This position is an anticipated vacancy. It is expected to be vacant by 08/31/2025. However the current incumbent has a right to rescind their retirement leave or resignation up until the day of the expected vacancy date. Your hire will not be confirmed until the position is vacated and you may start the year as a LongTerm Substitute if the position does not become vacant by the start of the school year.
Reports to: Office of Teacher Leadership
Description:
The Telescope Network creates opportunities for BPS educators to collaborate across the district. We improve learning experiences for all our students when we connect with peers share our authentic challenges and learn from each other.
To do this work:
- We ASK educators across the district what they want and need to learn next in order to best serve the needs of their students;
- We MAGNIFY effective practices by creating opportunities for effective and reflective educators to share their expertise with their peers; and
- We CONNECT educators to resources professional learning opportunities and each other based on their needs and interests.
More information about the Telescope Network can be found on our website.
We are seeking an experienced educator to join our team in a halftime role with a strong preference for educators with experience at the elementary level.
Responsibilities of the Networker
Needs Assessment Process: Help implement a needs assessment process that leverages educator voice. The Networker will:
- Help implement a districtwide needs assessment as well as more informal needs assessments throughout the year.
- Take part in meaningmaking conversations looking at data from the needs assessment process.
- Identify priority questions for professional learning by
- Aggregating and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data from needs assessment
- Observing instruction and reflecting with teachers and school leaders about successes and challenges and needs for professional learning
- Building an understanding of district initiatives and priorities how they are implemented in schools and the challenges that arise in practice
- Formally and informally networking with educators across BPS
Coordinate Innovative EducatorLed Professional Learning Structures
- Coordinate and facilitate educatorled professional learning for educators based on priority questions that arise from the needs assessment process.
- Identify and elevate promising practices and diverse educators to share them
- Use an improvement science approach to share promising practices across schools and among communities of educators.
- In collaboration with district staff school leaders and other Networkers coordinate professional learning opportunities at the school crossschool and district levels
Collaboration
- Regularly communicate with the Telescope Team including Lead Networkers Networker colleagues and Supervisors.
- Attend monthly joint meetings with Academics and Professional Learning department coaches
- Work with Lead Networkers to implement refine and document innovative professional learning models reflect on their success and refine toolkits/guides for implementation/facilitation
- Other duties related to teacher leadership professional learning and instructional coaching as assigned.
Deliverables and Criteria for Success
- Collaborate with the Telescope team to document shared learning from professional learning opportunities for a wider BPS audience.
- Collect data on professional learning opportunities
- Help refine a database of effective and reflective practitioners and practices in BPS
- Collaborate on annual report writing with Lead Networkers
QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED:
- Valid Massachusetts teaching license
- At least five years teaching experience in the Boston Public Schools
- Ability and willingness to travel to schools across the district and the central office as schedule and duties dictate. This includes availability for afternoon or evening programming at least once per month.
- Demonstrated commitment to diversity ensuring all students access to the highest quality instruction and closing the opportunity gap
- Demonstrated knowledge of adult learning theory and its application in practice
- Experience leading and/or coordinating professional learning experiences
- Project management and organization skills
- Relational skills especially empathy and listening
- Communication skills (verbal written presenting social media)
- A deep understanding of the experience of teachers and students in BPS classrooms.
- Coaching and/or professional learning facilitation experience
- Selfstarter with the ability to work independently as well as collaboratively with teams of educators and district staff
- Passion for education and a commitment to equity and specifically for improving learning and life outcomes for all students through the use of evidence based innovative practices
- Strong knowledge of Google applications for collaboration
QUALIFICATIONS PREFERRED:
- Elementary teaching experience
- Ten years of teaching experience in the Boston Public Schools
- Experience with districtlevel initiatives committees or teams
- Experience facilitating groups with a variety of sometimes competing stakeholder priorities and interests
- Knowledge of protocols that lead to productive and focused discussions
- Quantitative and qualitative data analysis
Terms: BTU Group 1 10
- 17.5 hours per week during the school year
- Up to 9 days in summer.
- Position requires travel among BPS schools and Central Office and availability for regular after school and evening meetings or professional learning
The Boston Public Schools in accordance with its nondiscrimination policies does not discriminate in its programs facilities employment or educational opportunities on the basis of race color age criminal record (inquiries only) disability homelessness sex/gender gender identity religion national origin ancestry sexual orientation genetics or military status and does not tolerate any form of retaliation or biasbased intimidation threat or harassment that demeans individuals dignity or interferes with their ability to learn or work.