Director of Curriculum and Instruction

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, celebrated for all aspects of their identity, and on the path to college. In 2020-21, we’re serving 244 young people in grades five – twelve, 92% of whom will be the first in their families to attend a four-year college, and providing persistence support to 73 current college students. In addition, we train outstanding college students for education careers, through our highly selective summer teacher residency, and provide a meaningful service experience to roughly 150 volunteers. Founded in 1993, we are a community involvement initiative of SF Day School and one of two dozen affiliates of the national non-profit organization Breakthrough Collaborative. For more information, please visit www.breakthroughsf.org.

Position Summary

The Director of Curriculum and Instruction provides year-round instructional leadership, ensuring that our fifth - eighth grade students receive academically rigorous instruction in our after-school and summer programs, preparing them for success in the most challenging middle and high schools in San Francisco. The DCI recruits, selects, trains, and manages the volunteers in our after-school program and the Teaching Fellows and Instructional Coaches in our summer program, eliciting their strongest possible performance through frequent observations, coaching, feedback, and two-way communication. Additionally, the DCI leads career exploration programming for Teaching Fellows, guiding them on their entry into the teaching profession. The DCI also oversees student assessment and analyzes results, determining implications for improving teaching and learning, and assists with student support and year-round program planning and operations, including leadership of some community-wide special events. The Director of Curriculum and Instruction collaborates closely with other Breakthrough staff members and reports to Breakthrough San Francisco’s Executive Director.

Essential Functions

School-Year Program

• Co-lead Breakthrough’s academically rigorous after-school program, in close collaboration with Breakthrough’s Director of Middle School Programs.
• Oversee recruitment and selection of after-school program volunteers, yielding a highly committed, reflective, and diverse group of tutors and teachers. Train and manage volunteers. Lead pre-semester and ongoing training sessions. Elicit the strongest possible performance from volunteers through frequent observations, coaching, feedback, and two-way communication. Separately, oversee volunteers providing 1:1 academic support to our high school students.
• Oversee curriculum and assessment. Determine after-school program class offerings, and work with Director of Middle School Programs to make class and tutoring group assignments. Ensure academically rigorous instruction for 5-8th graders throughout the school-year, preparing them for success in the most challenging middle and high schools in San Francisco. Ensure access to instructional supplies, academic enrichment activities, and curricular resources as needed. Oversee student assessment and analyze results, determining implications for improving teaching and learning. Develop year-round educational plans for high-need students.
• Assist with student support, holding students accountable for high standards of behavior and performance.
• Assist with program planning and operations, possibly including student recruitment and selection; Back to Breakthrough Bashes; All-School Meeting; Celebration; recess and dismissal supervision; and emergency preparedness.
• Collaborate effectively with other Breakthrough staff members, as well as staff at SF Day School and other Breakthrough sites nationally; participate actively in staff meetings.
• Complete other projects as needed.

Summer Program

• Co-lead Breakthrough’s intensive, academically rigorous summer program, in close collaboration with Breakthrough’s Director of Middle School Programs.
• Oversee selection of Teaching fellows, yielding an exceptionally committed, reflective, and diverse group of aspiring educators. Assist Breakthrough National’s recruitment efforts as necessary.  Train and manage TFs, creating a professional community characterized by support and high expectations. Lead pre-summer teacher orientation and ongoing professional development sessions. Lead daily faculty meetings and assist the Director of Middle School Programs with weekly grade level-meetings. Support the “Leadership Team”, made of returning TFs, with pre-summer calls and weekly meetings. Elicit the strongest possible performance from TFs through frequent observations, coaching, feedback, and two-way communication. Hold TFs to high standards for lesson planning and delivery, receiving and implementing feedback, punctuality and follow-through, active involvement in the Breakthrough community, and other areas, as outlined in our rubrics. Lead Wrap Up Week. Evaluate TFs’ performance post-summer.
• Oversee recruitment and selection of Instructional Coaches, yielding an exceptionally committed, reflective, and diverse group of professional educators. Train and manage ICs, creating a professional community characterized by support and high expectations. Recruit, hire, and support 1-2 “Lead IC(s)”as they provide additional support to the IC team.  Lead pre-summer training sessions and assist Lead IC(s) in running weekly IC meetings. Support ICs in the development of ongoing professional development for TFs. Elicit the strongest possible performance from ICs through frequent observations, coaching, feedback, and two-way communication. Oversee summer wrap-up work.
• Oversee curriculum and assessment. Ensure academically rigorous instruction for 5-8th graders throughout the summer, preparing them for success in the most challenging middle and high schools in San Francisco. Ensure access to instructional supplies and curricular resources as needed. Oversee student assessment and analyze results, determining implications for improving teaching and learning. Develop year-round educational plans for high-need students.
• Lead career exploration programming for Teaching Fellows, facilitating TFs’ awareness of a wide range of pathways into the teaching profession. Provide ongoing career guidance post-summer.
• Assist with student support, holding students accountable for high standards of behavior and performance.
• Lead community-wide special events, possibly including College Day and Outdoor Education trips. Assist as needed with program planning and operations, possibly to include All-School Meeting; advisory; hallway, lunch, recess, and dismissal supervision; weekly special events; and emergency preparedness.
• Possibly, help to lead roll-out of summer program for rising ninth grade Breakthrough students.
• Collaborate effectively with other Breakthrough staff members; participate actively in staff meetings.

• Complete other projects as needed.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree (master’s degree a plus)
• At least 3-5 years of professional teaching experience, ideally at the middle school level
• Experience with teacher training, coaching, and instructional leadership
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with first-generation college students and their families
• Demonstrated ability to hold students to high standards and achieve meaningful results
• Demonstrated commitment to educational equity
• Demonstrated cultural competence and commitment to anti-racist and social justice education
• Demonstrated history of reflecting on own performance and striving for professional growth
• Excellent organizational and time management skills
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills
• Supervisory/managerial experience highly desirable
• Prior experience with Summerbridge/Breakthrough highly desirable
• Familiarity with San Francisco public and/or private schools a plus
• Fluency in Amharic, Cantonese, Spanish, and/or Tigrinya a plus

Commitment and Compensation

• Year-round, full-time, salaried position, beginning May or June 2021.
• Due to COVID-19 precautions, Breakthrough will operate virtually through the end of summer 2021; the Director of Curriculum and Instruction can be based anywhere until that time. As of September 2021, the DCI must be based in the San Francisco Bay Area to allow for in-person work, if public health conditions allow.
• Competitive compensation and benefits package, commensurate with education and experience and consistent with SF Day School personnel policies.