As a Manager of Teacher Leadership Development (MTLD), you manage, coach, and develop our corps members from the moment they confirm to the Houston region through alumni hood to fundamentally transform the lives of students and inspire corps members to become lifelong advocates for educational equity. To reach this vision, 2nd year MTLDs work directly with a cohort of approximately 25-35 teachers in their 2nd year of their Teach For America corps experience during the academic school year. During the summer, MTLDs support Houston Huddle institute school sites in various roles. They regularly collaborate and problem solve with other team members and community partners to ensure the success of the Houston region. Also during the summer months, 2nd Year MTLDs engage in analysis and building of the 2nd year team’s framework for leadership development and the programmatic shifts that need to occur to meet the needs of our corps members. They help develop and facilitate experiences that grow corps members and themselves. They work toward navigating experiences that are purposeful, accountable, and authentic. This approach to developing corps members through their two year arc of development is a dynamic and bold innovation for our organization and is rooted in a promise our team makes to foster the leadership of our Houston community! MTLDs play important roles in achieving critical organizational goals in multiple functional areas (for instance, selecting new corps members, recruiting prospects to join staff, or helping out at regional events and serving on various committees regionally and nationally).
Empowering Corps Members Instructional and Personal Leadership – 75%
- Build authentic relationships across lines of difference to connect with corps members' diverse styles, strengths and needs
- Help corps members to stay centered on their classroom vision and goals as well as develop the mindsets and values to realize their purpose in this work.
- Ensure corps members build perspective and accountability their daily work in the broader context of our work in Houston and the movement to attain educational equity
- 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
- Observe corps member instruction in live action, requiring independent travel to school sites during business hours including occasional meetings on evenings and weekends.
- Provide coaching experiences to corps members on instructional techniques, classroom management, and curriculum and provide reflective spaces for leadership development.
- Co-create communities of collaboration among corps members utilizing our network.
- Ensure corps members build perspective and provide strategies for corps members to build meaningful relationships with the students, their students’ families, and the communities they serve.
- Support corps members in accessing professional development provided throughout our network.
Lead Across the Movement – 25%
- Communicate with principals, parents, and community leaders regularly to become an engaged member of the community, requiring independent travel to school sites.
- Continuously access ways to personally develop your own leadership.
- Serve as an active member of the regional team in ways that help Houston push towards accomplishing the Regional Vision.
- Potentially travel to at least one Teach For America conference each year
As a MTLD, you will sit on a team of several other MTLDs who are coaching second year corps members, and a Director of Educator Leadership Engagement who leads the design and implementation of corps member and alumni professional learning. All of you will be managed by our Managing Director of Teacher Leadership Development. As a member of the Teacher Leadership Development functional team, you should expect a considerable amount of collaboration with your fellow coaches, your manager, and the others on the Houston regional team. Together, you will be working towards our regional vision and mission.
The Houston Regional Vision: All Houston students thrive academically, develop critical consciousness, and ultimately create just systems of opportunity for themselves and their communities.
Demonstrated Experience
- Experience & Demonstrated results in coaching teachers, leading adults, or adult facilitation preferred
- Instructional coaching experience highly preferred
- Minimum of three years of teaching experience in middle school or high school Humanities- demonstrated experience using culturally responsive pedagogy
- Demonstrated evidence of achieving ambitious outcomes in schools serving low-income communities
- Deep knowledge of effective teaching and coaching practices
- Data-driven and culturally responsive leader
- Teach For America corps member experience preferred, but not required
Approach to Work
- Has 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
- Finds ways to build strong relationships with students, families, community members and functional team members
- Makes smart choices about what to prioritize and what matters most, especially when things get busy
- Reflects and proactively works to grow, improve and understand
Other Requirements
- Ability to work some weekends and evenings
- Ability to travel independently to multiple school sites throughout the day that may be significant distances from one another