Fast Facts

Envision Education is seeking a Senior Director of Academics to lead and enhance the educational program across its network of schools in the San Francisco Bay Area, focusing on equity, collaboration, and high-quality instruction.

Responsibilities: Oversee the academic program, manage the ELA curriculum, lead professional development, implement a coherent assessment system, and collaborate with school leaders to enhance student learning and instructional quality.

Skills: Strong leadership experience in education, especially in academic programming or coaching; superb communication skills; ability to work collaboratively with diverse stakeholders; and skills in data analysis and strategic planning.

Qualifications: 7-8 years of leadership experience in education, experience in academic programming, a Bachelor’s degree (Master’s preferred), and proficiency in engaging with diverse communities, particularly underrepresented groups.

Location: This position is based in Oakland, requires frequent travel to schools in San Francisco, Oakland, and Hayward, and is primarily within the USA.

Compensation: $130000 - $150000 / Annually

THE POSITION

Envision Education seeks a Senior Director of Academics. This is a network-level instructional leader who sets a vision of excellence for our academic program, drives achievement of that vision through systems-level planning and collaboration, provides top-notch professional development for our leaders and teachers, stewards the development of our students’ literacy skills, and ensures that all students are receiving high-quality instruction in alignment with the Envision Way.

WHO WE ARE

Our mission is to transform the lives of students - especially those who will be the first in their family to attend college - by preparing them for success in college, career, and life. Envision Education currently operates four small schools in San Francisco, Oakland, and Hayward, as well as a national educational consulting firm called Envision Learning Partners. Envision Education has made an explicit commitment to becoming an exemplar network of schools with an instructional and cultural vision rooted in an anti-racist and pro-Black framework. The following represents Envision Schools’ vision for 21st-century skills, character traits, and cognitive and social-emotional skills that learners need for success in college, career, and life.

• Knowledge and Love of Self and Land
• Collectivism
• Critical Thinking
• Self Determination
• Criticality
• Leadership

WHO YOU ARE

• You are equity-focused. You are unapologetic about your deeply held belief that all children can achieve. You believe that anti-racist and pro-Black practices and frameworks are essential to change the status quo for all students.
• You are collaborative. You make decisions in partnership with others, focused on what is best for the students 
• You are invested in our core values.You hold high expectations for the entire school community. You examine your own biases in your pursuit of equity for all. Every opportunity to learn something new excites you.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Reporting to the Chief Program Officer, the Senior Director of Academics is responsible for orchestrating the overall academic program for Envision’s four Bay Area schools. In addition, the leader manages the details of the English Language Arts program. This leader collaborates closely with the Director of STEM, the Superintendent of Schools, the Senior Director of Assessment, and the Senior Director of Student Services. This position requires weekly travel around the Bay Area to our network office and various school sites, working in classrooms with school leaders and teacher coaches.

Leading and Codifying Envision’s Academic Program

• Communicate a vision for excellent teaching and learning across Envision Schools.
• Ensure that all Envision students have access to high-quality, grade-level curricula in every subject, aligned to state standards and the Envision model. 
• With fellow leaders, develop functional objectives as well as mid-term and long-term plans to achieve vision for curriculum and instruction. 
• Lead continuous improvement of curriculum, instruction, and assessment, informed by student performance data across the network. 
• Collaborate with school site leaders to maintain a course catalog and master schedule that prepares students for success in college (including A-G access, Advanced Placement, etc.)
• Document the what and the how of Envision’s academic program so that schools understand it and can implement it with fidelity.
• Ensure that instruction at Envision exemplifies rigor and inquiry and provides students with opportunities for project-based learning and high-quality performance assessment.

Engaging and Challenging Our Students as Readers and Writers (ELA focus)

• Provide focused leadership of our English Language Arts program.
• Implementing with fidelity the network-endorsed or network-approved ELA curriculum so that it meets our students' needs, culturally and pedagogically.
• Design a robust system of diagnostics and interventions for students’ literacy skills. Organize and maintain ELA instructional programs and services in a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS).
• Through professional development, develop the skills of site-based ELA teacher coaches, in partnership with school leaders.

Assessing Our Learners 

• In collaboration with the Senior Director of Assessment, implement a coherent assessment system that is holistic, compliant with state standards, and exemplifies the Envision commitment to high-quality performance assessment. 
• Manage and continuously improve Envision's diagnostic and interim assessments to gather meaningful formative data.
• Develop and implement systems for teachers to use data in their planning and instruction and for that data to be shared with students.
• Lead the analysis of performance data and drive network-wide and classroom-level action as a result.

Designing and Implementing High-Quality Professional Development

• Develop and implement professional development arcs for teachers, coaches, and site leaders that are aligned to our vision.
• Lead—and support others to lead—professional development for school leaders, coaches, teachers, and learning specialists.
• Steward the quality of Envision’s coaching model, which includes practices in observation-feedback, intellectual preparation, and student work analysis.
• Assess the impact of PD and continuously improve based on performance data and promising practices.

QUALIFICATIONS

• At least 7-8 years of leadership experience in education.
• At least 5-8 years of experience in academic programming or coaching.
• A Bachelor of Arts or Science Degree, Preferred: Related MA Degree or M.Ed.
• Demonstrated success working with parents and families, especially Black, African American, Latino/a/x, and immigrant families.
• Previous experience developing and facilitating adult learning/training.
• Adept at thinking strategically, translating plans into action, and exhibiting excellent judgment.
• Detail oriented with exceptionally strong follow-up and follow-through skills.
• Superb communication skills, both written and verbal. Can distill complexity into clarity.
• Training in or familiarity with the Relay coaching model (preferred).
• Training or experience in project-based or inquiry-based learning (preferred).
• Naturally and readily assumes responsibility to fix problems and create improvements.
• Ability to quickly and effectively build relationships with, motivate, and engage a diverse group of stakeholders.
• Skilled at analyzing, interpreting, and using data to collaborate, identify best practices and areas for improvement, and drive results.
• Commitment to the mission of Envision Education.
• Commitment to anti-racist and pro-Black leadership and practices in the workplace.
• Once hired, continuous current California residency.

Studies have shown that women and people of the global majority are less likely to apply if they do not meet every one of the qualifications. We are interested in finding values-aligned educators and leaders from a variety of backgrounds. We encourage you to apply, even if you don’t meet every one of our qualifications listed. If you are unsure whether you meet the qualifications of this position, we encourage you to apply and share your experience and questions as part of your cover letter.

LOCATION

This position is based in our Oakland office, and requires frequent in-person visits to our three campuses in Oakland, San Francisco, and Hayward.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES

• Conducts in-person classroom observations and instructional rounds across school sites.
• Provides real-time coaching, modeling, and feedback to leaders and teacher coaches in classrooms and on campus.
• Facilitates live, interactive professional development sessions for site leaders and educators.
• Builds and maintains relationships with staff through regular campus presence.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Ability to travel between multiple sites several days per week.
• Ability to move throughout school buildings, including classrooms, hallways, and outdoor areas, for observations and coaching.
• Ability to stand and walk for extended periods during site visits and trainings.
• Ability to occasionally lift/carry up to 25 pounds (training materials, laptop, documents).
• May require navigating stairs and varied campus terrain and working in active school environments with frequent student and staff interaction.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

• Commensurate with experience and credentials. The starting range for this role is between $130,000 and $150,000.
• Paid sick leave.
• Paid vacation time.
• Excellent health benefits package with employer contribution to benefits.
• Excellent Optional Flexible Benefits Plan, including dependent care, medical care, parking, and commuter benefits.
• Retirement system from CalSTRS
• 403b Plan.
• Life Insurance at no cost to employee.

If you are offered this position, your pay rate will be determined based on factors such as skills, education, and/or experience. In addition to those factors, Envision Education complies with applicable pay equity laws and considers internal equity among current employees when developing the final offer. Please keep in mind that the range mentioned above is the base range for the role. Hiring at the maximum of the range would not be typical in order to allow for future and continued salary growth. We also offer a generous compensation and benefits package.

As an equal opportunity employer, we believe deeply in diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all people. Envision recruits, employs, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, disability, age, veteran status, and the many other characteristics that make us diverse.