Director of School Improvement

About EmpowerK12

At EmpowerK12, we envision a world where students of all backgrounds can thrive in the life path of their choice. Our mission is to empower education systems with rigorous data analytics and tools to drive collaborative improvement and equitable student outcomes. By education systems, we mean all the components that are critical to ensuring student success including students, parents/families, teachers, school leaders, district leaders, policymakers, support organizations and businesses, researchers, and innovators.

To that end, we empower schools with data analytics tools along with professional development and coaching to turn data into action. We believe schools can only see the full impact of data if they have the skills to review, understand, and act on the data. To create lasting school improvement, we tap into our unique combination of technical expertise, on-the-ground experience, and adaptive leadership to support school leaders in building data-driven, sustainable systems. 

Our Team Culture

We are a tight-knit team that prides ourselves in figuring out how to overcome problems in pursuit of solutions for our partners. Our personal interests vary from DIY home renovation, astronomy, and March Madness to reality TV and probability modeling. We check-in as a team frequently and participate in team-building activities that include trying new restaurants, playing board games, and exploring the District. We prioritize our team’s professional growth by ensuring that each team member has both the challenging projects and the support they need to take their skills to new heights. When you join our team, you become part of a dynamic community that encourages everyone to learn new skills and share our learning to grow as individuals and as an organization.

You may fit in well with our culture if your approach to work aligns with ours:

• We are collaborative team players who are excited about building strong relationships among diverse communities
• We are tenacious and willing to ask for help; we understand that challenges are a signal to work smarter, collaboratively involve others, and creatively problem solve
• We desire feedback as part of our commitment to self-development and to improving skills
• We are excited to work in a startup environment where challenges arise daily and where each individual’s ideas make an important impact and take EmpowerK12’s services to the next level

Position Overview

We seek an experienced and passionate school leader to join our team as Director of School Improvement. This team member plays a key role in building our partner schools’ capacity to utilize our data dashboards to drive student outcomes. They work directly alongside our school partners – both in-person and virtual – as well as on a network and national scale.

The ideal candidate can develop and deliver a professional development and coaching model that helps schools build data-driven, sustainable systems of improvement that boldly accelerate students’ academic and social-emotional wellbeing. They demonstrate outstanding adult professional development skills and the belief that data – both quantitative and qualitative – are critical to school success. The ideal candidate does not need technical data expertise but should demonstrate a blend of analytical skills, purposeful planning, and experience using data to improve PK-12 school outcomes. We envision a world where students of all backgrounds can thrive in the life path of their choice, and the Director of School Improvement will play a pivotal role in helping achieve this vision.

The Director of School Improvement will provide coaching and train schools on building effective, data-driven systems in domains such as:

• Assessments
• Attendance
• Behavior
• Grades
• SEL/Student & Educator Wellbeing

Responsibilities

• Lead the implementation of EmpowerK12’s school coaching and data professional development strategy
• Develop and deliver professional development for school teams to effectively utilize our data dashboards to drive improvement in student outcomes; the professional development model will be reusable yet customizable to maximize impact and cost-effectiveness
• Evaluate the effectiveness of the professional development program and make necessary improvements to ensure success
• Coach school leaders in implementing and building effective data-driven school systems
• Coach EmpowerK12 colleagues on delivering compelling professional development
• Build and maintain relationships with school leaders to better understand the needs of school partners; ensure professional development is aligned to priorities; expand the number of EmpowerK12's partner LEAs; craft a compelling value proposition
• Contribute in any way necessary to help EmpowerK12 achieve our mission

Qualifications

• Commitment to educational equity and EmpowerK12’s mission; direct experience in schools and a demonstrated belief that students of all backgrounds can and should thrive in the life path of their choice
• Passion for and experience in empowering educators to reflect on their craft to better meet the needs of all students
•  Excellent communication, presentation, and facilitation skills with the ability to engage and motivate adult learners
• Understanding educators’ perspectives, including motivational factors, demands on their time, school organizational dynamics, etc.
• Experience building sustainable, data-driven systems in schools; strong understanding of data analysis and data-driven decision-making in education
• The belief that data – both quantitative and qualitative – is a critical component to school improvement and success
• Proficiency using data tools; the ability to create ad-hoc spreadsheets to support in data-driven processes; the ability to learn Power BI (a data visualization tool similar to Tableau) well enough to train school teams in its use
• Highly organized project manager with meticulous attention to detail that drives projects to completion and comfort managing multiple priorities amid ambiguity
• Embrace challenges and new responsibilities with creativity, initiative, and self-direction

Experience

• 7+ years of teaching, coaching, and/or school leadership experience with at least two years of applicable school leadership or coaching experience
• We value a diversity of backgrounds; we will consider candidates that do not meet the listed experience requirements if they demonstrate the qualifications listed above through alternative career paths

Compensation

• At EmpowerK12 we value our team members and offer a robust benefits package and hybrid work environment to encourage balance and support well-being
• Our generous benefits include paid time off, transportation, 401(K), short term-disability, long-term disability, life, health, dental, and vision insurance
• We believe in fair pay—equal pay for equal work; for each role, we apply competitive salary bands based on an annual review of market data and benchmarks

The salary range for this position is $100,000-123,000. Placement within this range is determined by a variety of factors, including knowledge, skills, years & depth of experience, certifications, and equity with internal team members.

Equal Opportunity Statement

EmpowerK12 is an equal opportunity employer, and we are committed to building an inclusive, high-performing team. EmpowerK12 does not discriminate based on disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. This applies to all terms and conditions of employment. We encourage candidates from underrepresented groups to apply.