Elementary School (3rd-5th) School Director

VOICE Charter School (http://www.voicecharterschool.org/) is an elementary and middle school located in Long Island City, Queens that serves about 650 students across grades K-8.  We are located just minutes from Manhattan (two stops outside of Manhattan on the F, N, and W train lines) and Long Island City’s growing waterfront district, thriving arts community, and rapid residential growth. We are looking to identify extraordinary educators and administrators committed to urban education who wish to join a dynamic professional learning community.

Our mission is to create a safe and healthy learning environment that will nurture, motivate and challenge all of our children to achieve the highest level of academic excellence and to develop into mindful, responsible, contributing participants in their education, their community and the diverse society in which we live.

What makes VOICE different?

At VOICE, it’s not just about the music. It’s about the people. It’s about what you can be. It’s about using your passion. It’s about relationships. It’s about having the opportunity to choose. It’s about caring enough. It’s about each individual child and adult.

We believe in efficacy. At the core of our academic culture is the idea that all students are capable of doing well in any discipline. At VOICE, all students will learn – being smart is not something that you are, it is something you become.  At VOICE, you will be pushed to become more.

We support and develop the effectiveness of our teachers. We believe that teachers need time to collaborate to build their practice, so we provide our team with over two hours of planning time a day as well as additional days for collaborative thought partnership and planning during the school year. 

We promote participation in music and the arts. As music and art help develop problem solving and critical thinking skills and open children's imaginations, all VOICE students participate in and learn from daily activities in the arts including rigorous choral training. We design our arts-integrated curriculum to bring joy and wonder to the lives of our children, providing them with the skills necessary to forge their own path.

All Staff at VOICE:

• Love and nurture all of our students as they become deeply caring and responsible individuals;
• Take personal responsibility and work collaboratively to ensure that all students achieve and grow, understanding that the performance and progress of our students is directly under our control;
• Ask questions and empower students to exercise curiosity and wonder about the world around them;
• Hold themselves to the highest standards;
• Push and support themselves, their students, and their colleagues

• Proactively seek and incorporate feedback;
• Help each individual child gain the opportunity to choose what his or her future will be.

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Major Responsibilities:

Strategic Planning

1. Lead the vision for the School Division by maintaining strategic plan(s) that: are aligned with the organization-wide strategy, mission, values & charter; are data-driven; articulate key elements & measurable goals; are annually developed, measured and evaluated
2. Responsible for the strategic collection and analysis of actionable data; identify actionable data-driven goals; and share out results to leadership and the Board and provide consultation and recommendations as appropriate
3. Serve as a strategic partner and consultant to school leaders on Division areas
4. Support the org-wide strategic plan(s) around Diversity & Inclusion

Division Academics

1. Lead the strategy for School Division’s overall academic program, which may include but is not limited to developing curriculum, designing pedagogical approaches, and developing instructional policies and procedures; training dean(s) and faculty
2. Oversee the division’s mapping of skills and content (e.g. pacing guide/curriculum; scope and sequence; curriculum maps) and planning (e.g. lesson plans)
3. Lead divisional goals and priorities, which may include but is not limited to developing and evaluating metrics, compiling and assessing academic and/or assessment data
4. Oversee the design and execution of summative and formative assessments including interim assessments and data planning cycles

Instructional Support, Coaching, and Supervision

1. Direct supervision of faculty (including special education coordinators) and divisional staff
2. Observe and provide on-going feedback to faculty and staff
3. Develop and implement coaching plans for faculty that are measurable and goal-driven
4. Model instructional strategies as needed
5. Design and implement faculty and staff professional development based on identified needs
6. Coordinate internal and external professional development activities for faculty and staff

Division Student Culture

1. Lead the strategy for the division’s overall student culture program which includes but is not limited to: developing policies and procedures that ensure student safety and maximize students’ instructional time; evaluating and improving student disciplinary practices; training deans, faculty, and staff
2. Responsible for building & maintaining a strong socio-emotional learning environment that supports students and ensures they feel they have an adult they can trust
3. Lead divisional goals, priorities, and metrics related to student culture
4. Approve detention and suspension decisions; serve as 2nd round of appeal for suspension decision
5. Lead policies for family engagement and communicate with families
6. Lead faculty, dean, and pedagogical support team to proactively identify struggling students and to collaborate on implementing plans for their support
7. Oversee the success of division’s after-school programming

Division Staff Performance & Culture

1. Lead the strategy on the division’s staff performance, which may include but is not limited to: overseeing staff professional development; ensuring that all staff receive regular and ongoing coaching, development, and evaluations (both informal and formal)
2. Responsible for building a staff culture that is collaborative & inclusive, embodies VOICE values, and fosters collegiality & trust to ensure that all team members feel valued & grow as individuals and as a team, which may include cultivating communication practices & structures for consensus building, shared & autonomous decision-making
3. In collaboration with the Director of HR & Talent, identify and address staffing needs to ensure that staff resources are allocated to best serve VOICE’s mission, which may include but is not limited to contributing to decisions and strategies related to retention
4. In collaboration with the Recruitment & Selection Specialist, contribute to recruiting and hiring best-fit candidates, which may include but is not limited to participating in candidate interviews and serving as the final decision-maker on hiring decisions
5. In collaboration with the division leadership and Director of HR & Talent, develop and implement practices related to staff performance management, retention, succession

Division Administration

1. Responsible for division budget, including monitoring and approving spending
2. Oversee and ensure the success of division operations, which may include but is not limited to scheduling, data & tech, facility needs
3. Maintain relationships with external partners, including co-located partner

Team Management

1. Employ strategies in developing supervisees and cultivating team culture, which may include but is not limited to leading team check-ins and participating in 1:1 meetings
2. Supervise and support individual supervisees’ professional development and job responsibilities, which may include but is not limited to providing coaching, feedback, training and helping to manage conflicts as appropriate
3. Provide supervisees with regular performance evaluations through VOICE’s formal mid-year and end-of-year performance evaluation processes
4. Ensure coverage as may be needed

School Leadership

1. In collaboration w/ directors across the school, develop & implement aligned vision, priorities, strategies to ensure the integrity & actualization of VOICE’s mission & values.
2. Inspire and rally behind a shared vision and high standards of excellence, including but not limited to fostering staff culture and relationships across teams and divisions
3. As member of school leadership team, contribute to the development and implementation of school-wide policies and procedures, which may involve but is not limited to engaging in other teams’ and divisions’ priorities, goals, and activities
4. Exercise external awareness, including but not limited to cultivating relationships with external partners, researching and incorporating best practices, and keeping abreast of external trends and updates
5. Serve as liaison for other teams/departments, and current/potential external partners.

Staff-Wide Professional Expectations

1. Embrace and be an ambassador of VOICE’s mission, vision and values
2. Collaborate communicate and maintain effective and professional relationships as member of an interdisciplinary team of educators, support staff, and administrators
3. Participate in required meetings and events, which may include student events, school concerts, parent-teacher conferences, on- and off-site conferences and trainings, others.
4. Meet expectations related to punctuality and professionalism including but not limited to reporting to work on time, following the appropriate call-out and lateness procedures, timely responding to emails, consistently meeting deadlines and communicating appropriately on progress on projects and goals.
5. Proactively and appropriately seek assistance and/or guidance when faced with challenges appropriately provide and receive feedback to/from students, parents, faculty, classroom assistants, support staff, and administration
6. Reflect on professional practice through self-reflection and engagement in informal and formal feedback processes

Position Qualifications:

Educational Background and Work Experience

• New York State Teaching Certification
• Master’s degree from an accredited college or university
• 5-8 years professional experience in education with increasing responsibilities & achievements
• At least 1 year in a school leadership position
• Experience managing and developing teams and individuals
• Experience working in a nonprofit organization or school
• Preferred: Master’s degree in school leadership related program
• Preferred: School Building Leader (SBL) certification

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• VOICE’s mission, vision, values and culture
• Effective skills in self-management including but not limited to meeting deadlines, effective prioritization of tasks, self-organization, managing up, and efficient time and task management
• Ability to gather and analyze data using defined and differentiated processes
• Tact and sensitivity, including but not limited to adhering to confidentiality obligations such as mandated reporting as part of child protection
• Ability to build strong and effective collegial relationships as part of an interdisciplinary team of educators and administrators
• Ability to build warm individual relationships with students
• Ability to communicate and build relationships effectively and appropriately with diverse range of individuals, including but not limited to current and prospective students and families, colleagues, and external partners
• Teaching and classroom
• VOICE Teaching Framework
• Common Core and other content area standards
• Curriculum design principles
• Child learning theory and behavioral approaches, teacher techniques
• Differentiation strategies (conferencing; small group work); basic understanding of English as a Second Language and SpEd approaches and procedures
• Elements of effective classroom environment and management

• Building effective sequential long-term plans and mastery-oriented short term plans
• Maintaining high academic expectations through purposeful building of thinking skills, standards-aligned independent practice, questioning and discussion techniques, high standards for language and evidence, and structured support for students
• Staff-Wide Competencies for Directors:

• Effective Self-Management, including but not limited to: Prioritizes time and tasks effectively; Builds relationships with others; Practices continual self- development; Demonstrates effective problem solving; Exercises complete ownership over tasks; Takes initiative; Navigates ambiguity with ease
• Effective Project Management, including but not limited to: Manages up; Proactively engages clients and consultants; Reflects on and incorporates feedback; Engages in thoughtful, strategic, and creative envisioning; Exercises complete ownership over projects; Delegates and holds project helpers accountable for results; Focuses on product and process
• Effective People and Team Development, including but not limited to: Sets clear and stretch outcomes for team; Assesses team progress and holds team accountable for results; Manages conflict within and across teams; Provides continuous support and coaching to team; Motivates and inspires others; Builds relationships across team; Maximizes team resources effectively
• Effective Organizational Leadership, including but not limited to: Rallies org behind a clear, sustainable, shared vision; Uses data to drive change; Develops strategic plans for the future; Innovates &  takes risks, Builds culture of excellence; Exercises external awareness & develops external relationships; Embraces & leads change

• Content-Specific:
• Proficiency in MS Office, Google calendar, Salesforce and other software and apps
• Deep understanding of and ability to write and deliver curriculum in classroom
• Deep understanding of classroom management strategies, including but not limited to Love & Logic language, proactive procedures, transitions, recovery, restorative justice
• Adult learning theory/best practices for Professional Development

• Strong sense of discretion and integrity regarding sensitive student, family, staff topics

Behavioral Characteristics

• Wonder, care, and efficacy
• Commitment, authenticity, and passion
• Critical thinking, including communication, analytical and strategic strengths
• Grit and constant learning, including resilience and perseverance
• Strong sense of personal responsibility, including discipline, self-accountability, self-initiative
• Sensitivity to environment, including humility, empathy and kindness

[Please note: All offers of employment are contingent upon the employee meeting all prerequisite job qualifications by the first day of employment.]

Compensation and Benefits: Compensation is competitive and based on experience.  We offer a comprehensive benefits package, including participation in a pre-tax commuter benefits program and partial reimbursement for monthly commuting expenses, gym reimbursement, cultural enrichment reimbursements, participation in the Teachers Retirement System pension program, frequent access to baked goods, and many opportunities to get to know your VOICE colleagues!

VOICE Charter School is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In its employment decisions, VOICE does not discriminate on the basis of an applicant or employee’s race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, unemployment status, or any other status protected by law.