The Mission of the Chicagoland Lutheran Educational Foundation (CLEF) is to empower urban Lutheran schools to deliver innovative, quality education in a Christian environment. The Vision of CLEF is “Students and their families experience Christ’s love and grace to achieve their God-given potential. To achieve our Mission and Vision, CLEF raises funds for student scholarships, salary support, educational programs, consultative services, professional development opportunities, and security and capital improvements. In addition, CLEF provides services including special education, school nursing, teacher professional development and coaching, and marketing assistance. Located in Bensenville, we serve a network of 20 Lutheran schools throughout Chicago. CLEF is a recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring our students, teachers, leaders and schools have the tools they need to grow, thrive and succeed.
Position Overview:
Reporting to the Executive Director, the Director of Academic Excellence is a full-time salaried position with benefits. The primary role of this position is to carry out the Mission and Vision of CLEF and drive the portions of the CLEF strategic plan that deal with academic excellence in the schools. This position fosters excellence in teaching and learning in our schools through support of instructional initiatives, curriculum development, accreditation, assessments, and ongoing professional development for teachers and school leaders.
Position Specifics:
1. Executes CLEF’s Mission, Vision, and strategic plan in coordination with the Executive Director and CLEF Team to ensure that CLEF schools continue to grow and flourish academically.
2. Leads the understanding and promotion of CLEF’s educational objectives at the schools, and drives overall academic strategy and goal setting to ensure academic excellence in CLEF schools.
3. Promotes and supports Principal 360, and collaborates with the Program Director and staff as needed.
4. Collaborates with the CLEF team to ensure alignment of initiatives to accomplish CLEF’s mission and vision. Manages the grant for UpMetrics, a platform used to define, collect, analyze and leverage CLEF’s impact data to drive greater outcomes in CLEF schools.
5. Leads the Medallion Schools of Distinction Program.
6. Works with the Finance Director to manage the academic development budget.
7. Supervise and align the efforts of the Programs’ Assistant
1. Develops and executes an annual program of professional development for CLEF principals to support the principals’ leadership skills; the implementation of their school strategic plans in the areas of academic excellence, professional development, instruction, curriculum, and assessment; and cross-collaboration opportunities.
2. Leads and manages the Principal Coach program so that the efforts of the Coaches are aligned with the academic initiatives of the principals and teachers at each school as set forth in the school’s strategic plan.
3. Leads, manages, evaluates, and trains the CLEF team of Instructional Coaches in support of the schools’ academic goals and CLEF initiatives relating to teaching and learning. Manages the relationship among the Instructional Coach, the principal and the teachers at individual schools to drive the school’s academic goals and effective teaching and learning in the classroom.
4. Leads the development, implementation, and evaluation of best practices and professional development opportunities differentiated for the needs of the CLEF schools. Assists in the determination of school-based professional learning needs and opportunities to align CLEF-wide professional development with the goals of individual schools
5. Leads the effort at each CLEF school to collect and analyze data for decision-making and accountability to ensure that the schools are receiving targeted support and achieving desired outcomes. In collaboration with the Instructional Coaches, reviews and evaluates academic achievement data, including the results of standardized testing, and makes recommendations to each school for ways to improve student success.
6. Cultivates and manages relationships with local universities, publishers, and other professional development providers and instructional partners as they relate to teacher hiring, professional development, instruction, and assessment.
- Manages the annual CLEF Priority Grant process by gathering grant submissions, compiling the information and data for the Grants Committee, and preparing the recommendations of the Grants Committee to donors for funding.
- Manages the relationship between CLEF, the schools, and Aqueity.
3. Manages the Wolf and CLEF Scholars scholarship applications.
4. Leads the collaborative effort to plan the program for the annual CLEF Networking Conference.
5. Coordinates student/school-related showcases for the annual CLEF Scholarship Gala, including the Dream Awards, the Scholarship Breakfast, and the Teacher Recognition Dinner.
Position Qualifications/Skills:
- Commitment to CLEF’s Mission, Vision and strategic plan
- Experienced Educator
- Minimum ten years education experience including at least five years teaching experience
- Valid Illinois Professional Educator License
- At least three years instructional coaching experience
- Master’s Degree in Education and/or Administration and Supervision; Doctorate preferred.
- Strong leadership, management, organizational, written and oral communication skills
- Leadership experience within a Lutheran or private school setting preferred
- Ability to show initiative and produce results
- Capacity to manage multiple responsibilities and activities simultaneously with attention to detail
- Growth Mindset, and High Emotional and Cultural Intelligence
- Ability to form and maintain positive relationships with stakeholders.
- Ability to develop and present professional development training
- Computer skills: Proficiency with Google applications - Documents, Calendar, Forms, Sheets, and Slides; MS Office applications - Words, Excel, Power Point; and Constant Contact
To apply, please email you resume and cover letter to: education@clefchicago.org.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $85,000.00 - $100,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Retirement plan
- Vision insurance
Schedule:
- 8 hour shift
- Monday to Friday
Education:
Experience:
- Teaching: 10 years (Preferred)
- Instructional Coaching: 3 years (Preferred)
License/Certification:
- Professional Educator License (Preferred)
Ability to Commute:
- Bensenville, IL 60106 (Preferred)
Ability to Relocate:
- Bensenville, IL 60106: Relocate before starting work (Required)
Work Location: In person