Director Of Elementary Clinical Education

The Director of Elementary Clinical Education oversees the clinical education and development of elementary educators across St. Louis Teacher Residency’s two-year teacher preparation program, with a goal of ensuring that students in St. Louis have access to effective, well-prepared teachers. As the leader of the elementary education program, the DECE will invest teacher-candidates and STLTR staff in the critical importance of equitable, affirming teaching and learning practices.The DECE manages a team of teacher preparation faculty who teach clinically-oriented coursework and serve as instructional coaches across a wide network of school partners. In this role, the DECE will support the design and facilitation of elementary coursework and develop and implement coaching and feedback protocols. The DECE will facilitate coursework aligned to STLTR’s Vision for Effective Teaching, focused on core practices for elementary education, instructional planning, and data-driven instruction, and will ensure all courses include anti-racist and culturally sustaining pedagogical practices. The DECE will report to the Managing Director of Program.

About Us

OUR MISSION

St. Louis Teacher Residency (STLTR) recruits, trains, and supports high-quality teachers who are committed to the city’s public schools.Through a model of rigorous clinical preparation, St. Louis Teacher Residency prepares aspiring teachers who are capable of accelerating student achievement from the moment they enter the classroom as a teacher of record.

St. Louis Teacher Residency is designed as a two-year program, in which teacher candidates earn their Missouri teacher license in the areas of elementary education, or secondary language arts, math, or science at the end of their initial apprenticeship year.In the second year, candidates become a lead teacher-of-record while continuing to pursue their Master’s degree with our university partner, Washington University in St. Louis.

CORE BELIEFS

In steadfast support of our teachers, and the students, families, and communities they serve, St. Louis Teacher Residency is founded upon and committed to three core beliefs.

• Every student in St. Louis deserves an effective teacher.
• Teachers thrive in a supportive and joyful professional community, which encourages critical feedback and reflection.
• Great teaching results from an understanding of theory, intensive practice, and an ongoing commitment to excellence.

IMPACT

By training and developing teachers specifically for the St. Louis context, STLTR plays an integral role in alleviating educational inequities that persist in our region along racial and economic lines.Additionally, STLTRis working to address teacher shortages in St. Louis by growing from an initial cohort of 20 teachers to an organization serving 75 teachers each year across multiple support and preparation pathways.In this way, STLTR will impact almost 5,000 new students in each year of operation.

Core Position Duties & Responsibilities

• Team Management: Manage and develop strong instructional faculty who are focused on equity and operate with a commitment to serving our communities.Observe and provide feedback to STLTR instructional faculty and coaches to ensure consistent resident development across training sites.
• Development of Instructional Coaching Competencies: Develop key coaching strategies and competencies, training our team on their use of instructional coaching techniques such as coaching for equitable mindsets, building resilience, live coaching, and lesson preparation protocols and feedback.
• Program Design & Evaluation: In collaboration with colleagues on the program leadership team, develop a clear vision for effective teaching, defining what residents should know and be able to do by the end of the residency program. Oversee Year 1 residents and their mentors at training sites to ensure a productive mentoring relationship and learning environment. Implement a valid, efficient, and learning-oriented evaluation system to measure residents’ performance.
• Cohort Culture & Experience: Develop a clear vision for a strong cohort community focused on impact, membership, and belonging; implement strategies, in collaboration with instructional faculty, to maintain a strong cohort throughout the academic year.
• Progress Monitoring: Manage team toward meeting teacher preparation and teacher retention goals. Use data collection systems to monitor the team’s progress in reaching these outcomes. Make strategic adjustments to remediate key content. Discuss and analyze resident performance data to inform shifts in coursework, improve program design, and make adjustments to instructional coaching.
• Leadership Team: As a member of the leadership team, collaborate on key organizational decisions, contribute to a welcoming and inclusive team culture, and reflect upon and lead efforts for organizational improvement.
• Foster External Partnerships: Build and maintain strong relationships with principals and other school leaders; work in partnership to problem-solve challenges.
• Development and Teaching of Graduate-level Courses: Design and facilitate effective, clinically oriented teacher preparation coursework that enriches and drives residents’ success in their classroom apprenticeship. Ensure that all courses foster the development of anti-racist and culturally sustaining pedagogical practices.

Characteristics & Qualifications

To be a strong fit for this role, a candidate must display a deep understanding of St. Louis Teacher Residency’s mission, and strong alignment with this mission in terms of their own mindsets, beliefs, and prior work experiences. We seek a self-starter with a high-degree of personal integrity and who is adept at flexible thinking. Additionally, the candidate must demonstrate evidence of our core values and our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The following qualifications are required for a candidate in this position:

• Awareness of and comfort with issues of diversity, specifically relating to race, class, and gender; ability to engage in and facilitate discussions about diversity, equity, inclusion, and identity.
• Evidence of building and leveraging authentic relationships with students, teachers, and/or colleagues from ethnically, racially, and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
• Evidence of setting clear goals, monitoring progress, and making strategic adjustments toward those goals.
• Deep knowledge of research-based instructional practices and assessment, including in elementary literacy and math.
• Minimum of 7 years of professional experience in the field of education or a closely related field. Preference for candidates with direct experience managing teams.
• Experience working in schools that predominantly serve students from low-income neighborhoods and from ethnically, racially, and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
• Evidence of designing and implementing high-impact teacher professional development or clinically-oriented teacher education coursework.
• Evidence of observing, coaching, and facilitating the development of elementary teachers.
• Graduate degree in education or a related field. (Master’s degree required, Ph.D./ Ed.D. preferred)

Additionally, the following qualifications are preferred:

• Evidence of establishing and implementing practices to effectively support and retain Black educators and educators of color.
• Evidence of supporting racial affinity groups and other structures to support the well-being of teachers from racially and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
• Knowledge of research-based practices to ensure early literacy instruction aligns with the science of reading.

To Apply: Please send a cover letter and resume to the attention of Anne Lamb, our Managing Director of Program & Evaluation at [email protected]. In the subject line, please enter: “Director of Elementary Clinical Education: Application Materials.”

Compensation: The starting compensation for this role is between $80,000 and $95,500. Generally, we expect that qualified candidates will receive an offer between $82,500 and $90,000. The starting pay will depend on a variety of factors that may include but are not limited to experience, education, and training.

Learn More: Questions about the role? Visit our website: www.stlteach.org or contact the hiring manager, Anne Lamb, at [email protected].

St. Louis Teacher Residency believes in the importance of being a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization that enables our teachers and staff to thrive. We are committed to building a talented team that reflects the diverse backgrounds and experiences of the students and communities that we serve. As an equal opportunity employer, STLTR hires without consideration to race, religion, creed, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, color, age, disability, or any personal characteristic protected by applicable law.