Director - Advanced Learning, Acceleration and Gifted Education

Director - Advanced Learning, Acceleration & Gifted Education

Reports to: Middle Level Executive Director

Contract: 230 days

The Director provides visionary and strategic leadership for a specialized K6 accelerated learning campus serving students with advanced academic needs, including the district's Gifted and Talented program. The Director is responsible for creating and sustaining an academically rigorous, student-centered environment that challenges learners, supports their social-emotional development, and prepares them for continued success in advanced coursework and future academic opportunities.

The Director will work with campus administration to ensure campus operations, including instructional leadership, staff development, student achievement, personnel management, family and community engagement, and compliance with district, state, and federal requirements. The Director will work collaboratively with district leadership to ensure the campus serves as a model for innovative, accelerated, and gifted education.

• Establish a campus culture that promotes academic excellence, curiosity, creativity, belonging, and responsible risk-taking.
• Provide strong instructional leadership focused on high expectations, accelerated learning, academic rigor, and student growth.
• Develop and maintain a shared vision for K6 accelerated and gifted education aligned with district goals and priorities.
• Ensure curriculum, instruction, assessment, and intervention practices are aligned with Arkansas academic standards and district expectations.
• Promote differentiated, flexible, and student-centered instructional practices that address the unique needs of advanced learners.
• Support the appropriate use of acceleration, enrichment, compacting, flexible grouping, project-based learning, and other evidence-based strategies.
• Monitor student achievement data and use multiple measures to identify strengths, gaps, and opportunities for growth.
• Conduct classroom observations and provide meaningful feedback and coaching to teachers.
• Ensure instructional decisions are informed by student data, research-based practices, and best practices in gifted and accelerated education.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement and professional learning.
• Provide direct administrative leadership for the district's Gifted and Talented program housed within the campus.
• Ensure gifted services are implemented consistently and effectively in accordance with Arkansas Department of Education and district requirements.
• Collaborate with gifted education staff to develop and monitor programming that provides appropriate challenge, depth, complexity, and opportunities for advanced learners.
• Support effective identification, placement, scheduling, and programming for gifted students.
• Ensure gifted students receive appropriate services while maintaining a strong connection to the overall K6 instructional program.
• Promote opportunities for interdisciplinary learning, creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, research, and innovation.
• Monitor the effectiveness of gifted programming through student performance data, program evaluation, and stakeholder feedback.
• Advocate for the academic, social, and emotional needs of gifted and high-ability learners.
• Collaborate with campus leadership to ensure a cohesive campus incorporating all District programs housed within the campus as one school.

Performs other related tasks as assigned by the Executive Director of Middle Level and other Central Office Administrators as designated by the Superintendent.

The above description is illustrative of tasks and responsibilities. It is not meant to be all-inclusive of every task or responsibility.

Uses…