DISTRICT OVERVIEW

Holyoke Public Schools is a PreK-12 public school district serving nearly 5,100 students, of whom 80 percent are Latino/Latina, in 11 schools. We employ nearly 1,300 people who together educate and support a richly diverse community of learners. We are committed to recruiting and retaining top-quality educators who believe all children can and will learn and who strive daily to make school a joyful place of discovery, support, and belonging.
Holyoke Public Schools’ strategic plan, “Moving Forward Together,” builds on the strengths of our past while serving as a call to action to accelerate student learning by thinking differently about how we teach, how we work together, and how we support students’ well being.

Our Equity Commitments are pledges we are making to address systemic equity challenges.

• We intentionally build a community that is anti-racist, inclusive, and culturally responsive.
• We ensure that students, families, and staff get the support they need to be successful.
• We seek out and incorporate the voices of those impacted, with a commitment to include those who have been excluded in the past.
• We promote access and inclusion for all students, staff, and families.
• We respect, embrace, and honor the diversity of our students, families, staff, and community.
• We reflect on our own behavior to minimize harm to others.
• We create a culture of acceptance and empathy so that everyone feels valued and is able to contribute to our community’s success.

Please visit the Holyoke Public Schools website to learn more about us as well as some of our recent accomplishments.
Las Escuelas Públicas de Holyoke son un distrito escolar público de prekínder a 12.° grado que acoge a casi 5100 estudiantes, de los cuales el 80 por ciento son latinos/latinas. Empleamos a casi 1300 personas que, juntas, educan y apoyan a una comunidad de estudiantes muy diversa. Estamos comprometidos a contratar y retener educadores de alta calidad que tengan la certeza de que todos los niños pueden y podrán aprender, y que también se esfuercen diariamente por hacer de la escuela un lugar alegre de descubrimiento, apoyo y pertenencia.
El plan estratégico de las Escuelas Públicas de Holyoke , “Avanzando Juntos”, toma en cuenta nuestras fortalezas anteriores y al mismo tiempo sirve como un llamado a la acción para acelerar el aprendizaje de los estudiantes a través de una perspectiva diferente sobre cómo enseñamos, cómo trabajamos juntos y cómo apoyamos el bienestar de los estudiantes.

Nuestros compromisos de equidad son promesas que hacemos para abordar los desafíos de equidad sistémica.

• Construimos intencionadamente una comunidad antirracista, inclusiva y culturalmente receptiva.
• Nos aseguramos de que los estudiantes, las familias y el personal reciban el apoyo que necesitan para tener éxito.
• Buscamos e incorporamos las voces de los afectados, con el compromiso de incluir a los que han sido excluidos en el pasado.
• Promovemos el acceso y la inclusión de todos los estudiantes, el personal y las familias.
• Respetamos, acogemos y honramos la diversidad de nuestros alumnos, familias, personal y comunidad.
• Reflexionamos sobre nuestro propio comportamiento para minimizar el daño a los demás.
• Creamos una cultura de aceptación y empatía para que todos se sientan valorados y puedan contribuir al éxito de nuestra comunidad.

Por favor, visite el sitio web de las Escuelas Públicas de Holyoke en www.hps.holyoke.ma.us para obtener más información sobre nosotros y algunos de nuestros logros recientes.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Instructional Coach/ Expert Teacher (IC/ET) are exceptional educators who are recognized as models of excellence. IC/ET have at least five years of relevant experience, possess deep expertise in their craft as an outstanding educator, and are able to support the continual development of all teachers. The IC/ET will collaborate/assist the District Academic Department and schools to support the district’s improvement, including but not limited to curriculum resource development, professional development facilitation, coaching staff, leading teacher collaboration, and participation in focus groups/additional training, etc.
The Instructional Coach/Expert Teacher will focus on enhancing student learning and achievement leading to improved school performance. In order to accomplish these goals, the Instructional Coach (Expert Teacher) will work with teachers and school administrators to enhance teachers’ ability to provide instruction that is engaging, academically rigorous, culturally responsive, builds off students funds of knowledge, and aligned to the district adopted curriculum. The Instructional Coach (Expert Teacher) will focus his/her work on the implementation of school and district priorities and adopted curricula, using student performance data and classroom observations to guide his/her work. Using the structures of department/grade level team meetings, professional development time, and classroom based coaching, the Instructional Coach (Expert Teacher) will work with teachers in small groups and individually to support their improved practice. The School-based Instructional Coach (Expert Teacher) will also be responsible for providing at least one cohort of students with explicit intervention to accelerate their learning and achievement. The Instructional Coach (Expert Teacher) will complete 10 extra work days beyond the teacher’s contract in order to support the district (5 days determined by the District CIO- to occur primarily over the summer or DW PD days) and school-based planning (5 days determined by the principal).

ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Strong interpersonal skills
• High expectations for self and others, and the ability to help others meet those high
• expectations
• Proven leadership and exceptional ability to lead people
• Ability to organize workload independently and set priorities; to adapt quickly to changing priorities; and perform multiple interrelated tasks under deadline pressures
• Proven track record of strong strategic planning and problem solving
• Understanding of student-centered coaching models

Under the direction of District directors and the school principal(s):

• Thoughtfully and deliberately cultivate collaborative relationships with teachers, administrators and fellow Instructional Coaches (Expert Teachers) in order to effectively influence strong culturally responsive classroom practice.
• Work with the Academic Department and School leadership to ensure cohesive, districtwide use of best practices in coaching, develop/coordinate vertically aligned curriculum, and support consistent instructional practices.
• Work with teachers to ensure their instruction is aligned to the appropriate standards, curriculum, and assessments, as well as to help teachers enhance themselves as learners. This will include, but is not limited to:
• Reviewing and analyzing curriculum resources to ensure teachers have all of the
• resources they need to address standards.
• Reviewing and analyzing district assessments including ensuring high quality
• design of assessments
• Understanding the district scope and sequence (across all grade levels)
• Maintain a confidential relationship with teachers in order to observe classroom
• instruction and offer comprehensive analysis and feedback
• Conducting demonstrations and modeling lessons for classroom teachers
• Lead teacher study groups and/or PLCs to increase content and pedagogical of
• content instruction
• Attending professional development and sharing new learning with staff
• Support the development of curriculum by facilitating work groups
• Cultivate a standards-based, data and results-oriented culture
• Lead and participate in ongoing and job-embedded professional development for the purpose of conveying and/or gathering information related to content knowledge, pedagogy and coaching
• Collaborate with teachers, principals, and academic directors in determining appropriate resources and materials for future purchases. Review and revise current curriculum materials to ensure that all resources represent diverse cultural experiences and support anti-racist goals of the district.
• Serve as a resource in identifying appropriate research-based instructional strategies and interventions to improve student learning and achievement
• Serve as content experts/consultants on school-based or district learning walks