ECE Alumni Coaches are charged with coaching first year ECE corps members in one-on-one or small group settings around a specialized area of practice that the Alumni Coach has demonstrated expertise in, and to which the novice teacher needs to develop skills in. ECE Alumni Coaches will work in collaboration with, and at the direction of, the ECE corps members’ primary coach (Manager, Teacher Impact Coach) to offer supplementary support to corps members.
This role is designed to increase students’ personal and academic growth in the classroom, strengthen the ECE corps member experience with TFA, and support the capacity of the Manager, Teacher Impact Coach. Through their work, ECE Alumni Coaches will deepen their skill sets around instructional coaching of novice teachers, understand their natural leadership tendencies, and build a toolkit for adapting their leadership style to meet the needs of others.
We are looking to hire one (1) ECE Alumni Coach for each of the three (3) specialty areas listed below. Each coach will be considered a subject matter expert and ECE corps members will be referred to the ECE Alumni Coach for knowledge and skill development in their specialty area.
- Creative Curriculum & Teaching Strategies GOLD Assessment: planning, assessment, and utilization of Creative Curriculum and Teaching Strategies GOLD resources
- Classroom Culture & Environment: routines, procedures, transitions, directions, physical space (environment as the “3rd teacher”)
- Partnerships with Adult Stakeholders: building and navigating partnerships with parents/guardians, co-teachers, principals/supervisors
The ECE Alumni Coach role is a temporary, part-time position that will begin in the fall of 2019 and wrap up in the spring of 2020, estimated 15-20 hours/month.
ECE Alumni Coaches will work closely with the ECE Manger, Teacher Impact Coach and Director, Alumni Teacher Leadership. Duties include, but are not limited to:
Coach and Develop ECE Corps Members (70%)
- Manage a schedule for virtual and in-person coaching
- Plan and prepare for coaching sessions by reviewing classroom observation notes, videos, and purpose for referral to you
- Coach ECE corps members in one-on-one or small groups on your specialty area
- Connect coaching in your specialty area to corps members’ broader vision for their classroom, culturally responsive teaching practices, and equity and inclusion for all students
- With corps members, complete action plan of corps member next steps and measurable change that will be seen in the classroom as a result of coaching/corps member next steps
- Foster a sense of community and connectedness across the TFA network- make connections and orient corps members to others in the TFA network
- Enable corps members to reflect on their identity and develop as culturally competent leaders in the movement towards educational equity
Onboard & Engage in Ongoing Development (30%)
- Attend onboarding/training in late October
- Commit to learning about Teach For America’s Position on Adult Learning and embedding it into corps member coaching
- Reflect, analyze, and document trends from coaching sessions, including noticings about corps members’ strengths and needs, and your own strengths and areas of growth as a coach
- Meet monthly with other ECE Alumni Coaches, ECE Manager, Teacher Impact Coach, and Director, Alumni Teacher Leadership to check in on corps member trends and engage in Teacher Leadership Development
- Quantifiable success as a classroom teacher, with a minimum 2 full years teaching experience by the start of the October required and 5 or more years of experience highly preferred
- Experience as a Teach For America corps member is required
- ECE Content/Specialty Expertise in one of the following areas. Knowledge in the current research and best-practice thinking around rigor and pedagogy in your specialty area:
- Creative Curriculum & Teaching Strategies GOLD Assessment: planning, assessment, and utilization of Creative Curriculum and Teaching Strategies GOLD resources
- Classroom Culture & Environment: routines, procedures, transitions, directions, physical space (environment as the “3rd teacher”)
- Partnerships with Adult Stakeholders: building and navigating partnerships with parents/guardians, co-teachers, principals/supervisors
- Experience mentoring or coaching teachers, including ability to:
- Build rapport and work effectively with people of various backgrounds and identity markers
- Invest teachers in value of coaching and influence them to embrace change and set and follow through on actions
- Retain priority for coaching and achieve desired outcome, navigating competing needs/interests of corps members. At times, demonstrate agility in adjusting course if necessary
- Execute a thorough, full-cycle coaching plan that will result in clearly defined changes in the teacher’s actions and students’ actions
- Deep belief in Teach For America’s mission, core values, and the potential of students in low-income communities
- Operates as a culturally responsive educator
- Enthusiasm for supporting beginning teachers and a belief in their potential
- Ability to coach corps members to meet prescribed outcomes
- Willingness to collaborate with staff to identify, size, prioritize, and address gaps
- Desire to continuously learn and develop professionally and an openness to feedback
- Track record of being able to manage various work streams and meet deadlines consistently and independently
- Demonstrated personal responsibility over one’s success
Work Demands
- Evenings throughout the year for training, development, and corps member-facing work are required
- Ability to travel throughout the Chicago-Northwest Indiana area to meet with corps members