The Challenge & Opportunity

The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) is focused on sustaining, accelerating, and deepening the progress being made for the District of Columbia’s 90,000+ students. OSSE serves as the District’s liaison to the US Department of Education and works closely with the District’s 470+ early childhood facilities, 250+ schools, 60+ local educational agencies, and 15 educator preparation providers.

Educators, including teachers and school leaders, are the single most important school-based factor influencing student learning and lives. OSSE is seeking an Educator Preparation “Grow Your Own” Program Grant Specialist to develop, launch, implement, and oversee OSSE’s inaugural “Grow Your Own” grant program. Under this program, OSSE will support local educator preparation providers to provide coursework and experiences that will enable DC high school students and paraprofessionals to become licensed teachers in DC’s public schools.

The Educator Preparation “Grow Your Own” Program Grant Specialist serves as a key member of OSSE’s Division of Teaching and Learning’s Human Capital team and reports to the Director of Educator Quality and Effectiveness.

What you will do:

Leadership and Strategy

Innovate and lead to ensure that OSSE’s “Grow Your Own” program is strategic and impactful

• Provide leadership and direction to support strategic planning and successful implementation of OSSE’s “Grow Your Own” educator preparation grant program
• Work closely with the Director of Educator Quality and Effectiveness to coordinate policy, funding, monitoring, and technical assistance efforts that support successful administration, implementation, and oversight of OSSE’s “Grow Your Own” educator preparation grant program
• Maintain a high-level of knowledge and understanding of national educator preparation policy and practice; learn from promising and best practices that are being implemented by leading states and practitioners
• Work closely with the Educator Preparation State Approval Administrator to ensure alignment between educator preparation provider and subject area program approval and the “Grow Your Own” grant program; support educator preparation provider and subject area program approval systems and processes as necessary
• Leverage data about DC’s student and educator populations to make informed decisions about the current and future direction of OSSE’s “Grow Your Own” grant program
• Share lessons learned from this investment with DC educator preparation programs and the broader field

Grant and Program Management

Manage the design, launch, and successful implementation of a high-quality “Grow Your Own” program

• Lead the design, launch, and ensure successful implementation of DC’s inaugural “Grow Your Own” competitive grant competition
• Manage all fiscal and programmatic requirements of the grant, including designing and conducting grantee monitoring
• Develop and implement supports to ensure that all grantees are successful in achieving program objectives
• Oversee all operational aspects of OSSE’s “Grow Your Own” program, including grant reviewers and grant awards
• Ensure coherence across OSSE’s educator preparation provider workstreams, including between OSSE’s “Grow Your Own” grant program and educator preparation provider approval

Communications and Stakeholder Engagement

Inform and inspire key internal and external stakeholders

• Clearly communicate opportunities, successes, and challenges to key educational stakeholders
• Effectively leverage a variety of different forms of communication, including written communication tools, verbal communication tools, and electronic communication tools, to reach the full range of audiences who may be interested in this initiative
• Draft, review, and disseminate all “Grow Your Own”-related communications

What you bring to OSSE

• A proven track record in launching and leading programs to achieve measurable results
• Demonstrated ability to use data and information to plan and act strategically to improve program outcomes
• Knowledge of federal and local policy, programs, and requirements related to teacher preparation
• Experience working collaboratively with diverse teams to achieve ambitious goals
• Excellent interpersonal and collaboration skills, including stakeholder engagement facilitation
• Knowledge and understanding of the DC education landscape and the role of key entities, including DC’s educator preparation programs and local educational agencies
• [Preferred] Experience teaching or leading in a school, local educational agency, or educator preparation provider
• [Preferred] Experience in educator preparation accreditation or approval

Interested applicants should submit a resume and cover letter to [email protected].