to engage in difficult conversations
- Engage in personal development around diversity, equity and inclusiveness
Other requirements
- Be available for evening 2-4 times per week, roughly one Saturday a month, and travel for conferences 2-3 times per year
- Independent travel to multiple school sites throughout the day that may be significant distances from one another