Turnaround Specialist

Have you led dramatic gains in achievement at a school or district in a time-compressed way?  Do you have the time, energy, and passion to help fellow principals do the same? Do you wake up every morning wanting to increase life chances for children?

We warranty our results: student achievement will go up in two years' time or we refund the money!

Over the last 21 years, School Turnaround at The Rensselaerville Institute has partnered with some of the country’s most beleaguered schools and districts.  They all have one thing in common: an urgent need to raise student achievement. 

School Turnaround helps principals and superintendents immediately improve academic achievement at persistently low-performing schools. We equip school and district leaders with the strategies, tactics, and focus to dramatically improve academic results within two years’ time.  Our Turnaround Specialists make this happen as the key intervention agent with the school leadership.

The ideal School Turnaround Specialist: 

• Embodies Turnaround with the credibility of having turned around at least one school or district
• Can Build Effective Relationships by investing fully in someone else’s success
• Has Knowledge and Tools to help raise achievement in a time-compressed way

TURNAROUND SPECIALIST JOB DESCRIPTION

Purpose:  The Turnaround Specialist delivers to school leaders a model that offers proven strategies that enable immediate and incisive action and lead to dramatic increases in academic achievement.  To meet this purpose, the Turnaround Specialist will provide personalized support to school leaders that equip them with the tactics, focus, and energy to break underperformance and achieve desired academic results, based on the goals and identified needs of the individual school.

Responsible To: School Turnaround Executive Director

Essential Functions:

The Turnaround Specialists supports the results-focused philosophy and vision of The Rensselaerville Institute. The specialist possesses the skills to support school leaders to turnaround a failing school or district.  Specialists engage and interact regularly with school leaders over the course of the school year.  This is accomplished primarily through in-person site visits, virtual visits, and e-mail communication.  Turnaround Specialists maintain a low profile and add value by providing critical feedback on the implementation of the turnaround design, as well as any needed course corrections.  Turnaround

Specialists are clear that their feedback is important but that ultimately it is the principal and his or her team who will make the turnaround a success.

Due to the nature of turnaround work, the Turnaround Specialist must effectively manage change, conflict, and external disruptions. 

This role requires up to 75% travel as well as the ability to work in a virtual environment.

General Responsibilities:

• Work collaboratively with School Turnaround Executive Director to successfully follow and implement the School Turnaround Protocol.
• Provide capacity-building leadership that promotes independence and sustainable change
• Build a strong working relationship with the school leader and his/her team.
• Observe the principal interact with staff, students, and parents in a variety of settings and give them constructive feedback on their effectiveness and how to improve.
• Demonstrate knowledge using a variety of assessment tools, provide support in using data to improve student achievement, and to reach school’s targets.
• Offer intervention solutions and strategies to reverse factors that block high student achievement
• Challenge the school leader’s thinking to support their ability to work through challenging issues, without taking control of situations.
• Provide feedback and collaboration with School Turnaround’s Instructional Coaches to provide instructional and curriculum support with challenges.
•  Obtain advance approval of the School Turnaround Executive Director for unique activities and expenditures.
•  Attend workshops/conferences to stay abreast of innovative strategies in the field of education.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Executive Director.

Qualifications:

• Master’s degree or higher in education
• Teacher and education leadership certification
• Minimum of five years as school principal
• Experience in researched-based instructional practices
• Evidence of dramatically increasing student achievement in a minimum of three years
• Experience with data analysis and support its use at the school level
• Commitment to success of school leaders

We offer competitive salaries, excellent benefits, flexible work hours, the opportunity to travel, and a chance to work with a collaborative team who are committed to increasing life chances for children through education and community.  If you are a proven turnaround leader who is ready, willing, and able to share what you know with other leaders, please send your resume, letter of interest and provide official state-generated data/support showing you lead a successful school turnaround as either a Principal or Superintendent to Tamara Chalvire at tchalvire@rinstitute.org.