[2026-2027] Director of Academics, English

Director of Academics (English Programs)

Job Title: Director of Academics

FLSA Status: Professional Exempt

Reports to: Chief Academic Officer

Yu Ming Charter School seeks a dynamic innovative and experienced instructional leader to join our team. We are committed to nurturing lifelong learners who are bilingual bicultural and able to create change in their own lives and in our community. We seek educators that are excited by the possibility of transforming the traditional model of education to be learner-centered through personalized and project based learning that cultivates both the cognitive and social emotional skills our students need to thrive in school and beyond. Yu Ming educators are leaders that thrive on exploration collaboration and seek to continuously learn and grow as individuals and team members.

ABOUT YU MING CHARTER SCHOOL

Yu Ming Charter School is a non-profit tuition-free network of public schools located in Oakland and San Leandro and open to all residents of California. As a leader in Mandarin Immersion education our mission is to nurture our inclusive and diverse community to become empowered engaged and outstanding global citizens. We currently serve 1060 students across three campuses and continue to grow our enrollment each year. Our intentionally diverse student body comes from many racial ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds representing 70 zip codes across the Bay Area and 29 home languages. Founded in 2011 Yu Ming is the first Mandarin immersion public charter school in the state.

We believe every child regardless of their background or zip code deserves a free high-quality education that prepares them today to succeed tomorrow. Ranked the #7 Elementary School and the #2 Elementary Charter School in California by U.S. News Yu Ming is a 2019 and 2025 National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence and a 2020 and 2023 California Distinguished School. Yu Mings future-forward model prepares young people to succeed and thrive in an interconnected and multicultural world through personalized and rigorous learning experiences active student agency whole child and community focus and multilingual education. As a result our students far outperform their peers in the district county and state regardless of socio-economic status race language background and learning differences. We are closing the opportunity gap for our historically underserved students every day. To learn more about our innovative school visit our website
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POSITION OVERVIEW

The Director of Academics (English Programs) will collaborate with the Chief Academic Officer to drive the development implementation and evaluation of curriculum instruction assessment and professional development across the network. The Director of Academics will oversee the K-8 English Language Arts program ensuring curricular alignment and instructional excellence. The Director leads the English Learner Program including administration of the English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) and instructional support for our English Learners. The Director also oversees the middle school instructional collaboration with the Academic Leadership Team the Director of Academics will oversee Yu Mings instructional coaching model data and assessment system and teacher professional learning.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

Instructional Support and Professional Learning duties may include:

• Lead the design implementation and continuous improvement of professional learning for educators.
• Partner with school leaders to conduct classroom observations and ensure alignment with instructional vision and goals.
• Facilitate weekly instructional coaches meetings and provide ongoing support to coaches.
• Provide instructional coaching to teachers through observation and feedback cycles to strengthen instructional practice.
• Facilitate and/or support Teacher Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) to foster collaboration and continuous improvement.
• Supervise and/or support English Language Development (ELD) instructors in delivering high-quality designated ELD instruction.

Curriculum Development duties may include:

• Lead and manage systems and processes for selecting developing and curating high-quality curricular resources for K8 English Language Arts English Language Development (ELD) and middle school Math and Science.
• Support teachers in implementing core curriculum through planning intellectual preparation and adaptation of instructional materials to meet diverse learner needs.
• Collaborate on the development and refinement of curriculum maps pacing guides and scope and sequence documents.

Data-Driven Instructional Leadership duties may include:

• Support the management and use of academic data systems (e.g. Illuminate) to track analyze and communicate student academic progress
• Oversee administration of assessments for K-8 English Language Arts and the Middle School program
• Oversee administration of Initial ELPAC and Summative ELPAC for English Learners including the hiring and management of ELPAC test examiners

Network Leadership Responsibilities duties may include:

• Serve as an evaluator of teachers in the Teacher Development and Evaluation System.
• Participate in All-Schools Instructional Leadership Team meetings.
• Participate in the hiring process and inform staff recruiting and hiring decisions.

This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties responsibilities or qualifications associated with this position. Employees may be required to perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

• A minimum of five years of successful teaching experience in an urban public school setting demonstrating significant student achievement gains and strong pedagogical expertise.
• A minimum of three years of prior leadership experience (e.g. School Leader Dean Department Chair Instructional Coach or similar administrative role) in a diverse school setting with a track record of improving student outcomes.
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience with curriculum development program design and implementation.
• Experience managing coaching and developing educators to improve instructional practices and student learning.

Education Requirements

• BA from accredited university required; Masters or Ph.D. in Education preferred
• Elementary or single subject certification required; Administrative credential preferred

Terms of Employment: 12 Months

Time Commitment

12 months. 180-day school year 8 student-free professional development days for collaboration with colleagues. Common building hours are 8:00am-4:00pm.

Compensation

Yu Ming offers a generous salary and benefits package which includes:

• $107000-$123000 annual base salary
• 100% core benefits coverage on select plans
• Free Access to an Employee Assistance Program offering a variety of services including counseling and legal aid
• Participation in CalSTRS Retirement System
• 10 PTO days per calendar year plus school holidays and breaks
• 7 Sick days per calendar year

Required Experience:

Director