This is a two-year grant-funded position.
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.
Responsibilities of the Networker
Needs Assessment Process: Help implement a needs assessment process that leverages educator voice. The Networker will:
- Help implement a district-wide needs assessment as well as more 1 to 1 conversations and focus groups with educators
- Take part in meaning-making conversations with collaborators 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 and grant 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 Educator-Led Professional Learning Structures
- Coordinate and facilitate educator-led 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 cross-school and district levels
Collaboration
- Regularly communicate with the Telescope Team including Lead Networkers Networker colleagues and Supervisors.
- Meet as necessary with internal BPS and external grant collaborators
- 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
School-Based Work
- The Networker will spend up to two days per week in a designated home base school site(s) with specific responsibilities to be determined.
QUALIFICATIONS - REQUIRED:
- Valid Massachusetts teaching license in a STEM Field
- 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
- Self-starter 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:
- Mathematics License
- Secondary teaching experience
- AP IB Calculus or Early College teaching experience
- Ten years of teaching experience in the Boston Public Schools
- Experience with district-level 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%
- 35 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
- This is a grant funded position with a term oftwo years.
The Boston Public Schools in accordance with its nondiscrimination policies does not discriminate on the basis of race color age criminal record physical or mental disability pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions homelessness sex/gender gender identity religion national origin ancestry sexual orientation genetics natural or protective hairstyle military status immigration status English language proficiency or any other factor prohibited by law in its programs and activities. BPS does not tolerate any form of retaliation or bias-based intimidation threat or harassment that demeans individuals dignity or interferes with their ability to work or learn. If you require an accommodation pursuant to the ADA for the application process please contact the Accommodations Unit at