Executive Director - GCEP

To apply for the GCEP Executive Director position submit a Cover Letter, Resume/Curriculum Vitae and three (3) References (including the name, title, address, phone and email address of each individual reference)

GREATER CRENSHAW EDUCATIONAL PARTNERSHIP (GCEP)

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Position Description

The Organization:
The Greater Crenshaw Educational Partnership (GCEP) is a nonprofit corporation created to provide an innovative, student-centered structure for advancing the academic achievement, social and emotional development, and civic engagement of students at Crenshaw High School and its family of middle and elementary schools in South Los Angeles. The Crenshaw community is proud of its rich cultural and linguistic diversity.

The mission of GCEP is to serve as the Network Partner Organization for Crenshaw High School and its family of feeder schools for iDesign, a LAUSD transformation effort designed to inspire a new culture of learning in public schools. iDesign Schools proactively engage students, parents/guardians, educators, staff, administrators and community partners in the creation of locally-managed, collaborative, and accountable schools.

GCEP actively generates and supports unity of efforts among teachers, parents/guardians, students, staff, administrators and the community in assuming responsibility for rigorous teaching, learning, and outstanding citizenship for all students in our community. The Greater Crenshaw Educational Partnership’s relationship to the GCEP family of schools includes direct services, consultation, collaboration, oversight, and accountability. It includes a strong daily presence in the school as members of the school family, not as outsiders exerting oversight only. GCEP achieves its mission by leveraging the expertise of university, social service, business and community-based organizations.

The impetus for the development of GCEP’s transformative model was a broad group of stakeholders led by parents with a longstanding commitment to improving educational outcomes in the community. Founding members are the University of Southern California Rossier School of Education, a private top-tier research institution; the Los Angeles Urban League, a historical civil rights organization; and The Tom and Ethel Bradley Foundation, a community-based foundation focused on activism.

The GCEP partnership brings a rich and diverse complement of resources to a reconceptualization of school and community relationships that envisions school reform and community revitalization as inextricably linked. As a powerful advocate for urban students, GCEP joins other stakeholders in pursuing culturally authentic best practices of teaching and learning that prepare urban students for the challenges and realities of the 21^st century.

For more information on GCEP, please refer to the GCEP Business Plan and the Memorandum of Understanding between Los Angeles Unified School District and GCEP.

THE POSITION
The GCEP community is seeking a visionary, high performance leader with demonstrated success in collaborating with a wide range of stakeholders that will serve in guiding GCEP toward exemplary academic achievement, healthy social and emotional development, and civic engagement of all students, as well as significant engagement of all parents and guardians. The Executive Director will guide the partnership, which is a deliberate effort to develop a dynamic collaboration among teachers, students, staff, parents/guardians, administrators and community stakeholders.

Under the direction of the GCEP Board of Directors that will reflect broad stakeholder representation, within a unique framework of the iDesign division of the Los Angeles Unified School District, the GCEP Executive Director is responsible for facilitating the charting of the course for Crenshaw High School and its family of schools. The Executive Director of GCEP works in concert with the Board of Directors and the entire GCEP partnership to set strategic direction and implement innovative measures to transform education in the GCEP community. The Executive Director is responsible for the implementation of GCEP’s core mission, management and operations. In addition he/she administers and aligns financial, instructional, operational, and programmatic resources to ensure that all of the schools in the GCEP family are improving educational and developmental outcomes.

ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATION AND SKILLS

• A track record of effectively planning and leading organizational and cultural change in culturally and linguistically diverse urban public schools resulting in major improvements in student outcomes.
• Demonstrated people skills and effective teambuilding, leadership development and program management skills.
• An understanding and sensitivity to diverse stakeholders in the educational community, including the affirmation of cultural and linguistic assets of students and their families.
• Master’s degree required. Doctorate degree preferred.
• Knowledge of research-based school improvement initiatives.
• Prior experience in executing successful professional and staff development, including all or most of the following: personalization within a small learning community framework; high expectations for student success; effective classroom management, student-centered standards-based teaching; learning and assessment; college and career access for all; culturally relevant and responsive methods and organizational management strategies.
• Prior experience in supporting administrative staff, including effective coaching and mentoring
• Knowledge of federal and state educational standards and assessments.
• Documented ability to utilize data for instructional decision-making.
• Experience with and understanding of strategic research and development.
• Superior public relations skills.
• Demonstrated acquisition and management of fiscal and human resources that have effectively and equitably led to increased student achievement.
• The ability to foster transparency, build trust, and create effective networks of diverse stakeholders within and across school sites and the community.
• Excellent oral and written communications skills.
• Experience as a principal, deputy superintendent, or superintendent in an urban school district.
• Experience in completing performance improvement plans related to formative and summative evaluation of professional staff.
• Demonstrated knowledge and use of education technology initiatives.

POSITION DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Program planning and management of instructional strategy

• Responsible for assisting the Board of Directors and school and community stakeholders in setting goals for all GCEP schools, to include (but not limited to) all district equity initiatives, student achievement consistent with single site plan and Small Learning Communities (if applicable), student achievement data to guide decisions on curricula and teaching practices, and professional and staff development and community engagement regarding the fundamental needs of educating students in schools that are part of GCEP.
• Responsible for facilitating the development and implementation of the vision of learning that will guide and define decisions made by the GCEP Board of Directors.
• Responsible for overall leadership of GCEP staff in the development and implementation of short and long range plans, policies and other activities.
• Practice a student-centered approach by embracing the research and practices that offer insight into the thinking and needs of student learners. In schools in which Small Learning Communities exist, encourage Small Learning Community faculty to incorporate this philosophy in culturally-responsive ways in the classroom.

Governance

• Lead the process of implementing democratic governance of all GCEP schools and co-construction with multiple stakeholder groups. Work collaboratively with all stakeholders by emphasizing active listening and stakeholder input.
• Actively work toward distributed leadership by building leadership capacity across all GCEP schools.

Administration
Responsible for managing the Memorandum of Understanding with the Los Angeles Unified School District and its iDesign Division and ensuring that the policies and procedures identified within the MOU are in place, widely disseminated, and equitably enforced.Responsible for administration of overall operation of GCEP including: leading The Greater Crenshaw Educational Partnership in the process of measuring success via dashboard metrics established in collaboration with GCEP the GCEP family of schools, ensuring that continuing contractual obligations are being fulfilled; allocating resources for greater school and program effectiveness and efficiency; developing organizational and administrative policies and program objectives for Board consideration.

Lead the process of working with GCEP Schools and jointly developing metrics and methods for evaluating School Site Administrators in addition to or to replace those metrics already established by the District. These metrics and methods will be a material factor used by the District in its decision-making process when evaluating GCEP School Site Administrators, per the Memorandum of Understanding: LAUSD and GCEP.

Responsible for support of all activities associated with the Board of Directors, including staffing for all Board and committee meetings, meeting schedules, locations, development of the agenda and meeting materials.

Community Relations/Advocacy
Serve as the liaison with other organizations such as other iDesign partnerships, colleges and universities, businesses, social services and other community-based organizations. Actively engage them to access resources and create opportunities at the school site level on behalf of GCEP.

Financial Management
Responsible for the financial management of GCEP including the development and implementation of GCEP corporation annual budget.

Devise a strategy for development efforts and personnel to help make GCEP self-sustaining.

Fundraising
Work with the Board of Directors and GCEP personnel to implement a fundraising strategy. Serve as the key liaison between GCEP and foundations and other potential funding agencies.

Supervisory
Responsible for supervising all GCEP staff, including: interviewing; recommendations for hiring and training of employees; planning, assigning and directing GCEP staff work; appraising staff performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints and resolving problems

SALARY
Competitive and commensurate with experience.

APPOINTMENT TERMS
Five year appointment subject to annual review and evaluation. Annual contract begins on July 1 of each fiscal year.

CONFIDENTIALITY

Information regarding applicants and candidates will be kept confidential, except for review by the GCEP Board of Directors.

For a comprehensive discussion of GCEP, please see the GCEP Business Plan and the Memorandum of Understanding between LAUSD and GCEP. If you have any questions, please contact Angela Reddock at (323) 299.9660 Ext. 272 -or Niki Avila (323) 299.9660 Ext. 271 at the Los Angeles Urban League Human Resources Office.