Days per Year: 226
Min: $113,038
Mid: $136,192
JOB DESCRIPTION
JOB TITLE: Executive Director - Elementary Curriculum, Instruction, & Professional Learning
REPORTS TO: Chief Learning Officer
WAGE/HOUR STATUS: Exempt
PAY GRADE: AI 7
PRIMARY PURPOSE:The Executive Director - Elementary Curriculum, Instruction, and Professional Learning provides strategic leadership and executive oversight for the District's Pre-K-5 curriculum, instruction, assessment, professional learning, instructional coaching, Professional Learning Communities, academic intervention, and campus instructional-support systems. The position develops, implements, monitors, and continuously improves a coherent academic framework that promotes rigorous curriculum, high-quality instruction, aligned assessment, educator effectiveness, and increased student achievement.
Working collaboratively with the Chief Learning Officer, campus administrators, academic leaders, and District departments, the Executive Director translates Board goals, District priorities, state standards, accountability requirements, student-performance data, and educator needs into actionable instructional systems for early learning and elementary literacy, writing, mathematics, science, social studies, foundational skills, intervention, enrichment, and the transition from early learning through Grade 5. The position establishes quality standards, implementation expectations, monitoring structures, and accountability measures while ensuring purposeful vertical alignment with the District's other grade-span academic team.
The Executive Director supervises, develops, and evaluates the Director - Early Learning, elementary curriculum specialists, instructional coaches, and other assigned personnel; serves as a strategic advisor to District leadership; and ensures campuses receive timely, aligned, responsive, and measurable academic support. The Executive Director must demonstrate exceptional leadership, integrity, systems thinking, organizational judgment, and the ability to influence at scale while championing educational equity, educator excellence, and student achievement.
QUALIFICATIONS: Required: - Master's degree from an accredited college or university in Curriculum and Instruction, Educational Leadership, Educational Administration, or a closely related field
- Valid Texas teaching certificate
- Valid Texas Principal, Mid-Management, or other applicable administrative certificate
- Minimum of five years of successful experience in curriculum and instruction, professional learning, instructional coaching, campus leadership, or District-level academic leadership, including substantial experience supporting Pre-K-5 programs
- Minimum of three years of successful experience supervising, evaluating, coaching, and developing professional staff
- Demonstrated experience designing, implementing, and evaluating districtwide or multi-campus curriculum, assessment, professional-learning, coaching, or instructional-improvement initiatives
- Experience utilizing student-performance, educator-practice, implementation, and accountability data to guide instructional improvement and organizational decision-making
Preferred: - Doctoral degree from an accredited college or university in Curriculum and Instruction, Educational Leadership, Educational Administration, or a related field
- Valid Texas Superintendent Certificate
- Minimum of five years of successful classroom teaching experience
- Successful experience as a middle or high school campus principal
- District-level responsibility for multiple secondary academic functions, content areas, or instructional-support teams
- Experience leading instructional-materials adoption, curriculum implementation, assessment systems, professional learning, instructional coaching, Professional Learning Communities, or accountability-improvement initiatives
- Experience presenting strategic recommendations and academic updates to executive leadership, the Superintendent, or the Board of Trustees
- Bilingual with demonstrated proficiency in English and Spanish
SPECIAL KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS: - Demonstrated executive-level leadership capacity with the ability to design, lead, and sustain comprehensive curriculum, instruction, assessment, professional-learning, and instructional-support systems
- Comprehensive knowledge of curriculum design, standards alignment, lesson design, assessment literacy, intervention systems, instructional program management, and research-based teaching practices
- Advanced knowledge of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, state assessment expectations, accountability systems, and applicable federal and state academic requirements
- Advanced knowledge of early childhood development, foundational literacy, the science of teaching reading, writing development, elementary mathematics, inquiry-based science, social studies pedagogy, and developmentally appropriate practice
- Knowledge of prekindergarten guidelines, kindergarten readiness, early literacy screeners, elementary state assessments, dyslexia supports, acceleration, intervention, enrichment, and effective transitions across early learning and elementary grades
- Deep knowledge of adult learning theory, professional-learning design, instructional coaching, Professional Learning Communities, change management, implementation science, and organizational improvement
- Ability to evaluate the accuracy, rigor, pacing, coherence, accessibility, usability, and instructional quality of curriculum, assessments, instructional resources, interventions, and professional-learning materials
- Advanced assessment literacy, including assessment design, cognitive demand, item quality, administration, scoring, data analysis, and instructional response
- Ability to analyze and communicate student-achievement, educator-practice, implementation, observation, participation, and program-effectiveness data
- Ability to establish quality-control processes, implementation expectations, performance measures, monitoring systems, and continuous-improvement cycles
- Strong understanding of instructional-materials adoption, instructional technology, digital learning, artificial intelligence, student data privacy, academic integrity, and responsible technology integration
- Strong talent-management, financial-management, project-management, communication, facilitation, coaching, negotiation, and organizational-leadership skills
- Ability to lead complex initiatives, build consensus, manage competing priorities, anticipate risks, resolve conflict, exercise sound judgment, maintain confidentiality, and remain professional under pressure
- Demonstrated proficiency with Google Workspace, Microsoft Office Suite, curriculum and assessment platforms, learning-management systems, instructional technology, virtual-learning platforms, and data-visualization applications
MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES:Strategic Academic Leadership and Decision-Making - Establish and communicate the District's strategic vision for Pre-K-5 curriculum, instruction, assessment, professional learning, instructional coaching, Professional Learning Communities, academic intervention, and continuous improvement.
- Translate Board goals, District priorities, state standards, accountability requirements, student-performance data, and educator needs into measurable academic priorities, implementation plans, and monitoring systems.
- Serve as a strategic advisor to the Chief Learning Officer regarding elementary instructional quality, curriculum, assessment, professional learning, intervention, academic resources, and organizational improvement.
- Establish departmental goals, performance indicators, quality standards, work plans, timelines, decision-making protocols, and accountability measures.
- Exercise independent judgment in approving academic resources, prioritizing departmental work, assigning personnel and resources, addressing implementation concerns, and directing corrective action within delegated authority.
- Lead cross-functional academic initiatives and establish clear roles among departments involved in curriculum, assessment, technology, professional learning, data reporting, and campus support.
- Develop strategic recommendations, executive reports, impact analyses, and presentations for District leadership and the Board of Trustees.
- Identify emerging academic, implementation, compliance, resource, and organizational risks and implement timely mitigation strategies.
- Recommend instructional-material adoptions, staffing configurations, resource allocations, vendor actions, and the expansion, revision, or discontinuation of academic programs.
- Partner with the other grade-span Executive Director to maintain coherent Pre-K-12 expectations, vertical alignment, shared systems, and smooth student transitions.
Curriculum, Instructional Resources, Assessments, and Intervention - Direct the design, development, alignment, approval, implementation, and continuous improvement of the District's Pre-K-5 curriculum.
- Ensure curriculum and instructional resources align with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, adopted materials, state assessments, readiness standards, and District priorities.
- Establish quality standards and review processes for curriculum documents, pacing guides, unit plans, instructional slide decks, teacher guides, student resources, digital content, intervention materials, and enrichment supports.
- Lead vertical and horizontal curriculum alignment and ensure resources include rigorous tasks, clear learning expectations, formative assessment, differentiation, accessibility, and appropriate supports for diverse student populations.
- Lead the review, selection, recommendation, adoption, implementation, and evaluation of high-quality instructional materials within the assigned grade span.
- Establish development calendars, approval workflows, quality-control protocols, version-control procedures, publishing expectations, and accountability timelines for curriculum and instructional resources.
- Direct the development, validation, administration, scoring, reporting, and improvement of District common, unit, benchmark, formative, writing, and performance assessments.
- Ensure assessments are standards aligned, instructionally matched, appropriately rigorous, accessible, unbiased, secure, and supported by clear administration and scoring procedures.
- Coordinate with Research and Accountability and other departments to ensure accurate assessment administration, reporting, accommodations, data governance, and instructional use.
- Establish expectations for checks for understanding, data protocols, dashboards, and progress-monitoring tools that help educators translate student evidence into instructional action.
- Direct District systems for early learning, kindergarten readiness, foundational literacy, elementary numeracy, dyslexia-responsive instruction, and timely academic intervention.
- Ensure strong alignment among prekindergarten guidelines, elementary TEKS, adopted instructional materials, early literacy assessments, and Grades 3-5 STAAR expectations.
- Strengthen transitions from early learning to kindergarten and from Grade 5 to middle school through aligned expectations, student information, and targeted supports.
- Evaluate curriculum, instructional resources, assessments, and interventions using implementation evidence, student work, formative data, benchmark results, and state-assessment outcomes.
Professional Learning, Coaching, Professional Learning Communities, and Campus Support - Design, implement, and continuously improve a comprehensive Pre-K-5 professional-learning framework aligned with District priorities, curriculum implementation, educator needs, and student achievement.
- Establish standards for professional-learning design, facilitator preparation, participant engagement, differentiation, implementation follow-up, and evaluation.
- Provide executive oversight for assigned annual professional-learning calendars, curriculum academies, content institutes, leadership learning, and major District learning experiences.
- Develop differentiated learning pathways for teachers, teacher leaders, instructional coaches, campus administrators, curriculum leaders, and District administrators.
- Design, lead, monitor, and evaluate the instructional-coaching framework for the assigned grade span, including service expectations, coaching cycles, documentation requirements, collaboratives, and performance measures.
- Establish expectations, protocols, tools, and monitoring systems for effective Professional Learning Communities focused on curriculum internalization, lesson preparation, student work, formative assessment, intervention, enrichment, and instructional response.
- Build the capacity of principals, assistant principals, specialists, coaches, department or team leaders, and teacher leaders to facilitate effective coaching and Professional Learning Communities.
- Lead a differentiated campus-support system based on student performance, accountability data, curriculum implementation, leadership capacity, and instructional need.
- Conduct learning walks with campus and District leaders, establish instructional look-fors and calibration processes, and provide clear, actionable feedback.
- Coordinate curriculum-specialist and instructional-coach assignments, campus-support plans, implementation reviews, intervention cycles, and progress monitoring.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of professional learning, coaching, Professional Learning Communities, and campus support using educator-learning evidence, implementation data, instructional practice, student work, and student outcomes.
Technology, Program Evaluation, and Continuous Improvement 
