REPORTS TO: Chief of Data, Information and Systems Improvement
POSITION OVERVIEW:Boston Public Schools seeks a Director of School Design and Strategic Scheduling to join the Division of Data, Information and Systems Improvement. This role will lead the district's efforts in strategic school design and master scheduling and be responsible for overseeing the district's scheduling strategy and providing comprehensive guidance to all schools. The Director will act as a strategic leader, instilling principles of effective and efficient school design and planning into the school budgeting and staffing processes, and will be instrumental in designing and managing a robust strategic school design process with a focus on district-wide needs. Working collaboratively with central office staff across departments, the Director will monitor scheduling practices across the district for compliance with state and federal regulations and collective bargaining agreements, while simultaneously maximizing student instructional time and optimizing resource allocation across the district.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
Strategic Scheduling Guidance: - Develop, implement, and oversee district-wide scheduling strategies and policies to ensure compliance with all state and federal regulations.
- Provide expert guidance and support to schools on master scheduling, resource allocation, and instructional time maximization.
- Oversee the development and dissemination of a "playbook" and best practice guides for strategic school design and master scheduling, incorporating successful models from within and outside BPS.
- Collaborate with departments like the Office of Specialized Services and the Office of Multilingual and Multicultural Education to build out best practices for compliant service delivery while ensuring equitable access to rigorous instructional opportunities
- Analyze and report on the effectiveness of scheduling strategies, making data-driven recommendations for continuous improvement.
Direct School Support - Work with a portfolio of schools throughout the year to help them make strategic choices in terms of scheduling, budget, and staffing
- Facilitate the process of strategic school design, which includes setting priorities, allocating resources effectively, planning for implementation, and creating efficient, effective schedules
- Help schools to build master schedules using a suite of scheduling tools
- Support schools to troubleshoot immediate operational issues
- Design and manage a comprehensive school support process focused on strategic school design, budgeting, and staffing, with an emphasis on district-wide impact.
- Ensure the effective development and use of scheduling tools and technologies across the district, troubleshooting complex operational issues as needed.
- Collaborate with the scheduling team on the OIIT service desk to provide seamless and timely technical and strategic support to schools regarding scheduling systems and issues.
- Advise schools on strategic scheduling decisions, such as transitioning to a seven-period day, to ensure students meet MassCore requirements and other academic goals.
- Support secondary schools in implementing best practices around the lifecycle of strategic scheduling, including how to link graduation requirements, course of studies, and student course requests with strategic and comprehensive schedule design
Management and Leadership - Lead and manage a team responsible for direct support to schools, providing mentorship, performance feedback, and professional development opportunities.
- Collaborate extensively with schools and central office departments to identify and address systemic scheduling challenges and opportunities.
- Foster strong cross-functional partnerships with other BPS departments to build a cohesive web of support for schools.
- Other duties, as assigned, to support the strategic goals of the Division of Data, Information and Systems Improvement and Boston Public Schools.
Qualifications - Required: - Bachelor's degree in Education, Business Administration, Public Policy, or a related field.
- Minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible experience in school-level operations, master scheduling, or district-level planning.
- Deep technical knowledge regarding the master schedule design and build process
- Demonstrated experience in developing and implementing strategic initiatives related to school design, resource allocation, or educational programming.
- Proven ability to lead and manage a team, providing effective supervision and professional development.
- Strong understanding of state and federal regulations and ability to navigate complex collective bargaining agreements pertaining to school scheduling and instructional time.
- Exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to find innovative solutions to complex challenges.
- Excellent written and oral communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to effectively engage diverse stakeholders.
- Current authorization to work in the United States. Candidates must have such authorization by their first day of employment.
- An understanding of and commitment to gain greater understanding of what is necessary for an urban school system to enjoy continuous improvement in an increasingly complex and competitive environment.
- A deeply held and unyielding belief in the overarching mission of public education.
Qualifications - Preferred: - Master's degree in a relevant field.
- Experience with large-scale district-level scheduling systems or tools (e.g., ASPEN SIS).
- Experience in a leadership or supervisory role within a school district central office.
- Familiarity with Boston, Boston Public Schools and collective bargaining agreements
UNION/MANAGERIAL/RESIDENCY REQUIRED: Managerial
Terms: Managerial, D61
