Invitation to Apply for K-5 Mathematics Coach at University Charter School:

We are now accepting applicants for a K-5 Mathematics Coach.

Reports to: Director of Instructional Support

Application Deadline: Until position is filled

Start Date: August 1, 2025

Answering the Call

Feeling trapped in the box of the traditional educational model? Ready to rethink rural, K-12 education? Wouldn’t it be cool if you could teach in an innovative rural school that cultivates

students’ creativity and makes learning relevant through real-world experiences? A school in which the content standards are the floor and not the ceiling? A school in which relationships are valued more than compliance? Well, here’s your chance!

We are searching for individuals who are comfortable working in an exciting environment, who are risk-takers and are driven to imagine and explore the limitless possibilities for our students, and who are committed to providing an engaging, yet rigorous, project-based/place-based approach to teaching and learning. Successful candidates will be highly collaborative, yet independent thinkers, and will be comfortable “co-working” with their professional peers. Do you want to teach your students on a deeper level and facilitate opportunities for them to develop their passions beyond the core content? You’ll be able to do just that at University Charter School. UCS is a diverse, student- centered school that is seeking educators who are prepared to lead and are passionate about UCS's

ambitious plans to re-imagine rural education. If you’re tired of the box of tradition, apply to teach at University Charter School, where the box does not exist.

University Charter School

University Charter School (UCS) is an innovative and new PK-12 public charter school that opened in August 2018 in rural Livingston, Alabama. For the 2025-2026 school year, UCS will have ~764 students in grades PK – 12. UCS is designed to be a rural, diverse school that cultivates independent thought, promotes the building of character and civic responsibility, and is committed to preparing all students for personal and professional success through the discovery of individual learning pathways in a rigorous and integrated Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STREAM) focused, project-based and place-based curriculum. The vision of University Charter School is to become a rural model for producing adaptable learners that have a strong sense of place, mission, and rural identity, and who recognize the value of collaboration within a school, across a community, and between diverse rural regions. Our graduates will be prepared to continually meet the demands of an ever changing economy and will be perceived as community leaders and catalysts for meaningful change. We see UCS as a purposeful, place- based, and collaborative pathway to encourage growth and retention in and to restore relevance to our rural community.

UCS is strategically and intentionally located on the campus of the University of West Alabama and was created in partnership with the University of West Alabama. UCS faculty and students will leverage the assets of the University through hands-on partnerships and academic projects with participating colleges and divisions that span health care, education, and the arts, to name a few.

UCS’s approach to education is unique in a number of ways:

• Location: The school’s location on the University of West Alabama campus in rural Sumter County, Alabama, will provide students with the opportunity to build rich and ongoing relationships with each other and benefit from the programs and opportunities available on campus and in our community. Sumter County, our rural community, has been challenged by a lack of high quality educational opportunities, a decline in overall child well-being, high poverty rates, high unemployment rates, low per capita income, and depopulation. UCS was created out of a partnership between the University of West Alabama and a rural, impoverished community in an effort to meet the educational needs of the children. By nurturing the diversity of a divided community, UCS presents a solution to the unique educational challenges that face rural communities by providing a blueprint for others to follow, as well as presents opportunities to demonstrate and implement PK-12 best practices in a rural setting.

• Curriculum: UCS’s curriculum is project-based and place-based, which will provide students with real-world local connections to what they are learning in school. Students will also have the autonomy to direct their course of study, allowing them to pursue academic work and projects that inspire them.

• Diverse by Design - Last but not least, UCS will ensure that a diverse group of students can take advantage of all of the opportunities this school will offer.

Roles and Responsibilities

To ensure all students are proficient on or above grade-level mathematics by the end of fifth grade, the

duties and responsibilities of the building-based mathematics coach outlined in the ANA will include the

following:

a. Supporting the improvement of instruction with an emphasis on Tier 1 instruction to ensure students do not fall behind.

b. Collaborating with the school principal and faculty to establish and implement a strategic plan for coaching and mathematics instruction to improve student achievement in mathematics.

c. Facilitating schoolwide mathematics professional learning, including job-embedded assistance using coaching strategies, including joint preplanning, modeling lessons, co-teaching lessons, targeted observation to collect data and debriefing.

d. Modeling evidence-based mathematics instructional and intervention strategies for teachers.

e. Mentoring and coaching teachers continuously.

f. Assisting teachers in using data to differentiate mathematics instruction and to identify students exhibiting the characteristics of dyscalculia and other exceptionalities.

g. Monitoring the progress of K-5 students in mathematics through benchmark formative assessments at least three times per year and making recommendations for modifying instruction based on the individual needs of students and trends in student data.

h. Focusing solely as a mathematics coach for schools with elementary grade students.

i. Collaborating with teachers and grade-level teams of teachers to foster the use of appropriate instructional materials, including concrete materials, necessary to ensure that students understand mathematical concepts.

j. Collaborating with grade-level teams to develop rigorous tasks, lessons, and assessments aligned with grade-level mathematics content standards; to facilitate the analysis of student work samples and assessment data; and to work in partnership with teachers to provide real-time feedback and make next-step instructional decisions based on the student evidence.

k. Assisting teachers in using formative assessments and analyzing student work to identify students with misconceptions, students exhibiting characteristics of dyscalculia, and students needing acceleration.

l. Assisting teachers in administering early numeracy screeners or diagnostic assessments, or both, in Grades K-2. The assistance of a mathematics coach may not exceed two hours per week.

m. Assisting teachers with administering fractional reasoning screeners or diagnostic assessments, or both, for students in Grades 4 and 5, subject to legislative appropriation. The assistance of a mathematics coach may not exceed two hours per week.

n. Advocating, planning, and coordinating opportunities, in conjunction with the principal, for school-based family and community engagement in mathematics.

o. Participating actively and cooperatively in any OMI regional coordinator and AMSTI regional mathematics specialist visits and professional learning to meet agreed-upon personal outcomes and all school, district, and state-established mathematics goals.

p. Engaging in ongoing learning opportunities to grow in knowledge, skills, and expertise in mathematics.

q. Facilitating the use of assessment data in all tiers of mathematics instruction to assist in making decisions that will move students to higher levels of performance in mathematics.

r. Planning or facilitating, or both, professional learning opportunities that will assist teachers in targeting student deficits; facilitate professional conversations; foster student engagement; assess student learning; reflect on professional practice; and identify next learning steps to achieve state, district, and school goals in mathematics.

s. Recording job duties and time spent with teachers on a state-specified electronic platform.

t. Supporting teachers in the authentic integration of computer science and computational thinking concepts within the mathematics classroom.

Qualifications

The strongest candidates will have the following certifications, skills, and experiences:

• Hold a valid Alabama professional certificate in early childhood education, elementary education, or special education.

• Have a minimum of five years’ experience as an early childhood education, elementary education, or special education teacher.

• Demonstrate expertise, as attested by a current or former employing city or county superintendent of education, in mathematics instruction and intervention and early numeracy interventions, including dyscalculia interventions.

• Hold a master’s degree or have completed professional development recommended by the Elementary Mathematics Task Force or both.

• An undeniable enthusiasm for and commitment to authentically engaging youth

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

• Exceptional organizational and planning skills

• Evidence of excellence in teaching in a student-centered and rigorous environment

• Experience in a project-based learning environment is strongly preferred, but not required

• Willingness to learn, explore, experiment, question, create, critique, and enhance as we RETHINK RURAL EDUCATION.

Salary and benefits

UCS offers a competitive salary dependent upon degree and experience and a comprehensive benefits package including State health insurance and retirement.

Online applications are stored on a secure site

Only authorized employees and hiring authorities have access to the information submitted.

UCS does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religious preference, marital status, disability, national origin, or any other reason prohibited by state or federal law. Employees of the District are required to comply with the provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and Title IX of the 1972 Educational Amendments. Alabama school boards are required by state law to verify the employment eligibility of newly hired employees by using the federal E-Verify program. New employees are required to provide a Social Security number, an unexpired identity document that contains a photograph, and other acceptable documents that establish employment eligibility. In addition to determining whether a new hire is authorized to work in the United States, E-Verify will confirm that the employee's name and Social Security number match. All applicants must pass a background check through the Alabama State Department of Education to be eligible for employment.