Professional Learning Specialist (ELA)

Title: Professional Learning Specialist (Leadership Development)

The School District of Philadelphia is committed to becoming the fastest improving District in  the country and transforming the educational opportunities it offers to our city’s more than  194,000 students. The District seeks leaders who have a passion for working with schools and  communities who are committed to ensuring all students achieve. Serving a population as  diverse as ours requires creativity, commitment and vision. Will you join us? 

Job Summary 

The School District of Philadelphia is committed to having schools staffed with great teachers  and principals. Professional Learning Specialists are responsible for supporting the continuous  development of teachers, principals, and support staff. Professional Learning Specialists  design, align, and facilitate, professional learning opportunities for educators throughout the  School District of Philadelphia (SDP). Work involves formulating and implementing plans to  meet the short-term and long-term needs of the District’s teaching and administrative staff.  Work additionally involves determining training and personnel development needs on a learning  network, school and individual level. Professional Learning Specialists are tasked with  providing high-quality professional growth opportunities that will enhance educators’ leadership,  cultural competency, organizational, communication, problem-solving, and outcomes-oriented  skills. Their work also involves supporting the District’s curriculum, assessment, and  instructional goals. Supports the District, network, and schools in delivering a seamless system  of comprehensive support in alignment with the District’s Equity-based Multi-Tiered Systems of  Support (MTSS) Model. Works to ensure equitable services to students and expands existing  support structure for delivery of all levels of MTSS implementation within schools by  collaborating with school administrators, teachers, and support staff to ensure that MTSS is  effectively integrated to address the academic, behavioral, and social-emotional needs of all  students. 

All Specialties 

Essential Functions 

• Designs and facilitates professional learning and development sessions and  courses on a variety of topics to support the designated programmatic framework.

• Conducts professional learning and development sessions by learning network,  grade band, and school type to bolster educator effectiveness and student  progress. 

• Research new trends in education in an effort to keep staff aligned with the  Pedagogical shifts and SDP instructional practices. 

• Thoughtfully creates customized professional learning modules for educators.

• Support District initiatives. 

• Leads content programming, logistics, and communication for large-scale District wide professional learning programming. 

• Coaches leadership teams, teacher leaders, and teachers in the implementation of  professional learning. 

• Develops plans for measuring the impact of professional learning; creates tools for collecting data; analyzes that data to make in-year and end of year programmatic  decisions. 

• Hires and develops part-time employees who support facilitation and logistics in  District-wide programming. 

Academic Services Literacy K-8 Specialty 

• Designs and facilitates professional learning and development sessions and courses on a variety of topics to support the designated programmatic framework.

• Plans and administers the implementation of instructional strategies to support  academic achievement aligned to Board of Education Goals and Guardrails.

• Conducts professional learning and development sessions for principals, leadership  teams, and teachers based on data informed needs. 

• Assists school-based instructional leadership teams in analyzing data and creating an action plan to respond to data analysis. 

• Debriefs with teachers, school leadership teams, and academic staff to analyze and support the instructional practices in schools. 

• Visits schools and classrooms and provides support to improve instructional and  assessment strategies through instructional rounds and other informal visits.

• Thoughtfully creates customized professional learning modules for educators.

• Research new trends in education in an effort to keep staff aligned with the Pedagogical shifts and SDP instructional practices. 

• Thoughtfully creates customized professional learning modules for educators.

• Support District initiatives. 

• Develops and implements Common Planning Time as a District strategy. 

Minimum Requirements 

Academic Services Literacy K-8 Specialty 

• Master’s degree from an accredited college or university in education, teacher  leadership, administration or a related field. 

• Five years of full-time, paid, professional teaching experience, which has included  working with evidence-based interventions, developing and implementing professional development, and serving as a staff development leader, supervisor, or principal. 

Certificates/Licenses 

• Possession of a valid Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Administrative certificate for K-12 or  Elementary and Secondary Principal. 

The candidate must ensure that all of their relevant work experience is reflected on their resume prior to the submission of their application for District employment.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities 

• Demonstrated knowledge of: 

o the Pennsylvania Core Standards, National Standards, National Association for the Education of Young Children Standards, and Next Generation Science  Standards. 

o adult learning theories, techniques, and coaching/mentoring models.

o group processes, effective oral and written communications, adherence to  deadlines and action plans, and organizational planning. 

o solid teaching and learning methods, principles and practices. 

o exemplary performance evaluations from rating officers. 

o asynchronous learning and various on-line platforms preferred. 

• Demonstrated ability to: 

o inform and design the scope and sequence of professional learning for educators. 

o align educational and training initiatives with the District’s mission and action plan. 

o analyze issues, shift priorities, and cope with ambiguity in a fast-paced 

o environment. 

o be open and direct without being intimidating. 

o support adult learning and professional development strategies. 

o plan, organize, and direct professional learning targets. 

o be punctual and follow through in work related projects and responsibility.

o work collaboratively. 

o communicate effectively, both orally and in writing. 

o establish and maintain effective working relationships. 

Academic Services Literacy K-8 Specialty

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities 

• Demonstrated knowledge of: 

o the principles, practices and techniques of academic pedagogy, trends and best  practices. 

o the principles, practices and techniques of working with adult educators.

o standards-aligned instruction, pedagogy, instructional supports, and evidence based instructional practices. 

o the methods and techniques used in effective program planning, design and  administration. 

o the current educational issues that directly impact student learning. 

o effective facilitation moves and approaches to engage adults in collaboration. 

• Demonstrated ability to: 

o understand the core curriculum as it relates to high-quality Tier One instructional  planning. 

o exercise discretion and tact in dealing with sensitive situations. 

o maintain necessary records and files, compile information and prepare reports.

o process multiple tasks simultaneously, adhere to timelines, and bring plans to completion within a timely manner. 

o assess the effectiveness of programmatic activities and make recommendations  for modifications as needed. 

o expertly develop and facilitate presentations that engage adults in meaningful ways to impact practice. 

o evaluate effectiveness of professional development and implement changes as  needed. 

o conduct research and analyze data to inform District, network and school  supports. 

o gather, track, and use data to drive decision making and create detailed reports.

o effectively use Google Drive including documents, sheets, slides, and forms to develop and share content and presentations. 

o communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.

o establish and maintain effective working relationships. 

Disclaimer 

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being  performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not to be construed as an  exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. 

Nondiscrimination 

The School District of Philadelphia provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, age, creed, religion, sex, sexual  orientation, ancestry, national origin, disability, pregnancy, marital status, gender identity, or  genetic information. Please refer to Board Policy 348 for further information regarding the  District's commitment to Nondiscrimination in Employment Practices.