School Improvement Specialist

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, Beyonce, and March Madness to reality TV and traveling. 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 solve problems.
  • 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

EmpowerK12 is seeking a School Improvement Specialist to support the delivery of professional development and school support within our training and development services. This role will work closely with the Director of School Improvement to design, prepare, and facilitate trainings that help school leaders translate data into instructional action.

The School Improvement Specialist will serve as a key facilitator and thought partner for school trainings and convenings. They will support school teams in understanding their data, identifying instructional priorities, and guiding next steps that enable educators to respond to data intentionally.

The ideal candidate brings experience as a teacher leader, instructional coach, or team leader, and is an expert at using data to make decisions. They are also comfortable and confident when facilitating learning for adult audiences. They are data literate, understand school systems, and can confidently engage with school leaders in conversations about instruction, assessment, and student outcomes.

This role offers an opportunity to contribute meaningfully to school improvement work while developing expertise in data-driven professional learning, facilitation, and system-level school improvement.

Responsibilities

Facilitate Professional Development

• • Co-facilitate and deliver professional learning sessions for school leaders and leadership teams as part of EmpowerK12’s training model.
  • Support the facilitation of school convenings focused on translating data into instructional action.
  • Help create engaging training environments that promote reflection, collaboration, and actionable next steps.
  • Build credibility with school leaders by connecting training content to real school and/or leadership challenges.

Support School Teams in Data Use

• • Guide school teams in analyzing data from assessments, dashboards, and internal systems to identify instructional priorities.
  • Help leaders translate data insights into practical instructional strategies and school-based action steps.
  • Support schools in identifying root causes of student performance trends and designing improvement plans.
  • Assist schools in monitoring progress toward goals using clear metrics and data routines.

Prepare Training Materials and Tools

• • Collaborate with the Director of School Improvement to develop and refine training materials, facilitation guides, and planning tools.
  • Adapt training content to meet the needs of different school contexts and leadership teams.
  • Help design reusable professional learning structures that support scalability across partner schools.

Strengthen Partner Relationships

• • Build strong relationships with school leaders and partner organizations.
  • Demonstrate responsiveness and professionalism when supporting school teams.
  • Gather feedback from school partners to improve training quality and effectiveness.

Contribute to Organizational Learning

• • Reflect on training outcomes and provide feedback on how to improve EmpowerK12’s Optimize offerings.
  • Participate in internal planning and learning sessions to strengthen professional development practices.
  • Contributes to the continuous improvement of tools, dashboards, and training models.

Please note that this is considered an in-person role due to the extensive travel to schools on a weekly basis.

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.
  • Strong facilitation and communication skills with the ability to engage adult learners and school leaders.
  • Belief that both quantitative and qualitative data are essential to school improvement.
  • Ability to interpret complex data and translate it into clear, actionable guidance for educators and school leaders.
  • Strong interpersonal skills and ability to build trust with school leaders.
  • Strong organizational and project management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities while collaborating closely with team members.
  • Embraces new challenges and responsibilities with creativity, initiative, and self-direction.

Experience

• • 3+ years of experience working in K-12 U.S. education.
  • Experience and success as a teacher leader, instructional coach, department chair, or team lead.
  • Experience using data-driven decision-making in schools.
  • Success with using data to drive improvement within schools.
  • Familiarity with assessment systems such as MAP, interim assessments, or standards-based data tools.
  • Experience facilitating professional learning for instructional/school leaders preferred.
  • 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.

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.

Applying

If you wish to apply for this position, please visit www.empowerk12.org/apply. Only candidates that submit the application form and a resume will be considered. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis with priority given to ones received by April 10, 2026.

• • 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.