ELL Program Manager

Job Summary

The ELL Program Manager responsible for the academic success and legal compliance of English Language Learners. You will serve as the primary ACCESS Assessment Manager, overseeing the entire WIDA testing cycle. Beyond testing, you will act as a high-impact instructional coach, helping teachers adapt curricula for linguistic diversity while building strong, culturally competent partnerships with families. This role is ideal for a detail-oriented advocate who can navigate complex OSSE compliance requirements while maintaining a tireless focus on closing the achievement gap for multilingual students by taking on a small caseload of students for direct instructional support.

The starting salary range for this role is $86,280-$93,782. This is a full-time, fully on-site role with an anticipated start date of July 2026.

About the Role
As the ELL Program Manager, you will:

• Manage the WIDA ACCESS Assessment process, including training all required staff, developing mandated school test security plans, and overseeing the implementation of test administration.
• Instruction: Lead small group instruction in accordance with ELL implementation plans
• Case Management: Develop and monitor individualized learning plans for ELL students, ensuring asset-based approaches that build on student strengths.
• Compliance: Oversee the screening, placement, and exiting of students identified as ELs. Maintain student files and ensure all programming meets local (OSSE) and federal legal requirements.
• Teacher Coaching: Deliver professional development on EL strategies and advise content teachers on adapting curriculum for linguistic accessibility and provide ongoing cycles of feedback for ELL teachers.
• Family Partnership: Serve as the primary connection between the school and families, providing culturally competent and linguistically accessible communication.
• Data-Driven Leadership: Analyze student growth data to inform instructional decisions and set ambitious goals for the ELL program

Location and Type of Work
This is an exempt position and will report to the Director of Student Support. As a headquarters team that is focused on being responsive to our schools and meeting the needs of our students and families, we approach our work in a way that reflects these priorities. Schools operate in person and our students and families rely on us for in-person support which requires this position to be fully onsite. This role is currently required to be onsite or in schools during regular work hours.

Responsibilities
The percentages for each key responsibility are estimates, and other duties may be assigned. Flexibility and responsiveness are encouraged to accommodate organizational needs.

KELL Programming Quality Assurance (25%)

• Maintain database platforms to track the screening, placement, and exiting of students identified as ELs.
• Partner with school based ELL Point of Contacts to review ELL student rosters, service schedules, and implementation plans, ensuring they are measurable, standards-aligned, and instructionally robust.
• Direct push-in or pull-out service delivery to students
• Prepare and analyze technical reports for the Director, highlighting trends in observation data and programming effectiveness.
• Audit progress monitoring and progress report tools to ensure accuracy in student growth tracking.
• Monitor the implementation of accommodations to ensure students are receiving the full continuum of services as outlined in their plans.

Delivery of Instruction (20%)

• Delivery of specialized English Language Development (ELD) instruction tailored to EL specific proficiency
• Meet regularly with the classroom teachers to align small-group goals with the broader curriculum and identify upcoming language barriers in lessons.
• Monitor ELL implementation plans and report student language proficiency data quarterly

WIDA Assessment Management (15%)

• Manage the WIDA ACCESS Assessment process, including training all required staff, developing mandated school test security plans, and overseeing the implementation of test administration.
• Prepare and analyze technical reports for the Director, highlighting trends in observation data and SST programming effectiveness.
• Maintain and update specialized instruction dashboards, ensuring school leaders have real-time access to student performance data.

Coaching & Support Management (35%)

• Manage the distribution and organization of curricular materials and specialized instructional tools across assigned campuses.
• Provide "modeling" for data reviews, training school-based teams on how to use data tools to drive instructional decisions.
• Train teachers on a unified instructional framework (like SIOP or specific scaffolding techniques) so students experience the same high-quality strategies in every classroom
• The program manager facilitates regular sessions where ELL and general education teachers design lessons together, ensuring language support is woven into all content areas across the network
• Complete weekly cohesive coaching cycles with ELL teachers to provide real time coaching, modeling, and feedback.
• Lead demonstration lessons and "learning walks," allowing teachers from different schools to observe best practices in action and replicate them on their own campuses
• Use centralized assessment dashboards to ensure every teacher tracks student growth the same way
• Organize Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) where teachers share successful resources and solve common challenges

PD Operations & Project Management (5%)

• Manage end-to-end logistics for community events, including venue coordination, food, materials, and attendance tracking
• Generate communications, memos, and calendar invites on behalf of KIPP DC to ensure cohort alignment.
• Manage logistics for external presenters and outside contracts for specialized services.
• Ensure differentiated tracks of development for ELL team during network development days.

Requirements & Preferences

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in education
• A minimum of five years of successful school based ELL experience
• A strong track record of positive student performance results either in literacy, math, or across multiple content areas
• Experience unpacking grade-level standards, mapped to ELL proficiency levels and adapting rigorous unit and lesson plans
• Experience with comprehensive progress monitoring towards ELL goals and using data collection to execute instructional strategies for ELLs

Preferred Qualifications

• A minimum of two years of successful coaching or school based leadership experience including using multiple assessment measures and observational data to determine improvement areas in instructional and student performance
• Experience designing and leading professional development
• Experience using multiple assessment measures and observational data to determine coaching and professional development necessary to improvement in teaching and student performance
• Well-read and current on best practices in ELL instruction

Physical Requirements

• Ability to lift 10 pounds
• Ability to stand frequently
• Ability to travel across KIPP DC schools
• Prolonged periods of sedentary work

Demonstrated Excellence in the Following Areas:

• Commitment to Students and Schools: Demonstrates commitment to education reform, believing in every child's potential for success and prioritizing students, schools, and the essential role of families.
• Strategic Thinking and Problem Solving: Finds creative solutions to challenges that achieve broader goals of team and organization.
• Project Management: Sets a high bar for own work and supports others to achieve desired team outcomes.
• Communications and Influence: Demonstrates adept communication skills and influence to advance work by adjusting content and style.
• Teamwork: Contributes to a supportive team culture, fostering diverse work styles and maintaining a high performance standard.
• Trust and Collaboration: Establishes and nurtures effective relationships with a diverse set of stakeholders to support the best outcomes for our work.
• Cultural Humility: Advances KIPP DC's commitment to anti-racism by creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment for all stakeholders.
• Continuous Learning: Commits to continuous learning through feedback, self reflection, humility, and action.

Benefits & Compensation [edited this section for your role]
KIPP DC offers an extremely competitive compensation and benefits package:

• The anticipated starting salary range for this position is $86,280-$93,782. At KIPP DC we strive for clarity, equity, and to be highly competitive. When determining salaries we look at benchmarks in the education and non-profit sector.
• KIPP DC offers a robust benefits package including medical, dental, and vision insurances; various voluntary benefits; and employer paid benefits such as short term disability, long term disability, life insurance, and a membership to One Medical.
• KIPP DC also offers a 403(b) retirement account with a 3% employer contribution and a 3% match with vesting after three years.