Breakthrough San Francisco - Instructional Coach

Instructional Coach

(Literature/Writing, Math, and Science)

Breakthrough San Francisco at SF Day School

Summer Session 2019

Breakthrough Overview

Breakthrough San Francisco at SF Day School provides intensive academic enrichment and ongoing support to motivated San Francisco students with limited educational opportunities, ensuring they are academically successful, on the path to college, and celebrated for all pieces of their identity. Our students are extremely hard working but are under-represented in higher education: of the 244 fifth - twelfth graders currently in our program, 99% are of color; 62% speak a language other than English at home; and 90% will be the first in their families to attend a four-year college. Simultaneously, we train outstanding college students from across the country for education careers. For our summer 2018 residency, we selected 32 out of ~350 applicants to be Teaching Fellows. 100% were high achievers at their colleges and universities; 75% were of color.

The intensive six-week summer program for rising fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth graders is a key component of Breakthrough’s effort to ensure students are receiving academically rigorous instruction through middle school. Summer programming consists of four core academic classes (math, literature, writing, and science), as well as electives, such as knitting, Spanish, and slam poetry. Because Breakthrough utilizes a “students teaching students” model, all summer classes are planned and taught by our exceptional college-aged fellows. Teaching Fellows bring energy, commitment, and a willingness to learn, and Instructional Coaches bring experience and knowledge. Because of this successful partnership, our college students leave the summer inspired: in summer 2018, 100% of our teachers said they would recommend Breakthrough to a friend and 95% said the Instructional Coaches were critical their development.

General Job Description

Instructional Coaches (ICs) are experienced and successful professional educators who provide content-specific support and mentoring for Breakthrough’s Teaching Fellows (TFs) and engage fully in the Breakthrough San Francisco community. ICs dictate the level of academic rigor during Breakthrough’s summer program through their interactions with TFs. Each IC manages four TFs, leading weekly department meetings, visiting classes, evaluating lesson plans, and meeting frequently with individual Teaching Fellows regarding their on-going work. ICs are accountable for the quality of instruction Breakthrough students receive and are responsible for supporting Breakthrough TFs through their first teaching experience. ICs also receive professional development in order to broaden their coaching and leadership skills and set them up for future coaching opportunities in their own schools and districts.

Specific Instructional Coach Duties

Pre-summer:

• Complete two training sessions in May (on weekends or weeknights, depending on availability of the entire IC team)
• Complete pre-summer readings
• Refine existing unit plans in specific content area
• Create assessments for content-specific units
• Meet with program staff to plan teacher orientation workshops

Teacher Orientation:

• Help facilitate teacher training on topics such as classroom culture, lesson planning, and teaching practices
• Participate fully in all orientation workshops and rapidly build professional relationships with TFs
• Guide TFs through lesson planning, sample teaching, and rigorous preparation for the teaching experience

Six-Week Summer Program:

• Provide four TFs with support and regular feedback as they design and revise lesson plans
• Hold TFs accountable for professional deadlines and creating structures to allow them to rapidly grow
• Observe each TF in classroom at least twice weekly
• Conduct weekly one-on-one debrief sessions with TFs, in which they receive concrete feedback
• Plan and lead twice weekly departmental meetings
• Lead at least one large group professional development session
• Check in and communicate regularly with the Director of Curriculum & Instruction regarding TF progress
• Engage fully in the Breakthrough San Francisco community

   

Evaluation Week (done remotely):

• Submit a final narrative evaluation and letter of recommendation for each assigned TF
• Work with TFs to provide revisions and suggestions on curriculum for next summer’s TFs and coaches
• Evaluate overall summer program

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required, Master’s degree preferred
• Outstanding track record as a professional classroom teacher for at least three years (preferably in grades 5-8)
• Outstanding knowledge of subject matter and broad knowledge of available resources
• Superior presentation, writing, and organizational skills
• Exceptional interpersonal skills: ability to hold others to high standards while also offering support and maintaining positive relationships\
• Ability to deliver positive, constructive, and honest feedback, both written and verbal
• Ability to reflect proactively on and participate in discussions around identity, race, and issues of social justice
• Experience with curriculum development and implementation
• Creativity, energy, and commitment to excellence
• Prior experience with Breakthrough or Summerbridge is highly desirable
• Familiarity with San Francisco schools is highly desirable

Commitment

• Pre-summer trainings and preparation (approximately 25-30 hours) Teacher orientation, June 17-21 (8am to 5:30pm)
  Six-week program, June 24 – Aug 2 (30 hours/week) Wrap-Up Week, August 5-7 (completed by ICs remotely)

   

  • Two trainings in May, to be scheduled
  • Curriculum refinement and teacher training preparation, to be done independently
  • Monday-Thursday from 8am to 2pm, possibly finishing earlier some days
  • Fridays from 8am to 12pm

End-of-summer Celebration, Thursday, Aug 1, 6pm-8:30pm

May require some work off-site via email or phone with TFs as needed

Compensation

• Compensation is in the form of a $7,200 stipend.

To apply

The application is available at https://www.breakthroughcollaborative.org/apply-instructional-coach/ and requires a resume and cover letter. Note that Breakthrough Collaborative is a national organization; the application is for sites across the country, so please be sure to indicate your interest in coaching at the San Francisco Day School site. Applications will be evaluated on a rolling basis until mid-March.

For more information, please visit: www.breakthroughsf.org and www.breakthroughcollaborative.org

Questions? Contact Michael, Director of Curriculum & Instruction, at 415-568-3662 or michael@breakthroughsf.org.