Posted: December 10, 2010

Training and Resource Manager – teachNOLA
New Orleans, LA

The New Teacher Project (TNTP) helps school districts and states fulfill the promise of public education by ensuring that all students—especially those from high-need communities—get excellent teachers. A national nonprofit organization founded by teachers, TNTP is driven by the knowledge that although great teachers are the best solution to educational inequality, the nation’s education systems do not sufficiently prioritize the goal of effective teachers for all. In response, TNTP develops customized programs and policy interventions that enable education leaders to find, develop and keep great teachers and achieve reforms that promote effective teaching in every classroom. Since its inception in 1997, TNTP has recruited or trained approximately 37,000 teachers—mainly through its highly selective Teaching Fellows™ programs—benefiting an estimated 5.9 million students. TNTP has also released a series of acclaimed studies of the policies and practices that affect the quality of the nation’s teacher workforce, most recently including The Widget Effect: Our National Failure to Acknowledge and Act on Differences in Teacher Effectiveness (2009). Today TNTP is active in more than 40 cities, including Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, New Orleans, New York, and Oakland, among others. For more information, please visit www.tntp.org.

We are currently seeking a Training and Resource Manager for our teachNOLA program. The Training and Resource Manager will be a TNTP employee based in the teachNOLA office in New Orleans. This position is available immediately.

Note for candidates currently teaching: it is possible this role could be part time (15-20 hours a week) starting immediately and transitioning to a full time role by early June 2011.

The Program

teachNOLA is a cooperative partnership between New Schools for New Orleans, the Recovery School District and The New Teacher Project to bolster the strength of the teaching force in New Orleans. teachNOLA’s highly selective Teaching Fellows program is an alternate route program that recruits, selects and trains committed individuals without a traditional background in education to teach in New Orleans public schools. In addition to its Teaching Fellows program, teachNOLA also recruits certified teachers on behalf of the city’s public schools via its Master Teacher Corps program. Since its inception in 2006, teachNOLA has placed more than 500 teachers in public schools in New Orleans. At present, 85% of open enrollment public schools in New Orleans have at least one teachNOLA teacher on staff.

All Fellows must successfully complete a rigorous five to six week Training Institute, designed to ensure Fellows are as prepared as possible given the limited timeframe to positively impact the achievement of New Orleans students, before entering the classroom as full-time teachers.

After successfully completing Institute, Fellows pursue their certification through the Louisiana Practitioner Teacher Program, the core of which is a series of seminars entitled Teaching for Results. To be recommended for certification, Fellows must complete a variety of requirements including evidence of positively impacting student achievement, receiving a positive principal recommendation, and the completion of the Teaching for Results seminar series.

Please visit our website for additional information about the program at www.teachNOLA.org.

Role and Responsibilities

The Training & Resource Manager will be responsible for the successful planning, implementation and evaluation of the Training Institute. In addition, the Training & Resource Manager is responsible for connecting Fellows in their first or second year of teaching to resources to ensure their success in the classroom. The Training & Resource Manager will also be responsible for carrying out responsibilities related to the end of Institute evaluation and Assessment of Classroom Effectiveness, which includes but is not limited to the design of program evaluations and the collection of student achievement data. The Training & Resource Manager will also assist in supporting the program’s Master Teachers to the extent necessary.

Training Institute Responsibilities:

Fellows participate in a five to six-week Training Institute designed to prepare them for teaching in a high-need New Orleans public school. Fellows engage in a curriculum with an emphasis on raising student achievement and attend seminars and workshops on standards, foundations of teaching, and classroom management. Specifically, the Training and Resource Manager will be responsible for:

• Leading hiring, training, and managing of teachNOLA training staff
• Implementing TNTP’s curricular framework and materials based on district and school initiatives, culture, and organization
• Developing and implementing an operations and communications plan for the Training Institutes
• Planning for Training Institute opening and closing ceremonies including securing speakers, panelists, workshop presenters, etc.
• Assisting with the management of pre-Institute Fellow activities like school observations
• Recruiting, hiring, and training Cooperating Teachers to work with Fellows during Institute
• Ensuring Fellows meet the objectives of the Training Institute curriculum
• Ensuring students participating in our school program during Institute achieve rigorous academic goals
• Developing and maintaining relationships with district and client staff
• Ensuring that each group of participants becomes a well connected cohort of teachers with a positive culture
• Assessing faculty performance in order to continually improve Training Institute quality
• Overseeing Fellow performance management and evaluation, including the formal evaluation of all Fellows at the end of Institute
• Collecting, tracking, and analyzing Fellow performance data and trends, including student achievement data for the Assessment of Classroom Effectiveness

Teacher Performance Management Responsibilities include but are not limited to:
• Acting as the main contact person for Fellow and Master Teacher instructional concerns
• Providing and/or coordinating classroom observations for Fellows
• Assisting in the site’s cultivation of school leaders, including conducting regular school visits and ensuring school leaders are informed about programmatic requirements
• Producing and distributing monthly newsletters for the teachNOLA program
• Planning and facilitating regular professional development meetings during the school year
• Recruit, hire and manage a part-time staff who provide observations of and feedback to Fellows
• Identifying development areas for struggling Fellows and developing targeted improvement plans
• Developing structures to ensure that Fellows fulfill our program mission of increasing student achievement
• Serving as the primary point person for the Louisiana Practitioner Teacher Program (the licensure program for teachNOLA, also implemented by TNTP) to ensure a smooth transition from the pre-service training experience to the school year Teaching for Results seminars as well as to share data on Fellow performance throughout the year

This position offers the successful candidate the opportunity to have a profound impact on how teachers are prepared to teach in hard-to-staff schools in New Orleans.

Qualifications

We are seeking candidates who believe deeply in our organization's mission, thrive in an entrepreneurial and dynamic environment, and who display a record of achievement. Successful candidates will also demonstrate:
• Interest in and support of alternative routes to teacher certification
• At least two years teaching experience in high-needs schools in low-income communities, preferably in New Orleans
• Track record of raising student achievement
• Familiarity with Louisiana curriculum standards (preferred)
• Previous experience developing and leading teacher professional development
• Excellent communication and leadership skills
• Exceptional organizational and project management skills
• The ability to work effectively with others at all levels of an organization
• Comfort working with computers and strong working knowledge of the Microsoft Office suite (preferred)
• A willingness to work non-standard hours and/or occasional weekends

Compensation

The annual salary for this full-time position is $60,000 or commensurate with experience in a similar position with the potential for a performance based bonus. We also offer a motivated team of colleagues, a collegial atmosphere that values professional development, a comprehensive benefits plan effective on the first day of employment – including medical, dental, vision, disability, life insurance, flexible spending account options, generous vacation time, and a 403(b) plan with matching – as well as the opportunity to impact the direction of a growing, mission-driven company that is committed to the success of our nation’s children.

To Apply

Please submit your cover letter and resume online at: http://tbe.taleo.net/NA5/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=THENEWTEACHERPROJECT&cws=1&rid=715

We review applications on a rolling basis – so it is to your advantage to apply as soon as possible. We will not consider applications without a cover letter tailored to this position, which can be addressed to Human Resources. The New Teacher Project is committed to fostering and capitalizing on the diversity of our organization. We are an equal opportunity employer and seek individuals of all ethnic and racial backgrounds to apply to this position. If you would like to learn more about our mission, please visit our web site at www.tntp.org.