Managers of Teacher Leadership Development (MTLD) are at the heart of Teach For America's work. You are an educator, advocate and systems change leader charged with developing and cultivating teachers’ leadership skills and mindsets to foster educational equity and excellence. You will coach corps members towards expanding their perspectives and knowledge to go beyond traditional expectations to advance the academic and personal growth of their students. You will accomplish this through partnering with communities, students and families as well as the broader network of MTLDs across the country. You will also support broader Appalachia and organizational priorities, such as: selecting new corps members, encouraging alumni to join our staff, and supporting regional alumni initiatives.
The Manager of Teacher Leadership Development will report to the Interim Executive Director.
Build Corps Member Leadership – 20%
- Build authentic relationships through multiple touch points with a diverse group of teachers; including meetings and communication on evenings and weekends
- Support and foster corps members’ leadership development by helping them stay centered on their classroom visions and learn critical leadership skills.
- Ensure corps members build perspective and situate their daily work in the bigger picture
- Help corps members understand the community in which they teach and provide strategies for corps members to build meaningful relationships with multiple stakeholders within the community
Coach and Empower Corps Members and Alumni – 70%
- Help corps members diagnose top needs based on student progress and gaps in their learning
- Observe corps member instruction in live action (could require independent travel to school sites)
- Provide detailed coaching to corps members on instructional techniques, classroom management, and curriculum, while also helping them connect their values and beliefs to their work
- Facilitate small group sessions and design learning experiences that offer best practices and create communities of collaboration among corps members, including occasional meetings on evenings and weekends
- Twice a year, support alumni seeking certification by conducting and scoring observations.
Lead Across the Movement – 10%
- Serve as active and engaged members of communities, seeking to deeply understand the Appalachian landscape and context
- Operate with a deep commitment to our core values, including fostering a diverse movement by partnering with people in the communities that may offer differing perspectives such as parents, teachers, and school leaders
- Potentially travel to at least two Teach For America conferences each year
- Own and support broader regional and organizational priorities, including selecting new corps members, encouraging alumni and corps members to join our staff, and supporting regional alumni initiatives
- Minimum of two years of experience achieving ambitious outcomes as a classroom teacher in a low-income community
- Deep knowledge of effective teaching practices
- Teach For America corps member experience preferred, but not required
- Have a deep commitment to Teach For America's mission and core values
- Focus to constantly keep "eye on the prize" and remember the end goals- even when the going gets tough
- Strong analysis and interpretive skills in situations with multiple inputs
- Work in collaboration with your teammates, taking responsibility for your role in team culture.
- 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, including independent management of an efficient and fiscally responsible travel schedule.
- 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
Work Demands:
- Occasional weekend and evening responsibilities
- Independent travel to multiple school sites throughout the day that may be significant distances from one another-at times, up to 15 hours of driving per week