ABOUT OUR DISTRICT
The Syracuse City School District is undergoing a new phase of innovation and transformation with the goal of ensuring that all students graduate high school with the skills needed to be ready for college and career. For Syracuse, all means all. The School Board and Syracuse community have charged the Superintendent with improving student achievement, and she is seeking a dedicated and diverse team of educators to partner with her in moving the district toward its goals.
The Syracuse City School District represents 35 schools and programs, including 6 high schools, 6 middle schools, 6 K-8 schools, 13 elementary schools, and 4 alternative education programs, serving approximately 19,000 students Pre-K–12. Of these students, 82.3% qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, 20.1% are served by the Office of Special Education, and 83% are students of color.
JOB DESCRIPTION
The Director of Effectiveness will be responsible for the implementation and oversight of the District’s Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) Plan as a means of ensuring that all teachers and leaders receive timely evaluations that will provide the support necessary to raise their level of performance, as well as that of the District’s students. The Director of Effectiveness will communicate and clarify expectations and responsibilities regarding the evaluation process and will ensure that evaluations take place in a timely and thorough manner, and in accordance with said APPR plan. The Director of Effectiveness will also provide ongoing support to principals and directors who have responsibility for conducting evaluations of school leaders and will establish regular routines for observing and providing feedback and coaching. Facilitation of teacher and leader career ladder and leadership development and mentoring programs within the District including, but not limited to the Syracuse Aspiring Leaders Academy (SALA), Mentor Teacher Induction Program (MTIP), New Educator Orientation (NEO) and supervision of the Independent Evaluators. The Director of Effectiveness works closely with the Office of Human Resources, Teaching and Learning, the Office of Professional Development, and external partners.
Reports to: Senior Director of Human Resources
RESPONSIBILITIES
The duties and responsibilities of the Director of Effectiveness include but are not limited to the following:
Serve as the point of contact for school leaders for all teacher quality concerns through strong working relationships with the Syracuse Teachers Association (STA) and Employee Services.
Conduct monthly meetings to review data and implementation status of APPR, discuss areas of greatest need for supporting principals and develop common support systems and strategies for doing so.
Provide initial professional development in the use of the evidence-based evaluation rubrics to include content of the framework, its uses and rationale, and begin applying it within context of teacher observation, artifact review, evaluation, and feedback.
Conduct observations/co-observations in classrooms.
Work with all observers to collect evidence-based observation data.
Coordinate Performance Review quarterly meetings with principals, CAO, and Assistant Superintendents to assess status of probationary teacher and leader progress/evaluations.
Support with strategic internal and external partners to improve teacher quality throughout the district.
Administer and oversee the Staff Trac System for managing district-wide evaluations.
In collaboration with Insight Education Group, Chief Human Resources Officer, Chief Academic Officer, and Director of Professional Development analyze APPR evaluations, student achievement data to identify and plan targeted, differentiated professional development in priority areas including, but not limited to: Common Core State Standards (CCSS), Data Driven Instruction (DDI), frameworks, differentiated instruction and observations.
Review and analyze teacher and leader evaluation data to inform recruitment, retention, promotion, selection, professional development, support strategies and equal distribution of effective educators.
Work with consultants to revise professional development modules for teachers to ensure targeted supports are useful and available to schools and leaders.
Provide professional development to newly hired teachers and leaders on evaluation frameworks.
Continue to assist in building career ladder to recruit, retain and develop effective educators.
Collaborate with the Executive Director of Staff Relations on the performance review process for non-tenured faculty.
Other duties deemed necessary in alignment with Director of Effectiveness.
EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS
Bachelor's degree required; Masters's degree in education, public policy, management, or related field strongly preferred.
At least 3-5 years of successful classroom teaching experience.
At least 3-5 years of successful school building leader experience.
Prior experience in teacher observations and evaluations required.
Demonstrated vision for effectiveness and improving teacher and leader quality.
Demonstrated interest in working with low-income students of color; experience moving student performance as a teacher, coach or Coordinator in an urban district strongly preferred.
New York State Certification in Education Administration (School District Leader).
This position is a supervisory Superintendent’s Appointment. As such, it is not a probationary appointment and may be terminated at any time. The selected candidate will knowingly waive rights under New York Education Law or Civil Service Law to a permanent appointment or to Section 75 rights under Civil Service Law. Employment is contingent upon the successful completion of the district’s hiring requirements, including fingerprinting clearances.
STARTING SALARY: Competitive salary and benefits. Refer to the District's Unit 3A Benefits Handbook for Unrepresented Administrators.
