CPS Lead Coach Understanding & DescriptionsThe Chicago Public Schools (CPS) has set ambitious goals to ensure that every child—in every school and every neighborhood—has access to a world-class learning experience from birth, resulting in graduation from high school college- and career-ready. Impacting the instructional core is one of the top educational priorities for CPS, through continuous improvement cycles of learning.The School-Based Lead Coach will support schools in impacting the instructional core through instructional development, change management, and school-level continuous improvement to drive success for all students. The Lead Coach will plan and take the steps necessary to continually improve and expand the instructional core within their assigned school, thereby enriching the lives of more students in Chicago Public Schools.School-Based Lead Coach Roles & ResponsibilitiesUnder the direction and guidance of the Office of Teaching and Learning and Office of Network Support, as well as the school-based principal, implement a strategic action plan and continuous improvement strategies founded in the CPS Framework for Teaching to positively impact student-based outcomes in their assigned school by working with classroom teachers, school-based Instructional Leadership Teams, school administrators, and professional development providers.Build the day-to-day instructional capacity of classroom teachers and school administrators at their assigned school to deliver district instructional core priorities. These priorities currently include:Students have access to a high-quality curriculum across all content areas that is grade-level appropriate and standards-aligned, meaningful, and responsive to their communities and identities.Schools implement a balanced assessment system that includes universal screening and benchmark assessments as well as curriculum-embedded assessments designed to inform instructional decision-making.Teachers facilitate instruction that honors students’ identities, prioritizes relationships, and fosters community to facilitate deep engagement.Students are supported in engaging with and meeting grade-level standards through strategic acceleration practices that recognize their strengths and build on those through just-in-time support.Students access tiered academic and social-emotional interventions to supplement core instruction when needed to facilitate their success with grade-level standards.Provide differentiated instructional support by working directly with teachers in the classroom to model effective, research-based instructional practices; work collaboratively with grade-level teams to drive data-informed instructional planning, by regularly providing professional learning and coaching to staff as needed, and by working with school-based leadership teams to actualize the district priorities school-wideThe lead coach must lead a team (or teams) of teachers in enacting the instructional core; this can include, but is not limited to: planning and facilitating grade-level meetings, providing lesson plan feedback, data and/or student-work analysis, leading instructional core walksThe Lead Coach must also serve on the school-based The Instructional Leadership Team, and the CIWP Team to integrate the instructional core throughout the school and core curriculum. As such, the Lead Coach should consult and collaborate with Principals, Assistant Principals, and other members of the school-based Instructional Leadership Teams, and District staff as needed to develop data-informed strategies to support the development and implementation of the CIWP. These strategies include (but are not limited to): curriculum development, professional development plans, direct support to classroom teachers, student outcome progress monitoring, and student intervention plans.Build the leadership capacity of other Teacher Leaders by providing coaching and learning around leadership skills; build the teacher leaders’ capacity to lead teams and coach in the following years (with your and the school leader’s support). This support should be grounded in the teacher leader competencies and tool-kits which include (but are not limited to): Meta-coaching, Model-coaching, co-data team facilitation, and co-adulting learning facilitation.
