Computer Science Content Specialist

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is a district on the rise, serving over 320,000 students in 500 schools and employing over 44,000 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 Department of STEM at Chicago Public Schools supports inclusive and innovative learning experiences in math, science, computer science and whole-school integrated STEM & STEAM programming across the district. It is our commitment that every day, in every STEM classroom at CPS, all students will: actively make sense of and construct solutions to complex questions; productively contribute to the learning community to support a culture of collaboration, risk-taking, and innovation; and regularly reflect on and communicate their understanding of disciplinary ideas. Through these experiences and purposeful opportunities to face transdisciplinary challenges, students will graduate from CPS with advanced STEM literacies prepared to make the world a better place.

Job Summary:

Reporting to the Computer Science Manager, the primary objective of the Computer Science Content Specialist will be to ensure that the support provided by the Office of Teaching and Learning improves the student experience and outcomes aligned to the CPS Instructional Core Vision. Content Specialists will be assigned to grade bands (K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12), with capacity for one Specialist to act as a lead for each grade band. This position will work as part of a team of hands-on school support personnel to help multiple stakeholders, including school, district and network leaders, to implement high-quality sustainable Computer Science education.

The Computer Science Content Specialist will collaborate closely with other Computer Science Content Specialists to ensure a coherent vision for PreK-12 Computer Science teaching and learning is scaled throughout CPS.

This is a full-time, exempt position that will be paid for time worked on a salary basis.

The Computer Science Content Specialist will be held accountable for the following responsibilities:

• Design and facilitate professional learning for a variety of internal and external stakeholders that deepens their understanding of the CPS Instructional Core and content-specific practices to support it
• Ensure professional learning for CPS Network Chiefs/Deputies, Instructional Support Leaders (ISLs), school leaders, Central Office instructional leaders, external partners, and other educators successfully achieves the following:
• Leading educators in developing, implementing, and refining network-specific professional learning plans that ensure district-wide learning is prioritized and supported within each network
• Building capacity in supporting school leaders and teacher leaders with content-specific learning
• Preparing school leaders and teacher leaders to lead school-based learning through coaching, team meetings, workshops, etc.
• Ensure professional learning for teacher leaders successfully achieves the following:
• Supporting teacher leaders in effectively contributing to their schools’ Instructional Leadership Teams
• Building their capacity to lead their colleagues in content-specific learning and reflection grounded in student learning
• Design and facilitate professional learning for all Computer Science Curricula including:
• Support educators in understanding the philosophy, design principles, components, and systems embedded within the curriculum
• Facilitate unit-specific launch sessions to prepare teachers to successfully implement each unit of instruction
• Provide unit-specific PLC materials to engage teachers in reflection and collaborative problem-solving around Computer Science curriculum implementation
• Contribute to the continuous development of Skyline through the completion of tasks including:
• Evaluating professional learning outcome data to inform future professional learning needs
• Identifying, documenting, and offering solutions around barriers to successful implementation through common progress monitoring systems
• Participating in centralized feedback structures to inform curriculum revision
• Contribute to content-specific guidance, resources, and policy to ensure a consistent instructional vision is promoted within and across content areas
• Collaborate with other department Content Specialists to support shared initiatives
• Maintain content area expertise by staying abreast of current research, practices, and innovation in the field
• Other duties as assigned

In order to be successful and achieve the above responsibilities, the Computer Science Content Specialist must possess the following qualifications:

Education Required:

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university required. Focus in a relevant field of study preferred.
• One of the following teaching credentials issued by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) is required:
• Valid teaching certificate/Professional Educator License (PEL) with appropriate grade level and/or content level endorsement. (Computer Science, LBSI, ESL, or Bilingual Endorsement, preferred.)
• Valid Career and Technical Education (CTE) Educator License with Stipulations (ELS) with appropriate content endorsement (ex: Computer Science, Computer Programming).
• Valid out-of-state, reciprocal license will be considered but must obtain ISBE licensure within 6 months of hire
• Master’s degree in a relevant field of study preferred

Experience Required:

• Minimum of five (5) years of relevant professional experience in education, including the following, is required:
• Minimum of five (5) years of classroom teaching experience, including computer science instruction; three (3) years of teaching experience will be considered in combination with two (2) years of experience in a comparable content specialist role
• Minimum of three (3) years of teacher leadership experience, such as leading school teams in the development of curriculum and assessments, analyzing student performance data, etc.
• Minimum of three (3) years working with adult learners, including creating, organizing, and facilitating professional learning experiences to meet the needs of participants.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Expertise in planning, designing, facilitating, and evaluating professional learning
• Deep knowledge of Computer Science teaching and learning instructional best practices
• Exceptional organizational skills; ability to effectively manage several work streams simultaneously
• Capable of building and sustaining positive, productive relationships with colleagues and stakeholders
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills; comfortable collaborating and communicating across a diverse range of audiences, including network teams, principals, teachers, and support staff
• Commitment to CPS Instructional Core Vision
• Ability to build consensus and leverage expertise with educators across the district
• Excellent technology skills (Google Suite)



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.