Managing Director, Academics

Breakthrough Public Schools is a nationally recognized Charter Management Organization (CMO) network in Ohio. Our mission is to provide Cleveland-area scholars with an education that empowers them to lead lives of impact and opportunity. Our network of schools centers joy, curiosity, and individual growth, uniquely positioning Breakthrough Public Schools to cultivate a learning community where all students thrive. At Breakthrough, we are committed to providing scholars with the academic, social, and emotional skills necessary to excel at learning and citizenship from kindergarten through eighth-grade promotion. We are committed to the success of every child.

The BPS CMO exists to provide operational, leadership, and strategic services to the schools in the Breakthrough Schools network. The CMO is committed to providing high-quality services to the schools and bolstering the high-impact performance of the schools, making the CMO and network greater than the sum of its parts. The CMO provides economies of scale when it comes to staffing, tools, and time-based efficiencies. We serve 3,000 K-8 grade scholars across five campuses and employ over 450 staff members.

OPPORTUNITY

Breakthrough Public Schools seeks an experienced, strategic leader to serve as the Managing Director of Academics. Reporting to the Chief Academics Officer, the MD, Academics is also a member of the network's Expanded Leadership team.

The MD, Academics oversees and provides direct support and feedback to all instructional and administrative staff on the development and implementation of the network-wide academic strategy and the related programs. The Managing Director is responsible for leading and supervising the work of team members who provide all instructional support including, but not limited to, the Assistant Principals at each school.

ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic Planning

• Provide curricular and instructional leadership in the development, implementation, coordination, and assessment of the academic program to improve student achievement and meet network goals.
• Manage the facilitation, data collection, and analysis of the mid-year and end-of-year academic programs review.
• Assist in setting student attainment goals in alignment with state and federal guidelines.
• Plan, design, and manage instructional alignment work across the network through tri-annual network-wide teacher observations.
• Oversee the development and management of structures and supports needed to implement robust, evidence-based practices, programming, and procedures across all Breakthrough Schools, leading to increased achievement for every scholar.

Program Design & Instructional Strategy

• Facilitate the implementation of common curriculum and assessments aligned to state and national standards for all core subjects K-8 while supporting and monitoring the internalization of these commonalities.
• Support the curriculum selection, curriculum purchasing, and curriculum distribution process.
• Support School Leaders to ensure effective enabling systems for teaching and learning (professional development, instructional coaching, content teams, etc.).
• Oversee and support the implementation of the network-wide approach to whole group, individualized, and small group (e.g., remediation, acceleration) instruction and data-driven re-teaching of content to ensure all scholars master the standard.
• Utilize data collected through a myriad of sources (formal and informal assessments) to help instructional leaders and staff identify, plan for, and support scholars in need of additional support.
• In partnership with the network's academic and school leadership teams, ensure school leaders and instructional staff develop the necessary expertise in core curricula to achieve excellent results for students.

Functional Leadership

• Manage and develop a team of four directors of curriculum and coaching (early literacy (K-2), humanities (3-8), STEM, and special education).
• Organize and compile the agenda for network professional development and approve facilitator content for each session, including Summer Institute; Ensure sessions have a progression of learning from session to session or have a clear connection; Be prepared to facilitate sessions where appropriate.
• Identify network and school-level-specific needs and allocate content area support and resources as needed.
• Work with school and network leadership team members to interpret data and create data-driven action plans for school improvement.
• Assist School Leaders in planning and training for data-driven instruction.
• Supports with providing leadership, development, feedback, and support to all instructional staff and leadership.
• Champion a culture amongst instructional staff and leadership of exemplary education for all.

QUALIFICATIONS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty and work strategically across teams in the network. The requirements below represent the required knowledge, skill, and/or ability. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

Strategic Leadership

• Bring strategic skills to bear for the network and function simultaneously
• Use data to identify, assess, and understand opportunities and challenges, make decisions, and drive toward solutions
• Demonstrate knowledge of industry best practices grounded in diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Anticipate barriers to action and proactively work to remove them
• Synthesize complex ideas into actionable plans and bring others along as needed
• Provide excellent customer service experiences to school-level leadership
• Demonstrate excellent judgment, exceptional reasoning, problem-solving, and prioritization skills

Organizational Effectiveness

• Bring multiple stakeholders together to develop and achieve shared goals
• Use effective communication and persuasion to drive and manage change
• Manage people effectively, navigating difficult conversations, providing direct feedback, and coaching others to elevate performance across a diverse set of roles
• Commit to continually enhancing own capabilities and developing others
• Establish and maintain effective, efficient systems and processes; hold a continuous improvement mindset and proactively avert problems
• Excellent project management skills; demonstrated ability to lead multiple high-profile and complex projects simultaneously as well as a diverse set of stakeholders.

Personal Effectiveness

• Manage a wide range of details with urgency and precision
• Demonstrate commitment to ongoing learning and improvement
• Willing and able to solve problems personally in an ever-changing landscape
• Manage competing priorities and remain level-headed in stressful situations
• Demonstrate strong organizational skills to manage competing priorities in time-sensitive and high-stress situations.

Commitment to Mission

• Demonstrated commitment to the mission and values of Breakthrough Public Schools.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

• 7+ y ears of leadership experience working with students in an educational setting.
• School leadership and/or significant instructional coaching and team leadership experience with proven results serving diverse learners
• Experience as a leader in education operations and management, ideally in public K-12 and/or CMO environments.
• Instructional expertise, knowledge, and experience implementing language acquisition programs and support for multilingual learners preferred.
• Experience in and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion work
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to make persuasive presentations.
• Proficient in the knowledge and use of technical computer applications, including Google Suite.

Breakthrough Public Schools is an equal-opportunity employer. We hire without consideration of race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, or disability.

Any person who knowingly makes a false statement is guilty of falsification under section 2921.13 of the Revised Code, which is a misdemeanor of the first degree.