USCS Job Board Announcement

Program Director (instructional leader) Organization: High School for Recording Arts New York Charter School Type of Job: Administrator Grades: High School Subjects: All Subjects Application Deadline: 05/30/2008 Job Description: School Mission Plans are currently underway to open the High School for Recording Arts New York Charter School (HSRA NY CS) in fall 2009. The School will be located in Brooklyn (CSD #13, Region 8) and serve at-risk secondary students in grades 9-12. The mission of HSRA NY CS is to provide youth the opportunity to achieve a high school diploma through the exploration and operation of the music business and other creative endeavors. HSRA NY CS will accomplish this by providing a small community that:  Is culturally sensitive  Offers alternative educational programming  Provides a personalized standards-driven, project-based model  Recruits and retains diverse student and staff populations  Maintains a drug-free learning environment  Is adult-supervised with student-directed learning  Offers positive mentoring  Provides a safe space  Offers job training School Governance & Leadership HSRA NY CS will be governed by a founding Board comprised of educators, business and community residents, and entertainment industry professionals. The Board will provide oversight while day-to-day school site operations will be led by an Executive Director who will report directly to the School’s Board. The Executive Director, as a member of the school’s management company, Studio 4, will be ultimately responsible for school and student performance, hiring and managing all staff. The Executive Director will supervise the Program Director who will provide day-to-day management of the School’s education program, while the School’s Business Manager will oversee day-to-day fiscal management as supervised by the Executive Director. HSRA Model The HSRA NY CS Program Director will serve as the School’s instructional leader responsible for the direct supervision, implementation and effectiveness of all curricular, instructional, student assessment and professional development areas. HSRA is an open-schools concept wherein students and teachers (called advisors) are organized along an advisory system with a 20 to 1 (student to advisor) ratio. The HSRA education program is a standards-driven, project-based learning model, with project content generated by the student. Student outreach will target at-risk adolescents who have previously dropped out of school. Program Director Responsibilities The Program Director’s responsibilities will include management and administration of day-to-day operations of the education program; overseeing instruction, curriculum and other education programming; and student admissions and re-enrollment. In addition, the Program Director will work closely with the Executive Director to manage and administer parent relations, student and community outreach; resource allocation; and staff hiring, evaluation and training. The Program Director will assist the Executive Director in providing oversight of budget preparation and implementation (with input from the Program Director) including compliance with established financial controls and budgetary goals; pursuance of grants, strategic alliances and other resources. Qualifications: Experience & Qualifications Candidates must have management experience in an education organization or school serving at-risk adolescents. S/He will have a working knowledge of the educational and psycho-emotional needs and issues facing adolescents – particularly youth from diverse cultural and economic backgrounds, and those who have had previous histories with juvenile justice and human service agencies. Candidates must have at least five years of demonstrated experience managing a successful education institution or program, district or charter school. His/her experience must include program and curriculum development, instructional leadership, staff hiring and training, budget development and management, compliance reporting, staff management and human resources development. Instructional leadership histories must include demonstrated success with project-based learning pedagogies, and strong knowledge of the NYS Learning Standards and Regents Exams requirements. Highly sought after candidates will be able to “think outside of the box,” provide a track record of innovation and demonstrate effectiveness in working with diverse groups of people. Candidates must exhibit strong skills in strategic planning, verbal and written communication. S/He must have received a bachelor’s degree (although a masters degree is preferred) in education and/or a related field. A school administrative license is a plus, but not required. However, the successful candidate will have a NYS teaching certificate and at least 10 years of post-collegiate work experience in education. Salary & Benefits: Compensation Until full-time status is reached, the Program Director will be paid on a per diem basis as his/her services are needed. Full-time salary will be competitive with similar positions among NYC charter and district schools and similar nonprofits, and will be commensurate with experience. HSRA NY CS will offer all full-time staff a health and retirement benefits package (to be determined).