Chief Schools Officer

Job Summary

Under the direction of the Chief Education Officer, the Chief Schools Officer will lead the Office of Network Support for Chicago Public Schools. This position is responsible for principal quality and school performance, primarily through the direct management of CPS’ 17 regional Network Chiefs, the Independent Schools Network, and the Options Schools Network. The Network Chiefs directly supervise Principals, who are responsible for leadership development and support for Principals that lead to high-quality teaching and learning in every classroom and to student achievement in their schools.

The Independent Schools Network comprises 60+ semi‑autonomous schools; the Principals in these schools are also evaluated through the Office of Network Support.

• Develop and effectively execute an implementation plan that advances the District’s five‑year vision, supports a seamless PreK‑12 learning community and allows for transparent accountability towards CPS’ student outcome goals
• Actively recruit, hire, support and develop Network Chiefs and an internal team of over 30 staff
• Cultivate a culture of high expectations with shared strategic goals around measurable and continuous improvement in principal quality, as well as around student academic achievement in all schools
• Create, manage and sustain effective systems that enable Network Chiefs to identify, recruit, support and develop a strong pool of highly‑skilled Principal candidates for schools as well as a strong pool of Network support team members; this work includes but is not limited to:
  • Monitoring performance ensuring the development and utilization of data and performance management systems that enable weekly, real‑time coaching conversations with Network Chiefs, centered on continuous improvement of Principal and school quality and on the impact of Network support
  • Developing leaders by leveraging transparent, fair and effective tools for assessing Principal and Network team leadership capacity;
    Developing leadership and succession plans and providing differentiated supports that result in improved performance
  • Setting a learning agenda that includes a learning scope and sequence for Network Chiefs that is built on regular assessment of chief and team capacity and that results in measurable improvement of the coaching and management provided to Principals in schools
  • Building and implementing systems that allow Network Chiefs to make data‑informed decisions about Principal needs and to allocate resources accordingly, including the allocation of instructional supports and content experts to specific groups of Principals, based on need
  • Developing and maintaining a communication system for ensuring Network Chiefs, their teams and the Principals receive actionable information in a timely and efficient way, and that peer leaders in CPS, external stakeholders, and leadership team members are well‑informed of Office initiatives, successes, and struggles
  • Managing team administration and operations, ensuring that all team members are held accountable for meeting and exceeding expectations and that the office remains a good steward of public resources
  • Develop systems to effectively provide ad‑hoc operational support to Principals and the Network (e.g., escalated inquiries, emergencies)
• Build effective, collaborative cross‑team partnerships
  • Develop and maintain strong relationships with other senior leadership team members, including all Academic Chiefs, as well as leaders on the Equity, Talent and Operations teams
  • Work toward convergence with the full team to ensure that the needs of Network teams and Principals are met by other Central Office functions
  • Work with the Talent team to develop internal talent benches and external talent recruitment strategies for Chief and Deputy Network Chief roles
  • Liaise with Support Centers to monitor schools’ operational performance and compliance, resolve open issues, and ensure principal time is focused on instructional leadership
• Other duties and work streams as assigned

• Master’s degree in Education or related field from…