Whole Child Problem-Based Learning Coach

SANKOFA MISSION

The mission of Sankofa School of Success, Inc. is to create an environment that is safe, nurturing and seeks to meet students’ academic, social and emotional needs using neuroscience, mindfulness, and rigorous education.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Title Whole Child Problem-Based Learning Coach

Job Type Stipend

TO APPLY: Please click the link HERE

SUMMARY OF ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

The ideal candidate has a passion for teaching skills beyond core literacy and math, with a particular emphasis on employability skills like problem-solving, collaboration, and self-awareness. This role will lead a K-6 multidisciplinary problem-based learning department focused on helping students develop future employability skills such as problem solving, communication, and collaboration. Major duties include program management, problem-based learning experience planning, and coaching of four teachers. The Whole Child Problem-Based Learning team will teach in a “specials” model where they teach each group of students in the school once per week and lead innovative interdisciplinary problem-based learning experiences with a rotating grade level once per week.

QUALIFICATIONS:

EDUCATION: Bachelor's Degree required

LICENSE: Must hold a valid Indiana State Teacher's License. Must be deemed Highly Qualified in accordance with the Indiana Department of Education.

EXPERIENCE

Required:

• 3 years experience as an effective or highly effective licensed teacher
• Experience leading problem-based learning
• Demonstrated history of increasing student achievement
• Demonstrated history of influencing other adults to improve student achievement

Preferred:

• Experience teaching in an elementary specials or related arts model
• Experience teaching in a schoolwide problem-based learning, project-based learning or interdisciplinary model
• Instructional coaching and/or formally leading adults (i.e. manager or team leader)
• Experience working in a Title I school or with a similar population of students

COMPETENCIES:

• Problem-Based Learning Planning: Proficiency in planning problem-based learning lessons that are culturally responsive, engage authentic audiences in the community, and emphasize employability skills
• Exemplary Student Engagement: Demonstrate excellence and ability to model the creation of positive classroom culture with structures that enable rich problem based learning experiences.
• Program and Event Management: Highly organized and detail-oriented planning of events, including creating schedules, roles and responsibilities, budgets, and partner communication.
• Team Leadership Skills: Lead a team of adults to collectively plan and achieve goals for students by demonstrating leadership practices such as:
  • Leadership Skills: Communication, decision making, delegation & accountability
  • People Management: Listening, conflict resolution, providing constructive feedback and recognition, and building trust
  • Professional Development: Coaching and mentoring team members and leading by example
  • Strategic Thinking: Problem solving, adaptability, prioritization, and resource management
  • Operational Excellence: Project and time management, organization, and standard setting
  • Emotional Intelligence: Self awareness and regulation, motivating team members, relationship building across stakeholders, and cultivating a positive team culture
• Content Knowledge: Familiarity with elementary school wellness, social studies, and integrated STEM standards as well as CASEL social emotional competencies.
• Visionary Leadership: Make the case for adopting a new and innovative teaching approach and build out the vision and structures to support the launch of a brand new team.
• Use of Evidence-Based Instructional Practices: Demonstrate understanding and use of evidence-based instructional strategies
• Relationship Building & Collaboration: Foster collaborative relationships with students, colleagues, families, and other stakeholders and share work with others to maximize impact
• Operational Efficiency: Utilize time management and organizational strategies that maximize instructional impact while fulfilling operational duties with accuracy and timeliness
• Growth Mindset: Commit to ongoing professional learning, seeking and applying feedback and staying grounded in a belief in our students’ potential
• Adaptability & Resilience: Demonstrate willingness to try new approaches, show flexibility and patience with change, and communicate concerns and potential solutions proactively as challenges arise

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Problem-Based Learning Team Leadership

• Plan weekly interdisciplinary problem-based learning experiences that incorporate authentic audiences and experiential learning in collaboration with PBL teachers and general education teachers.
• Train other school staff with strategies and systems to reinforce the development of social emotional and employability skills developed in Whole Child PBL classes.
• Provide professional development, modeling, and coaching to help PBL teachers design units and lesson plans that follow principles of problem-based learning and develop and assess employability skills
• Provide specific, actionable feedback and meaningful recognition to team members, with special attention to supporting apprentice teachers
• Teach Whole Child PBL lessons in the event of team member absences or vacancies
• Effectively communicate team progress, resource needs, and growth opportunities to instructional coaches and administrators

Instructional & Social Emotional Excellence

• Lead team to create and maintain environments conducive to safety and learning that promote both intellectual growth and emotional well-being
• Oversee the delivery of rigorous, engaging lessons tailored to meet the diverse needs of all students
• Implement evidence-based instructional strategies and apply neuroscience and mindfulness principles to support students' developmental needs

Data-Driven Practice

• Frequently assess and document student skills and growth across academic, social, emotional, and behavioral domains
• Utilize common assessments and shared data systems across the team to evaluate student learning and instructional effectiveness
• Collaborate with colleagues to analyze student work and assessment data and plan targeted instructional adjustments

Communication & Collaboration

• Meet and communicate regularly with leaders across the school to collaboratively own student engagement and achievement
• Develop and monitor shared communication and collaboration systems for the Whole Child PBL team that align with schoolwide systems
• Encourage meaningful family involvement in the educational process, including their participation in PBL experiences
• Collaborate effectively with administration, student support staff, and all staff
• Seek and utilize community resources to enhance instructional programming, particularly as partners and audiences for PBL experiences
• Resolve conflicts promptly using reason and emotional intelligence, focusing on solutions rather than blame
• Uphold school policies and procedures while contributing to a culture of excellence and accountability.

Professional Growth

• Attend and participate fully in all professional development opportunities
• Solicit and respond to feedback to continuously improve instructional practice
• Proactively communicate challenges with a solutions-mindset

Perform other duties as assigned.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES: Serve as instructional coach to fellow Whole Child Problem Based Learning teammates.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: Ability to read and comprehend simple instructions, short correspondence, and memos. Ability to effectively present information in one-on- one, small group, and large group situations.

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS: Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent and to draw and interpret bar graphs.

REASONING ABILITY: Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out detailed but written or oral instructions. Ability to deal with problems involving a few concrete variables in standardized situations.

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS: Must hold a valid Indiana State Teacher's License in Elementary Education (K-6). Must be deemed Highly Qualified in accordance with the Indiana Department of Education

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit and use hands to find, handle, or feel. The employee frequently is required to talk or hear. The employee is required to stand; walk; reach with hands and arms; climb or balance; and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 20 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 50

pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.

WORK ENVIRONMENT: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally exposed to wet and humid conditions and outside weather conditions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

DISCLAIMER:

The above job description is designed to denote the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications of employees assigned to this job.