Grade Level Lead (SY26-27, Middle School)

Purpose

The Grade Level Lead is a teacher leader responsible for fostering a strong adult and student culture, managing grade level teams to ensure they meet their grade-level goals, and building a community around the core values, vision, and mission of Veritas Prep. The Grade Level Lead receives a stipend for additional work outside of their teaching role and hours.

What You'll Do

• Meeting Plan and Facilitation Plan and facilitate effective weekly grade-level meetings with the culture team, grade level leads, and an Assistant Principal and/or Principal focused on Tier 1 culture systems and Veritas values
• EFFECTIVELY communicate clear grade-level goals at each meeting
• Ensure space for multiple voices/perspectives at all grade-level meetings while also being transparent about decision-making, leading to concrete decisions, next steps, and progress toward goals
• Model a solutions-oriented mindset when tackling challenging issues and decisions
• Develop skills around facilitating difficult conversations
• Utilize an anti-racist lens when looking at data to help identify equity strengths and gaps: ensure student data compilations, meetings, and reports provide data for subgroups including but not limited to race, gender, language learners, and students with learning disabilities
• Community Building
• Collaborate with an AP and grade-level team to ensure orientation for staff and students runs smoothly and effectively
• Organize and lead monthly grade-level community meetings or other grade level team events that support and inspire a vision of academic excellence in collaboration with an AP
• Support the Operations Team in organizing and leading in-school family engagement events
• Grow, support, and model the Veritas vision around equity and anti-racism
• Set up brief, regular checkpoints with grade-level team members, ensuring they feel supported, heard, and seen
• Encourage team collaboration around anti-racism and equity work at Veritas using key tools such as the Veritas Anti-racism Standards and the Teaching for Equity Framework from Leading Educators
• Project Management and Operations
• Cook up the grade-level calendar and ensure strong communication with team members around deadlines and important dates
• Leverage the strengths of team members by delegating project-based tasks, monitoring progress, and holding people accountable (i.e. the delegation cycle from The Management Center)
• Collaborate with Operations Team to ensure classrooms have appropriate materials and supplies
• Work closely with the Director of Culture to reset tier 1 systems and procedures throughout the year as needed
• Ensure the grade level data bulletin boards are updated (Attendance/Homework Completion/Honor Roll)
• Collaborate with the Director of Operations to support last-minute coverage needs
• Data Analysis and Problem-Solving
• Collaborate with the student success team to review data (referrals, Deanslist data, VIPER den, etc.) and problem-solve regarding grade-level in-class interventions
• Review student, family, and staff surveys to identify strengths, challenges, and next steps to address gaps
• Pull reports from student information systems for the weekly grade-level meeting and add to Grade Level Goals Tracker
• Attendance
• Parent Communication Log (contact is 2 weeks or more recent for every family)
• CV/ Referrals (Deanslist)
• Communication
• Collaborate with student success, operations, counseling, and the student support team to ensure important messages are communicated to the grade level teams
• Ensure timely, appropriate, clear communication with grade-level team members, staff, students, and parents/families about new initiatives, important events, meetings, updates, deadlines, and announcements
• Check in with an AP to debrief grade-level meetings and ensure progress toward grade-level goals
• Check in on key procedures and routines for the grade and how they are aligned to school expectations and share reflections, glows, and grows with team members
• Openness to collaborate/share best meeting practices with Grade Level Leads across both Veritas schools
• Model positive, assets-based communication around student strengths and growth areas

Requirements

• Ability to collaborate across teams (culture, operations, etc.)
• Ability to utilize data to make decisions
• Ability to positively influence and support peers
• Commitment to creating clear, simple systems for organization
• Solutions-oriented mindset when navigating challenges
• Excitement to grow one's leadership skills with a community of other teacher leaders
• Willingness to learn from and alongside other grade level leads
• Ability to take feedback in order to improve one's meeting facilitation skills
• Ability to see themselves as a change agent who can influence the practices of peers
• Commitment to anti-racism and ability to utilize the Veritas Anti-Racism Standards to promote change

Time Commitment (In and Out of School)

• There will be two summer training dates scheduled 7/14 & 7/28
• After-school meetings with other Grade Level Leads (monthly or bimonthly)
• Quarterly after-school professional development
• Weekly tasks and preparation related to the role, as described above

Benefits

• $3,000 stipend
• Regular feedback from peers around facilitation
• Access to additional professional development from outside providers