Director of Multilingual Education

DISTRICT OVERVIEW

Holyoke Public Schools is a PreK-12 public school district serving nearly 4800 students of whom 80 percent are Latino/Latina in 11 schools. We employ nearly 1300 people who together educate and support a richly diverse community of learners. We are committed to recruiting and retaining top-quality educators who believe all children can and will learn and who strive daily to make school a joyful place of discovery support and belonging.

Holyoke Public Schools strategic plan Moving Forward Together builds on the strengths of our past while serving as a call to action to accelerate student learning by thinking differently about how we teach how we work together and how we support students well-being.

Many successes contributed to Holyokes return to local governance after 10 years in state receivership. These include:

• The highest graduation rate on record of 77.1 percent an increase of more than 15-points over 10 years
• Meaningful applied learning opportunities for high school students including theme-based academies career vocational technical education programming work-based learning and advanced coursework
• A comprehensive approach to early literacy that includes strong core instruction and one-on-one tutoring contributing to more students reading at grade level
• A thriving dual language English/Spanish program where nearly 900 students are on their path to becoming bilingual biliterate and bicultural

• More than one-third of Holyoke teachers identify as people of color a 19-point increase over 10 years. Many partnership programs support staff to earn licensure or additional certification.

Please visit the Holyoke Public Schools website to learn more about us our recent accomplishments and our commitment to equity.

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PERSPECTIVA GENERAL DEL DISTRITO

Las Escuelas Públicas de Holyoke son un distrito escolar público que cuenta con 11 escuelas de prekínder a 12. grado y acoge a casi 4 800 estudiantes de los cuales el 80 % se identifica como latino o latina. Empleamos a casi 1 300 personas que en conjunto educan y apoyan a una comunidad de estudiantes altamente diversa. Estamos comprometidos a contratar y retener educadores de alta calidad que creen firmemente que todos los niños pueden aprender y aprenderán y que se esfuerzan diariamente por hacer de la escuela un lugar alegre de descubrimiento apoyo y pertenencia.

El plan estratégico de las Escuelas Públicas de Holyoke Avanzando Juntos se basa en nuestras fortalezas previas y al mismo tiempo sirve como un llamado a la acción para acelerar el aprendizaje estudiantil a través de una nueva perspectiva sobre cómo enseñamos cómo trabajamos en colaboración y cómo apoyamos el bienestar de los estudiantes.

Existen numerosos logros que permitieron a Holyoke recuperar el control local después de 10 años de administración judicial. Entre estos logros se encuentran:

• La tasa de graduación más alta registrada del 77.1 % lo que representa un aumento de más de 15 puntos porcentuales en 10 años
• Oportunidades significativas de aprendizaje práctico para estudiantes de secundaria que incluyen academias temáticas programas de educación técnica y vocacional aprendizaje basado en el trabajo y cursos avanzados
• Un enfoque integral de la alfabetización temprana que combina una sólida instrucción básica con tutorías individuales lo cual ha contribuido a que más estudiantes lean a nivel de grado
• Un próspero programa bilingüe de inglés/español en el que casi 900 estudiantes avanzan hacia el bilingüismo la biliteracidad y la biculturalidad.

• Más de un tercio de los maestros de Holyoke se identifican como personas de etnicidad diversa lo que representa un aumento de 19 puntos porcentuales en 10 años. Diversas colaboraciones con programas que han contribuido a que miembros del personal obtengan sus certificaciones o credenciales adicionales.

Visite el sitio web de las Escuelas Públicas de Holyoke para obtener más información sobre nuestra comunidad nuestros logros recientes y nuestro compromiso con la equidad.

Reporting to the Executive Director of Academics the Director of Multilingual Education will lead the critical work involved in developing and implementing a district-wide vision for the achievement of students who are English Learners (ELs) that maintains high expectations for student learning and is tightly aligned with the districts vision for core instruction. This person will also be tasked with developing district-wide systems structures and protocols that align with the vision to improve the teaching and learning of ELs in line with Massachusetts and federal regulations.

This is an ideal position for a visionary and organized leader with a proven track record of systems-level thinking and implementation problem-solving and instructional leadership. The Director of Multilingual Education will be a key member of a fast-paced dedicated team that works together to provide the children and families of the Holyoke Public Schools with the highest possible level of education and service in accordance with the districts strategic plan. The responsibilities of this position are primarily aligned with the Districts priorities of inclusive practices to ensure gap-closing between EL and non-EL students and to support whole-child learning experiences.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Leadership:

• Serve as a strategic advisor functional expert and thought partner to school and district leaders regarding curriculum instruction and assessment of English Learners.
• Analyze and act on data at the district school classroom and student levels to improve ESL instruction and inform programming decisions.
• Collaborate with the Pupil Services Department to develop a strategic plan for addressing the needs of English Learners on IEPs and reducing the overidentification of English Learners as students with disabilities.
• Promote bilingualism in the district and work with stakeholders to expand programming for English Learners.
• Collaborate with members of district leadership to support student achievement through embedding research-based instructional practices and strategies that promote the teaching and learning of English Learners.
• Assist building principals with the hiring of building-based ESL teachers.
• Promote Holyoke Public Schools at the local state and national levels through positive interactions with stakeholders.
• Develop more comprehensive and effective instructional approaches and pathways for English Learners (ELs).
• Be an active member of the district committees to ensure that ELs are represented in district-wide decisions.

Instructional:

• Sustain high learning expectations for all students and enhance the consistency and rigor of classroom instruction by overseeing the full implementation of the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks which include Common Core Standards and WIDA Language Development Standards.
• Research best-in-class curricula instructional methods and assessments to support student learning ensuring all are aligned or can be aligned to the MA standards in collaboration with academic team members.
• Collaborate within the academic team and with School Supervisors and Principals on instructional design curriculum development assessment and training so that school leaders and teachers are growing rapidly and performance gaps are closed quickly for English Learners.
• Identify cultivate and disseminate innovations in ESL curriculum and instructional design across the district.
• Evaluate existing SEI programming during the school year as well as in the after-school and summer programs.
• Coach develop and support Building English Learner Lead teachers to extend the vision of high-quality instruction for English Learners which will include developing strategies skills tools and techniques that give English Learners access to grade-level instruction aligned to the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks which include Common Core Standards and WIDA Language Development Standards.
• Provide professional development in areas related to the effective teaching of English Learners and dual language learners as aligned with Next Generation ESL and Guiding Principles of Dual Language.
• Co-observe classrooms regularly to partner with School Supervisors and Principals to constantly evaluate and improve instruction curriculum implementation assessments interventions and other aspects of the academic program and culture at schools
• Work with School Supervisors academic teams and schools to ensure vertical alignment of the dual language pathway.
• Actively participate in designing the district-wide vision for tiered systems of support that are culturally and linguistically responsive.

Financial and Operational:

• Supervise the Title III Specialist District-wide K-5 ESL Expert Teacher District-wide 6-8 ESL Expert Teacher and High School Expert Teacher
• Support Building EL Leads ESL instructional Paraeducators
• Write oversee and manage the districts Title III grant and any other DESE/community-based grant opportunities that support EL Students.
• Ensure compliance with federal and state regulations governing the education of English Learners.
• Serve as district ACCESS Test Coordinator to ensure the successful administration of the WIDA ACCESS assessments.
• Ensure all core academic and career and technical education teachers and administrators are SEI Endorsed per state regulations and in collaboration with the Human Resources Dept.
• Provide technical assistance to the districts Chief Financial Officer related to the ESL teacher allocations during the budget season.

Family and Community Engagement:

• Help establish and provide assistance to an English Learner (EL) Parent Advisory Council designed to advise the school district on matters related to English learners the creation of new ELE programs and participate in the planning and development of programs to improve educational opportunities for English learners.
• In collaboration with the enrollment center and family and community engagement coordinators promote dual language immersion in the community including hosting information sessions
• Support schools in celebrating our multicultural learners by organizing events such as Seal of Biliteracy ceremonies and ESL students exiting the program.

All other responsibilities as assigned by the Superintendent or their designee.

CANDIDATE REQUIREMENTS:

Experience skills traits and beliefs:

• Demonstrated history of raising student achievement particularly that of English Learners
• 3 years of experience as a school or district instructional leader managing student outcomes in English Language Education
• A minimum of three years of leadership experience is required with a track record of effective turnaround school-level leadership preferred
• Deep expertise in Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks WIDA and instructional best practices for supporting language development anda proven track record with driving student achievement gains in an urban setting
• Demonstrated ability to speak and write clearly succinctly and persuasively such that expectations are clear timelines are delineated and excellence is defined
• Exceptional interpersonal skills with a track record of working collaboratively with staff and partners to build consensus and deliver exceptional results
• A commitment to high expectations for all students particularly the traditionally underserved student populations (i.e. students with disabilities limited language proficiency and low socioeconomic status) and an unwavering belief that all students can excel
• Ability to manage multiple priorities from a variety of sources organizing and prioritizing effectively to impact areas of greatest need
• Experience organizing and running effective and efficient meetings and professional learning
• Ability to analyze complex problems and develop coherent actionable strategies
• A service mindset and alignment with the district theory of action
• A bachelors degree is required; a graduate degree in a related field is strongly preferred
• Superintendent/Asst Superintendent/Director/Principal license
• Bilingual in Spanish/English strongly preferred.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:

Salary and benefits will be competitive and commensurate with experience.

Required Experience:

Director