Position Description

Diversity Equity & Inclusion Specialists act as champions for fostering teaching and learning environments that encourage culturally responsive teaching. The DEI Specialist role is essential in supporting educational leaders and coaches to develop the knowledge, motivation, and organizational structures needed to support culturally responsive teaching. The specialist role serves as an instructional leader to help deliver on schoolwide and division priority work aligned to SAS2027. In addition to serving as a specialist, the role is expected to teach AP African American Studies as part of their role..

NOTE: Please be sure to indicate in your cover letter areas of experience, strength, and interest for the half-time social studies teaching part of the role (i.e. African American History, US History, Economics, etc.)

Strategic Goal and Shared Commitment: In our current strategic plan and shared commitments, SAS strives to further develop educators’ capacity to teach in culturally responsive ways through a well-researched and consistent approach based on evidence-based practices and by broadening our current curriculum to provide for a greater diversity of voices, authors, experiences and perspectives. Embedded in our shared commitments is the expectation that our curricula be culturally responsive (see IC 4.2). Culturally responsive teaching should be reflected in the curriculum’s intended outcomes, plans for assessment, and daily instruction. It should also be reflected in the concepts and processes of lessons as well as entire courses of study.

Role Description: Curriculum & Instructional Specialists will be teachers on special assignments that are given time to lead and support implementation of targeted curriculum, assessment, and instruction changes while still having a teaching responsibility. The role will be for a minimum of a two year basis. They will support the Office of Learning to lead and support our strategic focus of culturally responsive education and specific recommendations that are the result of subject area renewals in. At a division level, these specialists will partner with division leaders to provide direct support to leadership teams and classroom teachers in the form of culturally responsive coaching, resource development, and professional development. Additionally, these specialists will have a teaching role so they can learn from putting into practice what they are leading and can act as labsites for other teachers. They report to their divisional leadership and the Office of Learning.

In each division (ES, MS, and HS), we are seeking one person who has experience in culturally responsive practice, IDI facilitation, designing and implementing a culturally responsive professional learning and curriculum, and can teach a core or co-curricular content. In addition to their division role, they will each work in collaboration and as a member of the DEI Planning Team to support the advancement of SAS’s DEI strategic goals.

Roles and Responsibilities: The following two sections describe what these specialists will be expected to do during their release time (approximately .4-.5 FTE with the remaining time spent teaching). Specialist work will consist of developing the capacity of instructional leaders, coaches and classroom educators to support culturally responsive education at SAS.

• Developing the Capacity of Instructional Leaders: Specialists will provide ongoing support and development so that instructional leaders (principals, leadership teams, coaches, etc.) can further develop their skills and confidence in supporting culturally responsive education at SAS. Specialists will work with senior/academic leaders, divisional DEI leads, DEI Planning Committee heads, and deans/counselors to do the following:
  • Culturally Responsive Educational Leadership. Facilitate instructional leaders’ knowledge, motivation, and organizational support of culturally responsive educational leadership.
• Culturally Responsive Organizational Leadership. Support instructional leaders in building systems that support a culturally responsive school community.
• Developing the Capacity of Classroom Educators: Specialists will also provide ongoing support and development so that classroom educators can further develop their skills and confidence in enacting culturally responsive teaching and developing equitable mindsets at SAS. In order to do this work, they will fulfill the following responsibilities:
  • Culturally Responsive Resource Provider. Expand educators’ use of resources supporting culturally responsive pedagogy.
• Culturally Responsive Data Coach. Disaggregate and analyze data by student subgroups (i.e., those assigned by race, ethnicity, ability, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, and gender) to uncover potential disparities at the classroom and school level.
• Culturally Responsive Instructional Specialist. Deepen teaching expertise with culturally responsive instruction to meet the needs of culturally diverse students.
• Culturally Responsive Curriculum Specialist. Ensure implementation of a culturally responsive curriculum.
• Culturally Responsive Learning Facilitator. Design culturally responsive professional learning opportunities for educators.
• Culturally Responsive Mentor. Increase the culturally responsive instructional skills of educators and support schoolwide induction of culturally responsive practices.
• Culturally Responsive Leader. Work collaboratively (with formal and informal leaders) to plan, implement, and assess culturally responsive school initiatives to ensure alignment and focus on intended results.
  • Culturally Responsive Agent of Change. Create disequilibrium with the current state as an impetus to explore culturally responsive alternatives to current practice.
  • Culturally Responsive Learner. Model continuous learning in order to keep current, be a thought leader in the school, and model reflecting on culturally responsive practices.
• Culturally Responsive Teacher. As part of the role, SAS desires to have a candidate that can teach and has the following experience and/or qualifications:
• Experience teaching African American Studies is preferred
• Interdisciplinary experience (English and Social Studies) is preferred
• Experience with the C3 framework, NCSS, NY State Content Standards, and explicitly teaching and assessing via the inquiry process is highly desired for this position
• Standards-Based Grading/Standards-Based approaches to assessment.
• Understanding of high-quality culturally-responsive instructional practices
• Be a champion of the SAS Guidebook to Teaching and bring it to life in the learning space
• Note: Experience teaching humanities, world history, US history, economics, law and justice, and/or philosophy, each through an inquiry approach, is highly desired for this position. Candidates should indicate this clearly on their resume/cover letter.

Knowledge and Skills:

• Working with Adult Learners
  • Develops trusting relationships where all feel safe and motivated to take risks, learn and share
  • Develops and facilitates a professional learning environment that is focused on student learning, whether through the lens of culturally responsive education or many other pedagogical approaches
  • Demonstrates and supports reflective practice with both classroom educators and teacher educators
• Collaborative Work
  • Develops collaborative team culture (norms, protocols), whether working with ELC educators to HS educators
  • Fosters mutual responsibility for all group members’ learning when exploring difficult topics
• Communication
  • Uses communication strategies to bring clarity and allow the participants to accomplish tasks
  • Draws on diverse communication strategies to facilitate cross-cultural dialogues
• Knowledge of Content and Pedagogy
  • Ensures the alignment of the curriculum standards and expectations from P-12 through a culturally responsive lens
  • Supports educators and educational leaders in developing standards-based assessments, evaluating multiple sources of data, and differentiating to meet all students’ learning needs through a culturally responsive lens
  • Advocates for culturally responsive teaching practices and systems of support
• Systems Thinking
  • Creates systems goals anchored in a culturally responsive framework
  • Creates and implement plans to meet system goals and sustainability

Qualifications:

• Demonstrated experience in providing culturally responsive leadership to educational leaders and coaches
• Demonstrated willingness to work cooperatively and proactively in a vertical team environment at SAS and beyond
• Demonstrated knowledge of relevant culturally responsive education framework
• Demonstrated ability to equitably teach through culturally responsive practices, intervention, and extension
• Demonstrated knowledge and ability to lead adult learning, professional development, and workshops about culturally responsive teaching
• Demonstrated ability to facilitate coaching conversations related to the intercultural development of community members and it is preferred that they are certified to assess their intercultural development