Director of Early Education, Salem Public Schools, Salem, MA SY

Job Description

Director of Early Education, Salem Public Schools, Salem, MA [SY ]

Salem is a small, diverse city with a proud maritime and immigrant history. Salem Public Schools is an urban public school district enrolling nearly 4,000 students in 10 schools. Our vision is to ensure that all students will be locally engaged, globally connected, and fully prepared to thrive in a diverse and changing world. We hold dear our core values of belonging, equity, and opportunity in everything we do.

We seek individuals who are passionate about urban education and understand the urgency of improving student achievement for all students, regardless of ability, economic status, gender/gender identity, language, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, or other backgrounds. We invite you to learn more about our strategic plan and core priorities on our website at https://salemk
12.org/.

The Director of Early Education will be responsible for the strategic leadership and administrative oversight of Salem's early childhood systems funded through the Department of Early Education and Care's Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative (CPPI) grant. The Director works in deep, collaborative partnership with SPS early childhood leaders, coaches, and community-based child care organizations to ensure an equitable, high‑quality, and fully inclusive mixed‑delivery preschool system across Salem.

The Director will focus on scaling preschool access, building teacher and leader capacity to ensure students across the partnership have equitable access to high‑quality learning experiences and necessary supports, promoting kindergarten readiness, and strengthening inclusive practices across all participating public and community classrooms.

• Strategic Planning & Visioning: Oversee the strategic vision, set and monitor lofty goals, and mobilize time, people, and resources to drive progress in key priority areas
• Facilitation of Cross‑functional Teams: Spearhead cross‑functional team meetings to achieve strategic goals and develop collaborative city‑wide partnerships
• Grant Management: Oversee the execution, resource allocation and fiscal monitoring, data tracking, collaboration, and reporting required by the EEC CPPI grant guidelines, in addition to collaboratively writing and monitoring other grants that support early education
• Mixed‑Delivery
  
  Collaboration:
  
  Actively lead partnerships with local EEC‑licensed community child care programs and establish cross‑sector partnerships to align services and information and advance the needs of young children and their families.
• Curriculum Implementation: Support effective implementation of high‑quality preschool curriculum that integrates evidence‑based practices in early literacy across all partner classroom
• Special Education & Inclusion: Coordinate a team of specialists and coaches to ensure full inclusion of children with disabilities and diverse needs across all public and community settings
• Professional Development &
  
  Coaching:
  
  Design, facilitate, and coordinate job‑embedded coaching, professional learning, and CLASS® observations to support continuous quality improvement.
• Enrollment & Accessibility: Manage preschool scholarship allocations and tuition‑relief tracking to maximize universal access for families to high‑quality, low‑or‑no‑cost early education.
• Community Engagement: Develop strategic partnerships with local organizations, community‑based partners, early childhood leaders and relevant local and state agencies, including the revitalization of the citywide Children’s Cabinet, to promote and/or enhance Salem's program models, outcomes, and sustainability.
• Other duties as assigned

• Holds high expectations for student learning and believes that all students can learn and achieve mastery of the standards when provided with the right support.
• Holds high expectations for adult learning and believes that all adults can unlock the power of student growth and achievement when provided with the right support.
• Demonstrates a growth mindset, is open to and implements feedback and approaches challenges with…