2025-26 OA Manager or Director of Academics (New Orleans)

The internal priority application deadline is January 21, 2025 at 8:00 AM.

Summary of Role: The role of the OA Director or Manager of Academics is to ensure that every student receives a high-quality program at Opportunities Academy. We are looking for a unique individual who is passionate about OA’s mission, instructional excellence, teacher development and preparing students for post-secondary outcomes. This individual will be responsible for bringing to life OA’s Vision for Excellent Instructional Spaces. The Director or Manager of Academies must be excited and ready to build strong adult culture and develop the team to raise the bar for student achievement.

Summary of Organization: Opportunities Academy (OA) is a program dedicated to serving 18-22-year-old students with disabilities. OA was founded in 2014 when Collegiate Academies recognized a need for post-secondary opportunities for students with moderate to significant disabilities that pushes independence, exploration of passion and builds technical skills for students in the same way we expect college and career training programs to do for our students exiting high school with typical high school diplomas. OA seeks to build its program to support both rigor and choice in diverse settings to reach its ultimate mission: to equip all students with the passion and tools to be productive and world-changing members of their community.

Role and Responsibilities:

Culture and Team Building

• Build an aspirational culture that drives rigorous programming for students with significant disabilities.
• Build systems and structures for effective teaming including but not limited to: sharing of bright spots, sharing and reinforcement of priorities, managing logistics.
• Develop working relationships with critical agencies to ensure our students have the rehabilitative and wrap-around services necessary to maximize their career and independent living outcomes.
• Partner with parents and families to ensure they are connected with all critical agencies, are invested in their student’s goals, and are partners in ensuring a rigorous placement post-OA graduation.
  
  

Programming and Curriculum

• Ensure programming is high quality and aligned to rigorous outcomes for every student enrolled at OA.
• Collaborate with the Opportunities Academy teachers, Directors of Intervention and other relevant stakeholders to develop and document excellent curriculum for academic programming.
• Facilitate internships both on and off-campus that ensure rigorous experiences for students in Opportunities Academy that align to their individualized and rigorous goals.
  
  

Teacher and Staff Development

• Manage OA team members and related service providers through regular observation, coaching and feedback cycles and evaluations to increase performance and impact of the OA team.
• Develop and implement ongoing professional development for the OA team.
  
  

Mindsets, beliefs and skills:

• Unwavering belief in the potential of all young people to achieve rigorous and dignified academic, professional, and personal success.
• Experience working directly with people from diverse racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
• The ability to coordinate, prioritize, and manage a variety of diverse and challenging tasks and systems while maintaining a high level of attention to detail
• Proven ability to develop and drive a culture of achievement for all youth and adults.
• Commitment to OA’s core values:
• Growth: Develops themselves constantly and urgently.
• Ownership: Never wait for someone else to remove obstacles towards our mission.
• Joy: We love what we do and share our gratitude for the work openly.
• Community: We build, and maintain, positive relationships while collaborating on shared outcomes.
• Gratitude: We are gracious, and express appreciation, constantly.
• Excellence: We set the bar high; and we do the work to reach it.
• Responsibility: We rely on ourselves to take action; and we hold each other accountable.
  
  



Qualifications

• Special education certification, including time working as an IEP case manager and teaching in a specialized setting.
• Bachelor’s Degree
  
  

Salary:

• The salary scale for a Manager position is $50,000 to $65,000.
• The salary scale for a Director position is $60,000 to $75,000.
  
  

To Apply:

Please submit a resume and cover letter. In your cover letter, please explain how you heard about Collegiate Academies and your interest and qualifications for the position. In the application, you will also be asked to answer the following questions. You may want to plan your answers in advance of beginning the application:

• Why are you drawn to the mission of Collegiate Academies?
• Describe a time in your career where you had to grow dramatically in your mindsets and skills to ensure student performance. What was challenging about this? How did you do?
• What gives you energy at work on a daily basis and what at work drains your energy on a daily basis?
  
  

Disclaimer: Collegiate Academies encourages individuals of all identities and backgrounds to apply for this position. We are an equal opportunity employer, fully committed to hiring a talented and diverse group of individuals. Collegiate Academies does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, creed, color, national origin or ancestry, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, disability, or any other category protected by applicable law. In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire. Being authorized to work in the U.S. is a precondition of employment. Collegiate Academies does not sponsor employment visas.