Delaware Teacher Leader Job Description, Instructional

Practice Lead
Title:

Instructional Practice Lead, Teacher Leader

Reports to:

School Administrator

Duration of Role:

SY 2016-2017

Closing Date for Application:

May 25, 2016

The 2016-2017 Delaware Teacher Leader Pilot introduces five newly-designed teacher leader
roles with diverse responsibilities into a group of schools across the state. The pilot will serve
as an opportunity for teacher leaders to extend their reach outside of their classroom and for
the state to learn from the experiences of pilot leaders and schools to inform a potential fullscale implementation in the future. In order to provide a world class education for
Delawares students, we must support, develop, and draw upon the expertise of Delawares
most talented educators, making Delawares schools great places to both teach and learn.
Instructional Practice Leads will work collaboratively with school leadership to drive
improvements in teacher practice. Strong candidates for this position should have
experience collaborating productively with peers, identifying instructional best practices
across content and pedagogical areas, and offering high-quality feedback that motivates
others to action. The teacher leader pilot and this position are contingent upon FY17 budget
approval.
Position Overview:
Instructional Practice Leads will improve the instructional practice of fellow educators using
a variety of high-impact support strategies focused on frequent, targeted feedback in
educators development areas. These include co-planning, co-teaching, modeling lessons,
and providing non-evaluative observations. Instructional Practice Leads will support
educators from different content areas, adapting coaching as necessary to help them meet
their development goals.
This position will require up to 50% of time, and a minimum of 25%, spent outside of core
instructional responsibilities. School administrators will ensure that teacher leaders are
provided release time during the school day to complete their responsibilities.
Major Responsibilities:
Maximize the potential of teachers through co-planning, modeling, observing, and reflective
feedback.

Model effective teaching methods, independent of content area, by providing

opportunities for other educators to observe lessons.
Observe a variety of educators and provide them with constructive, non-evaluative
feedback.
Conduct co-planning and co-teaching sessions with educators based on their professional
learning needs.

Attend regularly scheduled meetings with campus administration to ensure consistent

coordination and communication.
Regularly collaborate with other educators and educator support roles in the school to
align educator development resources.
Mediate educator relationships and ensure effective collaboration for instructional and
student support.

Participate actively in the pilot cohort to inform future implementation of teacher leader
roles across Delaware.

Attend a summer cohort-wide planning session with a school leader to set goals,
obtain resources and support, and develop a school-implementation plan
Participate in quarterly cohort meetings to promote collaboration among pilot
schools, reflect on implementation, and engage in professional learning.
Offer feedback around successes, challenges, and how teacher leadership can benefit
educators and students.
Set ambitious goals for performance in the leadership role and collect evidence of
progress towards meeting them.

Essential Qualifications and Skills:

Minimum Qualifications:
5 years of experience as an educator,
2 years of experience as an educator in the LEA hiring for the role, and
2 years of Effective or Highly Effective ratings in components I, II, III and IV of DPAS
II (or an LEAs equivalent measure).
Skills:

Superior ability to reflect on and refine instructional and leadership practices

Excellent interpersonal skills and an ability to influence team members without
formal authority
Knowledge of LEA or state best practices and/or initiatives beyond ones own
content area
Strong communication skills and an ability to provide both written and verbal
feedback on an ongoing basis

Salary: $5,000 stipend annually in addition to the current salary of selected candidates;
$6,000 if your school has been classified as high-need by the state.
To Apply: Complete the application provided and return to your administrator by May 25th.
Two letters of recommendation are also required. Letters of recommendation should provide
evidence of strengths you would bring to the role and can come from any two of the
following: Peers, administrators, parents, and/or students. Additional selection activities will
be determined by a school-based committee of educators, administrators, and LEA
representatives.