Professional Learning Specialist

This is a full-time, 12-month, non-represented position.

About the Role

The School District of Philadelphia is committed to having schools staffed with great teachers and principals. Professional Learning Specialists are responsible for supporting the continuous development of teachers, principals, and support staff. They design, align, and facilitate professional learning opportunities for educators throughout the School District of Philadelphia (SDP).

Work involves formulating and implementing plans to meet the short-term and long-term needs of the District’s teaching and administrative staff, determining training and personnel development needs on a learning network, school, and individual level. Professional Learning Specialists provide high-quality professional growth opportunities that enhance educators’ leadership, cultural competency, organizational, communication, problem-solving, and outcomes-oriented skills. Their work supports the District’s curriculum, assessment, and instructional goals.

Supports the District, network, and schools in delivering a seamless system of comprehensive support in alignment with the District’s Equity-based Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) Model. Ensures equitable services to students and expands existing support structures for MTSS implementation by collaborating with school administrators, teachers, and support staff to integrate MTSS effectively to address academic, behavioral, and social-emotional needs.

Responsibilities

• Designs and facilitates professional learning and development sessions and courses on a variety of topics to support the designated programmatic framework.
• Conducts professional learning and development sessions by learning network, grade band, and school type to bolster educator effectiveness and student progress.
• Researches new trends in education to align staff with pedagogical shifts and SDP instructional practices.
• Creates customized professional learning modules for educators.
• Supports District initiatives.
• Leads content programming, logistics, and communication for large-scale District-wide professional learning programming.
• Coaches leadership teams, teacher leaders, and teachers in the implementation of professional learning.
• Develops plans for measuring the impact of professional learning; creates tools for collecting data; analyzes that data to make in-year and end-of-year programmatic decisions.
• Hires and develops part-time employees who support facilitation and logistics in District-wide programming.
• Partners with the Office of Academic Supports, Assistant Superintendents, network Professional Learning Specialists, and other administrators to ensure intentional, proactive, and responsive design of professional learning opportunities.
• Leads content programming, logistics, and communication for large-scale District-wide professional learning initiatives, specifically around Common Planning Time and equity-centered leadership development.
• Develops plans for measuring the impact of professional learning initiatives for both network and district-wide professional learning; creates tools for collecting data; analyzes that data to make in-year and end-of-year programmatic decisions.
• Works with external partners, including University leadership preparation programs, to design and deliver professional development sessions to support instructional leadership.
• Documents training modules, supports, resources, and exemplars to aid in replication and sustaining future instructional and equity-centered leadership development.

Requirements

• Master’s degree from an accredited college or university in education, teacher leadership, administration, or a related field.
• Five years of full-time, paid, professional teaching experience, including leading and designing professional learning for adults.
• Possession of a valid Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Administrative certificate for K-12 or Elementary and Secondary Principal.

Skills

Demonstrated knowledge of:

• Pennsylvania Core Standards, National Standards, National Association for the Education of Young Children Standards, and Next Generation Science Standards.
• Adult learning theories, techniques, and coaching/mentoring models.
• Group processes, effective oral and written communications, adherence to deadlines and action plans, and organizational planning.
• Solid teaching and learning methods, principles, and practices.
• Exemplary performance evaluations from rating officers.
• Asynchronous learning and various online platforms (preferred).

Demonstrated ability to:

• Inform and design the scope and sequence of professional learning for educators.
• Align educational and training initiatives with the District’s mission and action plan.
• Analyze issues, shift priorities, and cope with ambiguity in a fast-paced environment.
• Be open and direct without being intimidating.
• Support adult learning and professional development strategies.
• Plan, organize, and direct professional learning targets.
• Be punctual and follow through on work-related projects and responsibilities.
• Work collaboratively.
• Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships.

Pay

Salary grade 4028, starting at $88,606, commensurate with experience and aligned to ensure internal equity with similarly situated roles.