Family Engagement Collaborative Fellowship
The Family Engagement Collaborative (FEC) is a year-long fellowship for teachers interested in gaining family engagement professional development. Teachers complete a simple application with a “buddy” teacher at their school. Selected teachers participate in a year-long professional learning community (PLC) where they receive training in family engagement strategies, including parent-teacher home visit training from our partners at the Flamboyan Foundation. Teachers work towards pre-established goals for successful home visiting and, after meeting goals and benchmarks, receive a $1,500 stipend at the end of the year.
All fellows attend a kick-off event and home visit training in the early summer, attend at least five PLCs during the school year, and conduct at least 24 home visits to meet with students and their families.
Eligible teachers believe that all families have the ability and desire to support the academic success of their children, apply with a “buddy” teacher from the same school, and are not working in a school that is currently part of the Flamboyan Family Engagement Partnership. For application information or questions contact [email protected].
Principal, Assistant Principal, and Assistant Principal of Literacy
Principals, assistant principals, and assistant principals of literacy are responsible for leading instruction, managing operations, and increasing effectiveness of their school communities. DCPS seeks talented, dedicated leaders who have the skills and experience to lead our schools and the desire to help transform our school system into the highest-performing urban school district in the nation.
Top principal, assistant principal, and assistant principal of literacy candidates are characterized by their focus on student achievement, leadership vision, instructional expertise, systems and resource management, people management, strategic problem-solving, and commitment to personal development. Top assistant principal of literacy candidates must also be able to demonstrate a strong background and command of literacy instruction, which includes phonics, guided reading, and writing.
To serve as a DCPS principal or assistant principal, applicants must obtain an Administrative Services Credential (ASC) through the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE). OSSE ASC Requirements can be found by visiting: osse.dc.gov.
If you are interested in applying to be a principal or assistant principal, please visit the DCPS website for a list of current openings, or contact [email protected] for more information.
School Strategy & Logistics
DCPS has successfully launched a program that takes a dramatically new approach to managing school operations, with a Director or Manager of Strategy & Logistics as its cornerstone. Nine DCPS schools were selected to participate in the highly selective pilot year, and the program will expand to 40 schools in the second year. Based on the approach to school operations implemented in the highest-performing charter and district schools across the country, a Director/Manager of Strategy & Logistics will lead a newly formed, school-based team charged with ensuring that all school operations are high-functioning so that school leaders and teachers can focus exclusively on student achievement and classroom instruction.
Specifically, this new approach to operations staffing is intended to benefic school communities in several ways:
- Principals will be able to meaningfully delegate all non-instructional functions, allowing them more time to focus on instruction and people management.
- Teachers will have more support around operations, allowing them more time to focus on instruction.
- Operations staff will have direct managers with more time and capacity to fully support and develop them, resulting in increased opportunities for career advancement.
- Retention rates and overall morale will be higher among school leaders, teachers, and staff.
For more information about the School Strategy & Logistics program, please contact [email protected].
Spotlight: Scott Harding
In 2006, Scott began working at DCPS at an early childhood learning center through Teach for America. After three years, he joined the staff at Maury Elementary serving as teacher, grade level chair, and a member of the school leadership team. As a Teachers Central to Leadership Fellow, Scott worked with DCPS teacher leaders, offering feedback on district-level projects and initiatives with the Office of Family and Public Engagement. After eight years of service the district's students, he looks forward to the new challenge of becoming an Assistant Principal at Peabody Elementary.
I choose DCPS because, as an early childhood educator, I feel valued and respected. As other states are just beginning to think of how to provide access to pre-K for all their students, our school district has become an exemplar model of how all children can have access to high-quality early childhood programming.