City of Seattle Office for Education

Holly Miller, Director

Position Opening: Families and Education Levy High School Education Consultant

Total Contract Amount: $45,000-$55,000. Commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Contract Term: September 1, 2014–August 31, 2015

Position: Part-time (0.5 FTE)

Closes: August 6, 2014. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

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Organization Description

The City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods’ Office for Education Division (OFE) administers the Families and Education Levy (“Levy”). The Levy prepares Seattle’s children for school, improves their academic achievement, and helps students graduate prepared for college and career. The seven-year Levy has been adopted by Seattle voters four times, most recently in 2011.

The Levy provides approximately $33 million per year ($235 million over seven years) to support the academic success of children by investing in early childhood education; K-12 Seattle Public Schools; health clinics and nurses in middle and high schools; and pilot health investments in elementary schools. School investments are awarded on a competitive basis with the goals of ensuring all students achieve academically and graduate from high school prepared for college or career. Levy investments are designed to allow schools the flexibility to tailor interventions to best meet the needs of their lowest performing students to help reduce the achievement gap. Funded strategies include, but are not limited to, math and reading intervention classes; case management support; after-school tutoring; social, emotional and behavioral support; summer learning opportunities; and college and career advising. OFE invests in student outcomes and measures the effectiveness of schools’ strategies by tracking academic outcomes such as students meeting state standards in reading and math, and indicators such as attendance, discipline, course completion, and grades.

Position  Description

OFE is hiring a part-time (0.5 FTE) High School Education Consultant (“Consultant”) to assist the OFE High School Innovation Program Manager (“Manager”) with the oversight, management, and implementation of the Levy’s five High School Innovation investments ($1.8 million annually) during the 2014-15 school year. The Levy High School Innovation grant focuses primarily on academic outcomes for first-time 9th graders with an added college and career readiness element that spans 9th –12th grade. The Consultant will work directly with the five high schools’ Levy implementation teams, OFE staff, and Seattle Public Schools’ central office to ensure that the five high schools successfully implement their Levy-funded strategies and achieve their annual academic and college and career readiness targets.

Job  Responsibilities

• Work directly with the Manager to support the Levy-funded high schools’ efforts to realize measurable academic achievement outcomes, reduce the achievement gap, and prepare all students for college and career.
• Work closely with the Manager to review and use state, district, and school-level data identify common areas of need and to inform program and strategy recommendations needed across the high school investments.
• Provide technical assistance to Innovation High Schools’ leadership and teaching staff including, but not limited to: analyzing student and school data to identify areas of need, identifying educational best practices and resources to affect positive change, and supporting schools in developing early warning indicator systems and progress monitoring tools to refine program implementation efforts.
• Convene monthly meetings with the Innovation High School cohort to review student data, discuss school progress toward academic goals, share best practices, deliver professional development training, and support schools in making strategic course corrections during the school year.
• Conduct regular site visits of schools (at least monthly) to observe implementation of Levy-funded strategies, discuss progress towards goals with Levy staff, and provide research-based materials and strategy ideas to school teams.
• Collaborate with Elementary, Middle, and High School Consultants and OFE staff to convene common professional development opportunities, as applicable, to promote school collaboration and share best practices.
• Identify key resources and coordinate professional development opportunities through out the school year to strengthen high schools’ math, reading, attendance, and passing core courses strategies for first-time 9th graders.
• Coordinate College and Career Readiness and Planning professional development opportunities for grades 9-12. This includes providing technical support and resources to ensure each Innovation High School successfully implements their required College and Career Readiness and Planning program elements to serve all high school students.
• Collaborate with other Levy–funded programs and their educational consultants to align common program elements and to ensure maximum coordination and alignment of resources in schools.
• Work closely with Seattle Public Schools’ leadership, executive directors, and math and literacy program staff, as well as Levy-funded community-based organizations, to coordinate services and professional development opportunities.
• Attend all relevant school and district-level meetings concerning Innovation High School program implementation.
• Working partnership with Seattle Public Schools’ budget analysts and school principals to effectively plan, monitor, and modify (as necessary) individual school budgets to ensure spending aligns with approved school plans and maximizes student outcomes.
• Attend monthly Families and Education Levy Oversight Committee meetings and prepare reports for the Committee as needed.
• Submit a monthly summary report to the Manager summarizing services provided and support requested to better serve schools.

Qualifications

Education

A Bachelor’s degree is required. A Master’s degree or post-graduate training in education, public administration, or a related field is preferred.

Skills and Experience

• A minimum of five years’ experience in secondary education, teaching, serving as a lead teacher, administrator or manager, or serving as an educational consultant.
• Deep experience in the management of a high school including knowledge of curriculum, Common Core State Standards, instructional practices, school operations and management, and teacher and leadership professional development.
• Demonstrated success leading strategic educational initiatives that result in measureable positive academic outcomes for struggling students.
• Strong leadership abilities including an encouraging, motivating presence to help with conflict management, team building, goal-setting, prioritization, strategic planning, and mentoring and coaching.
• Strong analytical skills including the ability to use quantitative data to inform schools’ program decisions and to monitor their performance-based contracts.
• Experience providing leadership, focus, direction and facilitation across organizational lines to multidisciplinary workgroups.
• Proven ability to collaborate and build relationships with internal and external stakeholders and diverse communities.
• Strong strategic planning and project management skills.

Job  Requirements

• Expected work hours: 20 hours per week with the flexibility to work as needed to accommodate early morning, evening, and occasional weekend meetings.
• The Consultant will primarily work from home and will be expected to travel to school sites on a regular basis.
• The Consultant will enter into an initial contract beginning September 2013. The contract may be renewed annually in subsequent years.
• The successful applicant will be required to acquire a Washington State Business License and City of Seattle Business License,sign an equal benefits compliance declaration (available upon request), and provide proof of insurance coverage (commercial general liability, automobile liability,and worker’s compensation naming the City of Seattle as an additional insured). Contract beginning in September 2014.

Please visit the Office for Education’s webpage for more information about Levy investments:  http://www.seattle.gov/education/

ToApply:

Please send a resume and cover letter via email to Kathryn Aisenberg, Kathryn.Aisenberg@seattle.gov,by August 6, 2014. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.