DC Practitioner Teacher Program

Operations Manager – District of Columbia Practitioner Teacher Program Washington, DC The New Teacher Project (TNTP) is a national nonprofit dedicated to closing the achievement gap by ensuring that high-need students get outstanding teachers. Founded by teachers in 1997, TNTP partners with school districts and states to implement scalable responses to their most acute teacher quality challenges. TNTP recruits and trains thousands of exceptional new teachers annually, supports school principals in staffing their classrooms, provides teacher certification in high-need subjects, and documents the policy barriers that keep students from getting the teachers they need. Since its inception, TNTP has trained or hired approximately 33,000 teachers, benefiting an estimated 4.8 million students nationwide. It has established more than 70 programs and initiatives in 28 states and published three seminal studies on urban teacher hiring and school staffing. We are currently seeking an Operations Manager to support a new initiative to professionally develop and certify high quality teachers in classrooms in Washington, DC. The Operations Manager will be a TNTP employee based in the DC district office. This position is available immediately. The Program In order to facilitate the entry of the most qualified teaching candidates for hard-to-staff positions and to create an expedited plan for their certification, the New Teacher Project has partnered with District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) to establish an alternative certification program called the District of Columbia Practitioner Teacher Program (DCPTP). After an intensive hiring process and rigorous summer training institute, participants will enter full-time teaching positions in hard-to-staff schools throughout DC in fall 2009. Practitioner teachers will teach under DC’s Regular I license while participating in the Teaching for Results Content Seminar Series. Teaching for Results develops a teacher’s knowledge and ability to teach specific content while supporting a standards-based planning approach as a means to significantly raise student achievement levels within DCPS. Teaching for Results is an innovative teacher training curriculum developed by The New Teacher Project to explicitly focus on teaching in high-need schools and subject areas. As a result of their successful completion of all DCPTP requirements, participants are eligible for DC’s Regular II certification at the end of their first year of teaching. Role and Responsibilities The Operations Manager is responsible for the success of the DCPTP teacher certification program logistics and operations. The Operations Manager will coordinate key functions within the program in DC to ensure high program quality and customer service. Specifically, the Operations Manager is responsible for: • Providing support to the Site Manager and Partner who work directly with the main client contact • Developing strong working relationships with district and school-based staff, and other internal or external stakeholders • Coordinating the operations related to the planning and execution of the Content Seminar Series for new teachers • Managing administrative processes that apply to teachers including, but not limited to, enrollment in the DCPTP, DCPTP tuition payments, and attendance at Content Seminars • Maintaining and improving upon the processes and technology used to facilitate applicant admissions and tracking • Fielding routine and high-level inquiries from teachers (phone, email, walk-in) • Communicating directly with teachers regarding program updates and requirements through email, large mailings, and newsletters • Assisting in processing program and district paperwork • Maintaining accurate teacher and Content Seminar Leader files and records (both paper and electronic) • Assisting in the coordination of training events • Generating memos, reports, and other analysis on the status of various initiatives The Operations Manager will report to the Site Manager of the DC Practitioner Teacher Program. This position offers the successful candidate the opportunity to have a profound impact on how new teachers are prepared DC Public Schools.