Deputy Chief of Teaching and Learning, Instruction and Program Supports

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is one of the largest school districts in the United States, serving over 330,000 students in 600+ schools and employing nearly 36,000 people, most of them teachers. CPS has set ambitious goals to ensure that every student, in every school and every neighborhood, has access to a world-class learning experience that prepares each for success in college, career, and civic life. In order to fulfill this mission, we make three commitments to our students, their families, and all Chicagoans: academic progress, financial stability, and integrity. Six core values are embedded within these commitments - student-centered, whole child, equity, academic excellence, community partnership, and continuous learning.

The Office of Teaching and Learning (T&L) provides school administrators and teachers with the professional learning and resources needed to engage students in rich and rewarding learning experiences. The Office of T&L comprises various academic and support departments, which work collaboratively to support students' growth and progress in meeting or exceeding state standards for academic excellence.

Job Summary:

The Deputy Chief of Teaching & Learning, Instruction and Program Supports will support the Chief Teaching & Learning Officer in establishing a holistic, research-based strategy for school support. The Deputy Chief of Instructional Supports will oversee the development, implementation, and efficacy of the districts' universal professional learning, new teacher support, and distributed leadership vision as well as creating new systems for grading coherence. The Deputy Chief will provide leadership support for other T&L initiatives, including implementation of the collaborative summer planning, acceleration policy, and advanced programming through the facilitation of continuous improvement cycles at the individual, program and department levels, development of directors as leaders through formalized goal setting and alignment/convergence of work across academic departments.

The Deputy Chief of Teaching & Learning will be held accountable for the following responsibilities:

• Drive the implementation and continuous improvement of the universal professional learning plan to affect significant, trackable improvement in teacher performance and student achievement
• Collaborate with the Chief T&L Officer to provide strong strategic direction and leadership across multiple Teaching & Learning domains, including the following:
  • Advanced Learning and Specialty Programs
  • Distributed Leadership
  • Instructional Systems and Supports
  • New Teacher Induction & Mentoring
  • Professional Learning
  • Student Voice & Engagement
• Lead, professionally develop and evaluate direct reporting department heads:
  • Provide clear leadership and strategic guidance on expectations for supporting universal professional learning, distributed leadership models and new teacher supports
  • Regularly provide feedback regarding individual, team and departmental progress
  • Model a growth mindset, effective collaboration, data utilization and problem-solving
  • Ensure expectations are clearly communicated to department leaders; maintain high levels of accountability related to progress toward achieving set goals and established expectations
  • Support check-ins between Chief Officer and department leaders, as requested
• Support the Chief T&L Officer in driving the annual strategic planning and continuous improvement cycle for the Office of T&L:
  • Partner with the Chief Office and T&L Department heads to develop and refine strategic plans, including clear drivers, implementation and outcome measures for each department, ensuring alignment and convergent priorities across departments
  • Manage and work closely with department leaders to ensure effective progress monitoring and verify that all strategic plans are measurable and measured with timely, accurate, comprehensive data
  • Co-design, oversee and facilitate continuous improvement sessions aligned to strategic priorities for all T&L departments
• Partner with Office of Network Support leadership to identify and coordinate the deployment of differentiated academic supports based on essential data, including formal/informal needs assessments
• Support the Chief T&L Officer in managing operational tasks and processes, such as the following:
  • Represent the Office of T&L through attendance at Board Briefings
  • Assist with preparing any materials necessary to brief Board members on key items and initiatives, including but not limited to those that require a Board vote
  • Collaboration with chiefs across academic departments
  • Work in collaboration with T&L's assigned central office Budget Analyst to develop, administer, and monitor annual budgets aligned to strategic priorities for all T&L departments
  • Work closely with representatives in the Talent Office to facilitate effective hiring and staff support, and support other Talent-related processes
• Collaborate with the Executive Director of Instructional Systems and Supports to identify resources and partnerships that will lead to districtwide grading coherence
• Support the work of content teams and leadership, including planning for large-scale, district-wide events such as the Summer Leadership Institute (SLI)
• Develop effective, strategic relationships with stakeholders beyond the Office of T&L in order to clearly communicate T&L priorities and actively engage in dialogue to inform the effectiveness of T&L work:
  • Network staff, principals, assistant principals and other school-based faculty/staff
  • Other CPS Central Office Departments, such as the Office of College and Career Success (OCCS), Department of Information and Technology Services (ITS), Office of Budget and Grants Management
  • External partners (e.g: Non-profit organizations, philanthropies, universities)
• Act as a representative of the Chief T&L Officer, demonstrating a keen awareness of the moral imperative to work in the best interest of all children
• Other workstreams, projects and duties as assigned or necessary for Office success.

In order to be successful and achieve the above responsibilities, the Deputy Chief of Teaching & Learning, Instructional Supports must possess the following qualifications:

Education Required:

• Master's degree in Education or a related field from an accredited college or university
• Valid teaching certificate issued by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) with relevant content- and/or grade-level endorsement(s) is required. (Candidates with a valid out-of-state, reciprocal license will be considered but must obtain ISBE licensure within 6 months of hire.)
• Doctor of Education (EdD) or Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in a related field is strongly preferred

Experience Required:

• Minimum of ten (10) years of relevant professional experience in education, including the following, is required:
  • Minimum of five (5) years of formal leadership experience managing a team of direct reports within a complex educational organization
  • Minimum of three (3) years of experience as a school principal
  • Classroom teaching experience, including responsibility for designing and building curriculum, developing assessments and analyzing student performance data
  • Experience developing differentiated instructional strategies that address achievement gaps and creating, organizing, and leading professional learning experiences for teacher leaders
• Experience in professional project and change management is preferred

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Capable of effectively navigating the complex fast-paced environment of Chicago Public Schools
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills (speaking - including presentations - listening, and writing), including the ability to connect and clearly communicate with a variety of audiences and all levels of CPS employees and leadership
• Ability to build collaborative relationships with a variety of constituent groups, including external partners, to ensure the entire system operates in the most effective manner possible to support schools and principals
• High levels of instructional expertise, integrity, honesty, credibility, and the courage to make difficult yet necessary decisions.
• Ability to articulate a vision, set high standards, and effectively guide district leaders, schools and principals in the realization of expectations set
• Expertise in leadership development and instructional leadership, including the ability to coach directors and managers toward excellence, build capacity of content area teams and develop meaningful, impactful professional communities for teachers and school leaders
• Strong leadership and team building skills, e.g. ability to develop high performing teams united around a clear vision for serving schools and achieving student success
• Effective strategic planning capabilities, including the ability to establish long-term vision and goals, and align/manage activities toward goal fulfillment
• Knowledge of operations, budget/finance, management and organizational development
• Ability to define problems, analyze data, and outline valid conclusions and action steps

Conditions of Employment

As a condition of employment with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), employees are required to:

• Establish/Maintain Chicago Residency - Employees are required to live within the geographic boundaries of the City of Chicago within six months of their CPS hire date and maintain residency throughout their employment with the district. The Chicago residency requirement does not apply to temporary/part-time positions, however, all CPS employees must be residents of Illinois.
• Be Fully Vaccinated Against COVID-19 - Unless approved for a medical or religious exemption, all employees are required to be up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccinations, including boosters, and to submit proof of vaccination to the district within 30 days of hire. "Up-to-date" on vaccination is defined as being at least two weeks past all primary vaccine doses and any applicable boosters.