District Partnership Director

District Partnership Director, Bay Area
The mission of Partners in School Innovation (PartnersSI) is to enable public schools in low-income Bay Area communities - serving students of color and English language learners - to achieve educational equity through school-based reform. Our goal is to achieve educational excellence for all students while closing the gap in reading achievement between children living in poverty and their more affluent peers. PartnersSI transforms some of the lowest-performing schools in the Bay Area by leading them through a rigorous multiyear change process that improves teaching and learning and achieves long-term systemic change. Our set of integrated services includes: district systems change, results-oriented leadership development networks and on-site implementation support.

We are seeking a full-time District Partnership Director (DPD) to provide top-level operating and strategic leadership to guide the next phase of our high-profile partnerships w/both the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) and the San Jose Unified School District (SJUSD). This person will have the skill, experience and poise to interact effectively with the superintendents and their deputies as well as with each district's principals, classroom teachers and external partners.

The DPD will closely manage our partnership with both districts enabling schools to carry out high quality implementation of the district's strategic reform plans resulting in breakthrough student learning results. In SFUSD, the new strategic plan focuses on building a performance management system using the balanced scorecard approach and developing learning communities/networks of principals and teachers focused on leading schools to close the racial achievement gap through the implementation of high quality curriculum, assessment and instruction. In SJUSD, we will begin our second year of a highly effective partnership working with the Assistant Superintendent of Instruction to transform the downtown elementary schools by building teachers' and leaders' capacity to lead a data-driven school improvement process. Both district partnerships have an explicit focus on eliminating the racial and linguistic achievement gaps for Latino English learners. In both districts, the DPD will lead our teams to ensure that we demonstrate dramatic results and continuous improvement from the district office to the classroom level.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES
The DPD is ultimately responsible for managing the execution of our strategic and operating plans to deliver high-quality service to both districts and their schools that result in breakthrough student learning results. This includes:

1. District Partnership Management. The DPD will build relationships w/key administrators to generate district support needed to enable and sustain school improvement; provide district leaders w/regular feedback and data on the progress of our work and the lessons learned from our partnerships w/their schools; "thought partner" with district leaders to effectively implement the district's strategic plans. Ultimately, the District Partnership Director is responsible for providing the senior leadership and guidance that will generate breakthrough student learning results in the majority of our schools.

2. Management of District Leadership Networks by co-developing, leading and participating in ongoing professional development sessions intended to train district leaders, school principals and teacher-leaders on the effective implementation of a results-oriented cycle of inquiry professional development system in the districts' underperforming schools. This year in both districts there will be a particular focus on elementary schools serving Latino English learners.

3. Strengthening our Partnership w/Key External Partners. Our partners in San Francisco include the San Francisco School Alliance and the Principal Leadership Institute at UC Berkeley. The DPD will work closely with the new district leadership and our colleagues at the Alliance and PLI to achieve the goals of the partnership's Leadership Initiative, which specifically aims to develop highly effective leaders for equity in underperforming schools. In San Jose, our key external partner is Applied Materials, Inc., whose Downtown Educational Initiative is a collaborative effort involving SJUSD and other community-based organizations and committed corporations dedicated to increasing school success rates of downtown public school students. The DPD will work closely with SJUSD and Applied to ensure that PartnersSI continues to play a vital role in this initiative. S/he will also be expected to build and maintain key strategic partnerships with other funders and organizations to promote our work in both districts.

4. Participation on PartnersSI's Senior Management Team. Along with our Oakland Director, as well as the Executive Director and the Director of Organizational Learning & Effectiveness, the SF DPD will serve as an important member of the PartnersSI's senior programmatic leadership team and partake in cross-organizational decision-making as well as serve as a critical contributor to PartnersSI's plans to scale the organization nationally over the next five years.

QUALIFICATIONS

Our ideal candidate definitely has:

A track record of effective, results-oriented senior leadership at the school, district or county-office level, in a nonprofit organization or in the private sector

A track record of leading effective partnerships with diverse, high-profile stakeholders

An orientation toward problem solving and value creation - can identify root causes of problems and develop results-oriented solutions

Racial and cultural competence - an understanding of the role of racism in the inequities of the public school system and demonstrated effectiveness in leading a team with diverse racial and cultural backgrounds

Expertise in the areas of English language development, bilingual programs, high quality instruction for English language learners, high quality professional development for educators and effective urban school leadership

A high degree of initiative and tenacity, a willingness and drive to see a difficult situation through to a satisfactory outcome and to not take "no" as an answer

Coaching or consulting skills and experience; specific experience coaching school leaders or other executives through a change process is desirable

Demonstrated experience leading high-quality professional development for adults

Strong analytic and problem-solving skills; experience analyzing and using data to drive a continuous change process

Demonstrated knowledge of and contribution to effective, school-based reform to achieve educational equity

Experience working in communities of color and/or low-income communities

Effective communication and presentation skills to diverse audiences

Positive-mindedness, resiliency and ability to act in ambiguous circumstances

The passion and commitment to closing the achievement gap

Preferred:

A track record of results and established credibility as a school district leader

Experience teaching language arts in public elementary schools serving Latino English learners

Specific knowledge of or experience leading data-driven continuous improvement processes

Specific knowledge of the state standards, state-approved comprehensive literacy programs and an intimate understanding of the research base supporting these programs

Program development experience in the field of education reform

Advanced degree in education or related field

Familiarity with Bay Area communities and schools

Fluency or high degree of proficiency in Spanish

Salary and benefits DOE and are competitive with Bay Area compensation scales.

Application deadline: Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. Interviews will be conducted until the position is filled. Position start date is July 28, 2008.

Partners in School Innovation is an equal opportunity employer. We encourage applications from all individuals regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or physical ability and evaluate all candidates based on merit. Partners in School Innovation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.