Chief Executive Officer

THE ORGANIZATION: 

Match Education is a Boston-based engine of education innovation working to develop new approaches to delivering outstanding education to high-need students and to disseminate our learnings nationwide. 

Match Education is the shared brand name of Match Charter Public School ("MCPS"), The Match Foundation, Inc. (the "Match Foundation") and The Charles Sposato Graduate School of Education, Inc. ("Sposato"). 

Match Education consists of a PreK-12 charter network serving 1,250 students, a graduate school of education that trains teachers for high-poverty schools, and a division to ‘export’ all of Match Education’s learning over 20 years on instruction, curriculum and school management to serve all educators. Each of MCPS, the Match Foundation and Sposato have their own governing boards and, using the shared Match Education brand name, focus on the following areas of work:

Match Charter Public School (MCPS) (http://www.matchschool.org/) is a high-performing, innovative charter public school network in Boston, serving high-need students from PreK to 12th grade on multiple campuses across the city. We work, in partnership with families, to prepare students to succeed in college and beyond, in particular, those who would be the first in their families to earn a college degree. Match High School's founding principal once said, "kids don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." These words still guide the work across our schools. Faculty and staff at MCPS strive to create a highly supportive environment where all students are held to high expectations and experience high academic achievement. MCPS, with an operating budget of $23M annually, receives public funding from both the state and federal governments, is tuition-free and open to any Boston resident. 

The Charles Sposato Graduate School of Education (http://www.sposatogse.org/) trains teachers to succeed at being excellent educators in high-need classrooms from day one of teaching. With an annual operating budget of $1.5M+, Sposato grants a Master’s in Effective Teaching (MET) degree. The approach relies on coursework mapped backwards from the challenges of effective first year teaching, and a unique coaching model which drives rapid growth in trainees’ skills and habits. The most recognized charter schools in the country hire graduates and pay for teacher training.

Match Export (http://www.matcheducation.org/export/overview/) leverages the applied work from MCPS and Sposato; it refines, codifies and disseminates the strongest practices to serve all educators. Match Minis is a library of bite-sized, animated videos on teaching practice and teacher coaching. Match Fishtank shares the curriculum developed over 15 years in MCPS. These sites are growing rapidly and currently are on a path to reach 300,000 unique visitors over the next year. Match Export is planning a new endeavor to sell on demand professional development courses for teachers through Match Schoolhouse. These modestly priced courses will cover topics in teaching practice, instructional coaching, and curriculum implementation. Match Export seeks to reach 10% of teachers and instructional leaders over the next five years through these websites.  

THE OPPORTUNITY:

All three programs mentioned above are supported by a combined, high-functioning central office that manages finance, fundraising, operations, legal and real-estate. Match Education incubated, and is currently spinning out, a program named Duet (formerly named Match Beyond), a hybrid college and jobs program that seeks unprecedented degree completion rates and employment outcomes.  

Building on a rich history, the CEO will inspire the Match Education team, lead through a period of change, and marshal the financial resources required to deliver the organization’s next phase of impact. S/he will specifically:

• Provide a unifying vision, as well as differentiated supports, across the three entities;
• Partner with the Board of Trustees and Executive Director of MCPS to strengthen and continuously improve core education work, with a goal of sustaining excellence in student outcomes over time;
• Maximize the impact of Sposato and Match Export;  
• Mentor and manage the leaders of MCPS, Sposato, Match Export and the central-office leadership supporting these areas of work and three legal entities; and ensure that Match Education is capturing the full value of having these unique assets together;
• Support the recruitment, development, and retention of talent as well as a positive performance culture across all entities;  
• Fundraise for the entire organization; 
• Represent Match Education in a variety of venues and engage all communities (students, parents, teachers, and other internal as well as external stakeholders); 
• Ensure effective, aligned operations and infrastructure; and 
• Explore, over time, new opportunities for innovation that could serve as models in the field of education.

QUALIFICATIONS

With a background in education, Match Education’s next CEO will bring a track record of results and strong leadership, as well as strategy, problem-solving and change management skills. The CEO can point to examples of success: mentoring senior leaders; driving continuous improvement; building trust with a variety of internal and external stakeholders (families, community members, donors); supporting an inclusive culture; and managing within a complex fiscal and legal environment. 

Across our work at Match Education, we seek outstanding educational outcomes for the students and clients we serve. We believe that three aspects of our work and organization – a staff that is diverse by race and other factors, a professional environment that is inclusive of all perspectives, and a curriculum in our PreK-12 school that is culturally competent – are vital to our goals and mission.

Please share nominations or submit a resume and cover letter, in MS Word format, to Kathleen Yazbak and Nora Nichols at Viewcrest Advisors: apply@viewcrestadvisors.com