21-22 Principal on Special Assignment- Division of Superintendent
- Employer
- Aurora Public Schools
- Location
- Aurora, CO, US
- Salary
- Competitive
View more
- Job Category
- Administrator, Principal, Superintendent
You need to sign in or create an account to save a job.
Licensed Administrative/Principal on Special Assignment- Superintendent
7/20/2021
Office of the Superintendent
07/22/2021
Principal on Special Assignment—Division of Superintendent
Summary:
A Principal on Special Assignment role allows a current or recent (within 3 years) Aurora Public Schools (APS) Principal to take on a short-term, 1-2-year assignment with APS that simultaneously 1) supports the district in infusing district operations with the knowledge and experiences of school leaders to better align district supports to meet school needs and 2) provides opportunities for Principals to enhance their skills and competencies to lead at a systems level, across multiple schools. The Principal on Special Assignment role will take on special projects and assignments that help advance the achievement of APS Strategic Plan goals and the district’s ongoing systems development and capacity building. The specific special projects and assignments will be determined on an annual basis.
With advisement from the Superintendent, the Principal on Special Assignment (POSA) for the Division of the Superintendent will bring expertise as a school leader to oversee special project(s) related to district-wide strategic initiatives.
For the 2020-21 school year: Focus on Recruitment and Retention of Educators of Color
Background. During the 2020-21 school year APS has been partnering with Promise54, a national non-profit focused on human capital strategies and diversity, equity, and inclusion, to develop and begin implementation of an action plan to strengthen the recruitment and retention of color. This APS-Promise54 Action Plan was approved by the APS Leadership Team in December 2020. Several steps in the action plan have begun to be implemented by various staff throughout APS. Specifically, Human Resources established DEI ambassadors to connect with potential candidates of color, hosted the first prospective candidate event for educators of color, and continued its ongoing work expand the candidate pool through recruitment at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), and higher education institutions serving a large population of students of color.
Role. While implementation of this action plan began during the 2020-21 school year, the work will continue over the next few years and beyond the partnership with Promise54. To ensure that APS continues its work to attract and retain outstanding candidates of color, this role will champion, inform, coordinate and support implementation of APS’ work to strengthen its recruitment and retention of educators of color, carrying out and building on the multi-year APS-Promise54 Action Plan. Specifically this role be focused on further developing at the system level and supporting implementation of systemic strategies related to the following goals and action steps from the APS-Promise 54 Action Plan.
- Recruitment Goal: Strengthen/Enhance Grow Your Own Program for students and classified staff to enhance the diversity of APS’ pipeline.
- Retention Goal: Building and/or strengthening a working environment in APS that respects and values the presence of cultural differences in the system so that APS is able to ensure an environment where educators of color want to be, can bring their whole selves, and can thrive in service of helping students shape successful futures.
This role will also:
- Support alignment and coordination of work happening to implement APS’ overarching priority to strengthen its recruitment and retention of educators of color and ensure implementation of and revisions to the APS-Promise54 Action Plan, given that much of this work is happening across different divisions and departments
The strategies within the APS-Promise54 Action Plan that the POSA may be responsible for supporting and/or informing development, implementation, is likely to include the following:
- Enhancing career pathways for APS students to enter the education field, such as a pipeline program
- Clarifying and enhancing career pathways for classified staff to pursue educator licensure and ultimately move into licensed teaching roles, i.e. Grow Your Own
- Launching implementation of a district-sponsored affinity group structure and support for those affinity groups, based on a structure developed during the 2020-21 school year
- Support develop and implementation of a mentoring support group for staff of color, with a likely focus on early career teachers
- Support identification and implementation of strategies that help strengthen, create, and/or sustain working environments that respect and value cultural differences so that educators of color want to sustain. Strategies initially identified in the action plan include identifying and supporting staff with promising strategies to make sure diverse cultures are recognized and thrive in building environments for both staff and students and creating a providing guiding principles and best practices around cultural competence to support environments that foster inclusivity and belonging
Duration: 2 years, subject to annual contract renewal.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
90% Special Projects
The responsibilities for carrying out implementation of the APS-Promise54 Action Plan will include the following duties and responsibilities, some of which may occur in the second year:
- Coordinate and support implementation of the work happening as part of the APS-Promise54 Action Plan to support coherence and alignment in work that is occurring across divisions to implement APS’ overarching priority to strengthen its recruitment and retention of educators of color. Responsibilities for executing this goal will likely include:
- Establishing and facilitating a cross-divisional steering committee focused on recruitment and retention of educators of color to coordinate, align, advise, and progress monitor around the accomplishment of goals and implementation strategies in APS’ Promise54 action plan
- Review, analyze, and present findings from the May 2021 Promise54 Survey data
- Make recommendations to APS Leadership Team around adjustments needed to the APS-Promise54 Action Plan
- Ensure action plan stays on time and on budget
- Coordinate and, as needed, collaborate with other divisions on strategies and action steps that they are responsible for executing
- Provide updates and, as necessary, bring recommendations to Leadership Team on progress of implementation
- Project manage and monitor progress on implementation and impact of strategies using qualitative and quantitative data
- Strengthen and Enhance Grow Your Own Program for students and classified staff to enter teaching profession, which will enhance the diversity of APS’ pipeline, in collaboration with Divisions of Human Resources and Equity in Learning
- Building and/or strengthening a working environment in APS that respects and values the presence of cultural differences in the system so that APS is able to ensure an environment where educators of color want to be, can bring their whole selves, and can thrive in service of helping students shape successful futures. Responsibilities for executing this goal are likely to include:
- Support for district-sponsored affinity group structure and provide support for those affinity groups and facilitators, based on a structure developed during the 2020-21 school year
- Perform other duties as assigned, including availability to substitute or temporarily lead a building while the current school leader is away (i.e., attending professional learning or conferences, etc.)
Experience:
- Current or very recent (within 3 years) APS Principal; APS Assistant Principals with extensive leadership experience and strong leadership skills may be considered
- 5 years of leadership experience strongly encouraged
Skills, Knowledge, Equipment & Other:
- Strong initiative, self-direction and problem solving skills to further define a new role and lead new work and navigate the ambiguity that comes with that
- Ability to translate an idea into clear action steps, a well-rounded program/initiative and effective implementation
- Understanding of and/or experience with human capital management, specifically recruitment and retention. Knowledge of and experience in implementing best practices related to creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive work and learning environments.
- Ability to develop strong collaborative, relationships with peers and others in senior leadership roles and lead through influence
- Strong in-person and virtual facilitation skills to facilitate steering committees and affinity spaces
- Understanding and/or experience designing, implementing, systematizing and scaling programs.
- Advanced knowledge of APS school and district policies, procedures, and management.
- Strong communication and collaboration skills
- Ability to perform complex tasks and to prioritize multiple projects.
- Advanced written, verbal, analytical and listening skills.
- Excellent organization skills.
- Strong project management skills.
- Operating knowledge of and experience with PCs, standard office equipment, Microsoft Office products, and Google Products
Certificates, Licenses & Registrations: Colorado Principal's License
You need to sign in or create an account to save a job.
Get job alerts
Create a job alert and receive personalized job recommendations straight to your inbox.
Create alert