Middle School Humanities Academic Director

Middle School Humanities Academic Director, Brooklyn, New York

In‑Person Work Required
This is an exempt position and is not eligible for overtime.

Explore Schools is a network of public charter schools providing 1,700 students in Brooklyn with the outstanding education they deserve. Our goal is to provide students with curriculum and instruction that is both standards‑aligned and culturally responsive. Our approach is designed to provide the conditions that nurture students as critical thinkers and natural problem‑solvers. As an organization we are committed to engaging in work that disrupts and roots out systems and structures that perpetuate white supremacy.

We intentionally seek to build and maintain a diverse and talented team that reflects the backgrounds and experiences of our students and creates an inclusive environment for all employees.

We believe that all children can learn when immersed in a rich environment full of high expectations, rigorous academics, and caring, committed adults. We believe equity and excellence are not mutually exclusive—we can meet the needs of all students in our schools, while actively engaging parents and driving toward excellent academic results. We believe it is both our privilege and responsibility to help close the opportunity gap in the Brooklyn community.

Explore Schools seeks an experienced educational leader who demonstrates a drive toward excellence and is passionate about serving all students. The ideal candidate is an outstanding leader and manager of adults, who believes and invests in developing talent, while possess a strong understanding of academic rigor and effective instruction. Successful Academic Directors creatively and relentlessly implement the right solutions to ensure that all of our students have the tools they need to attend a college preparatory high school and beyond.

Additionally, you possess the following qualities:

• Dedicated to working in communities that have historically been underserved and under‑resourced
• Committed to thoughtfully engaging in identity work necessary to take a culturally responsive approach to pedagogy and relationship‑building with students and colleagues
• Exceptional strategic planning, prioritization, and execution skills
• Strong communicator and culture and relationship‑builder who actively engages and builds partnerships with families, staff, and students
• Outstanding content knowledge throughout grades 6‑8
• Demonstrated experience using data to set goals, measure success and achieve exceptional results with students
• 4+ years of teaching experience, with experience coaching and/or managing adults required
• Bachelor’s degree required
• A master’s degree and administrative certification preferred

Middle School Academic Directors are directly responsible for the coaching, growth, and evaluation of the teachers they supervise. Working closely and reporting to the school Principal, you will be expected to manage the following daily:

• Manages & supervises approximately 12 teachers across content areas, including regular coaching cycles, setting and reflecting on termly teacher development goals, the teacher evaluation, and, when necessary, the performance improvement process
• Coaches teachers through observation, feedback, co‑teaching, real‑time coaching, and lesson planning review
• Collaborates with the leadership team to identify academic priorities, set measurable goals to achieve priorities, and monitor progress towards goals
• Plans and leads PLCs, grade level, and/or content teams focused on intellectual preparation of standards‑aligned content, reviewing student work and data to inform teaching, and identifying instruction, culture, and operations needs
• Collaborates with ESI and cross‑network colleagues to lead programmatic and curricular implementation at your school and to support network‑wide professional development days
• Participates in the recruitment, selection and retention of staff
• Consistently models Explore’s operating values in both written and verbal interactions with all members of our community
• Actively engages in identity work and…