JOB DESCRIPTION -
Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is the third largest school district in the United States, serving over 370,000 students in 600+ schools and employing nearly 36,000 people, most of whom are teachers. CPS has set ambitious goals to ensure that every student, in every school and every neighborhood, has access to a world-class learning experience that prepares each for success in college, career, and civic life. In order to fulfill this mission, we make three commitments to our students, their families, and all Chicagoans: academic progress, financial stability, and integrity. Five core principles are embedded within these commitments – high quality, rigorous instruction, talented and empowered educators, safety and support, financial stability, and collective impact.
The Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Digital Learning is implementing the Curriculum Equity Initiative: a comprehensive support system for teachers with a modern, digital curriculum at its core. Once implemented, this digital curriculum will provide CPS students and teachers with access to high-quality, engaging, and culturally-responsive learning materials.
Under the direction of the Manager of Digital Curriculum, the Curriculum Designer will work collaboratively with stakeholders, including subject matter experts (SMEs) and contracted partners, to inform the initial development of the curriculum and continuous improvement of the curriculum thereafter. This position will utilize a strong background in Spanish Language Arts (SLA) and a deep knowledge of academic standards in their focus on the development of SLA Curriculum.
The Curriculum Designer will be held accountable for the following responsibilities:
- Collaborate effectively and extensively with internal and external partners, including content and specialty teams across CPS’ Academic Offices, to ensure Chicago’s curriculum is developed in accordance with all articulated quality standards.
- Oversee the review/feedback process for the SLA Curriculum, including coordination of teacher review teams, consensus building, conflict resolution, planning, and decision-making.
- Coordinate the development and distribution of formal curriculum development and evaluation guidance, including the SLA Rubric.
- Demonstrate flexibility and creativity in the design and continuous improvement of the curriculum.
- Train stakeholders on the curriculum evaluation processes and utilization of rubrics and other guidance/evaluative tools.
- Effectively engage with stakeholders to prioritize and communicate feedback to external partners for curriculum updates/revisions.
- Advise the teams supporting systems integration and UX to ensure a seamless, useful experience for teachers, students, and parents.
- Ensure contractual partners accurately customize the SLA curriculum and effectively integrate SLA themes, inquiry skills, and an interdisciplinary approach to instruction.
- Model the routine, intentional and effective use of technology in daily work, including communications, organization and management tasks.
- Keep abreast of the current trends and best practices in pedagogy with digital curriculum and represent the district as an expert on these and other (related) topics.
- Manage multiple projects/sub-projects concurrently; monitor activity, progress, and time-related to project development requirements.
- Other duties as assigned
In order to be successful and achieve the above responsibilities, the Curriculum Designer must possess the following qualifications:
Education Required:
- Bachelor’s Degree in Spanish or Education (with Bilingual Endorsement) from an accredited college or university
- Master’s degree preferred.
- Valid teaching certificate issued by the Illinois State Board of Education (or reciprocal license) with Bilingual Endorsement is required.
Experience Required:
- Minimum of five (5) years of professional instructional experience in K-12 Education, including the following, is required:
- Experience in curriculum design/development (writing).
- Direct experience in an SLA role.
- Experience working with educational technology, digital media, and/or the effective integration of technology in instruction.
- Experience collaborating with culturally and educationally-diverse teams.
- Experience in a large urban setting preferred
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:
- Bilingual fluency in English and Spanish is required
- Deep knowledge and background in Spanish Language Arts and academic standards
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Ability to lead and effectively communicate with development teams to focus effort and resources toward the achievement of expected results.
- Strong project management and problem-solving skills/strategies
- Deep knowledge of equity issues in education and a deep commitment to providing access to high-quality digital curriculum for all students.
- Strong knowledge of:
- ELA Common Core Standards
- SLA Standards
- WIDA ELD Standards
- Understanding by Design principles for curriculum design
- Universal Design for Learning principles for instructional design
- MTSS and SEL best practices
- High levels of instructional expertise, integrity, honesty, and credibility
Conditions of Employment
As a condition of employment with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), employees are required to:
- Establish/Maintain Chicago Residency - Employees are required to live within the geographic boundaries of the City of Chicago within six months of their CPS hire date and maintain residency throughout their employment with the district. This Chicago residency requirement does not apply to part-time/temporary positions.
- Be Fully Vaccinated or Submit to Weekly COVID-19 Testing - Employees are required to be fully vaccinated within 30 days of their hire date. Full vaccination is defined as at least two weeks after your second shot of a two-shot vaccination course, or at least two weeks after a one-shot vaccination course. Unvaccinated staff must submit to weekly testing.