Chief Academic Officer jobs in Roanoke, VA

GENERAL STATEMENT OF JOB

The Chief Academic and Accountability Officer for Roanoke City Public Schools (RCPS) will champion the strategic academic vision, ensuring every student benefits from an education that is both equitable and exceptional. This role is pivotal in shaping and overseeing comprehensive educational programs and services, aligning with RCPS's mission to foster lifelong learners and leaders. This position’s leadership will span across curriculum development, instructional practices, special populations, and beyond, ensuring commitment to academic excellence is realized in every classroom. This role is part of the Superintendent’s cabinet and will serve on the division leadership team. The Chief Academic and Accountability Officer reports to the Superintendent.

SPECIFIC DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

Spearhead the integration and execution of RCPS's strategic plan within all academic services, setting division goals that reflect our core beliefs and pathways towards academic excellence.

Cultivate a culture of continuous improvement, leveraging cross-departmental collaboration to elevate student achievement and school performance.

Drive the evaluation and enhancement of curriculum programs, ensuring they meet the diverse needs of our student body and adhere to state standards and best practices in education.

Champion innovative instructional strategies that align with the strategic goals of reducing class sizes, expanding educational offerings, and ensuring every student achieves their fullest potential.

Lead the development of a focused instructional support system that aligns with strategic priorities, equipping educators with essential resources and support to address the diverse learning needs of our students.

Foster a culture of excellence, ensuring academic departments prioritize effective instructional practices and responsiveness to student needs, enhancing learning outcomes.

Strengthen educators' capacity for instructional leadership, encouraging collaboration, and the adoption of innovative strategies to meet classroom challenges.

Continually assess and refine instructional support initiatives, using data-driven insights to ensure they effectively meet the division's strategic goals and the needs of our students.

Engage actively with families, community members, and external partners to bolster support for educational initiatives and programs.

Represent RCPS in public forums, articulating the division's vision for education and the strategic steps being taken to achieve student success at every level.

ADDITIONAL JOB FUNCTIONS

Sets goals for the division and assists with planning academic programs; assists with decision making and problem solving; monitors progress of the programs.

Provides direction for the improvement of student achievement in grades Pre-K-12 systemwide; develops, organizes and implements models of technical assistance for schools with low student achievement; develops, organizes, and implements models of continuous improvement for schools with average - to - high student achievement.

Prepares and delivers written and oral presentations on academic accountability to the Board of Education, School Board, principals, teachers, parents, and community groups; attends regular meetings of the School Board; conducts staff meetings; attends other related meetings.

Collaborates with school system departments, community agencies, local universities, research laboratories, etc.; seeks advice from, as well as shares information with each group; maintains contact with other school systems to share ideas and information.

Conducts special projects as requested; serves as a guest speaker at universities, makes presentations to the community, performs tasks requested by the Superintendent.

Maintains various records and creates summary reports of the progress in the division.

Ensure compliance with Board of Education policies.

Assumes leadership role on the Superintendent's Cabinet; assists with long-range strategic planning; assists with developing system-wide budgets, plans, policies, and activities; performs various duties as assigned by Superintendent.

Spearhead the creation and rollout of a dynamic, inclusive curriculum that reflects the latest educational research and best practices, ensuring it meets the diverse needs of all students and is aligned with the division's strategic objectives.

Provides input on professional development activities for RCPS; monitors the latest research, trends, and development in all areas of education and interprets these matters for the Superintendent, cabinet, and division leadership team.

Collaborates with the Executive Director of Division Accountability and Strategic Initiatives to provide research and testing for measuring the effectiveness of the system-wide educational program.

Performs other related work as required.

Supervises and conducts personnel administration duties for direct subordinates, evaluating, assigning special duties, monitoring attendance and travel reports, and granting leave.

Supervisory Responsibilities: Direct Reports include but are not limited to the Assistant Superintendent of Student Success and Support Services, Executive Director of Literacy, Academics and Targeted School Improvement, and the Executive Director of Division Accountability and Strategic Initiatives.

The duties of the Chief Academic and Accountability Officer will have been satisfactorily performed when the evaluation of this person is at the standard or above on the applicable Performance Evaluation criteria.

MINIMUM TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE

Master’s degree in education administration.  At least 10 years of combined experience in school administration and central office administration, including knowledge of academic and accountability testing.  Doctoral degree in Education in an area related to academic accountability services preferred. A postgraduate professional license endorsed in Administration and Supervision is required.  Experience as a Principal is highly recommended and preferred.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS OR STANDARDS REQUIRED TO PERFORM ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

Physical Requirements: Must be physically able to operate a variety of equipment including computers, copiers, overhead projectors, video cassette recorders, etc. Must be physically able to operate a motor vehicle. Must be able to exert up to 10 pounds of force occasionally, and/or a negligible amount of force constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Light Work usually requires walking or standing to a significant degree.

Data Conception: Requires the ability to compare and/or judge the readily observable, functional, structural, or composite characteristics (whether similar or divergent from obvious standards) of data, people, or things.

Interpersonal Communication: Requires the ability to speak and/or signal people to convey or exchange information. Includes giving instructions, assignments, or directions to subordinates or assistants.

Language Ability: Requires the ability to read a variety of correspondence, reports, forms, articles, proposals, contracts, etc. Requires the ability to prepare correspondence, reports, forms, evaluations, contracts, policies, handbooks, budgets, etc., using prescribed formats and conforming to all rules of punctuation, grammar, diction, and style. Requires the ability to speak before groups of people with poise, voice control and confidence.

Intelligence: Requires the ability to apply principles of logical or scientific thinking to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions; to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical or diagrammatic form; and to deal with several abstract and concrete variables.

Verbal Aptitude: Requires the ability to record and deliver information, to explain procedures, to follow oral and written instructions. Must be able to communicate effectively and efficiently in a variety of technical or professional languages including education, legal and counseling terminology.

Numerical Aptitude: Requires the ability to utilize mathematical formulas; to add and subtract; multiply and divide; utilize decimals and percentages; and to apply the principles of descriptive statistics, statistical inference, and statistical theory.

Form/Spatial Aptitude: Requires the ability to inspect items for proper length, width, and shape.

Motor Coordination: Requires the ability to coordinate hands and eyes rapidly and accurately in using office equipment.

Manual Dexterity: Requires the ability to handle a variety of items such as office equipment and hand tools. Must have minimal levels of eye/hand/foot coordination.

Color Discrimination: Does not require the ability to differentiate between colors and shades of color.

Interpersonal Temperament: Requires the ability to deal with people beyond giving and receiving instructions. Must be adaptable to performing under stress and when confronted with emergency situations.

Physical Communication: Requires the ability to talk and hear: (Talking: expressing or exchanging ideas by means of spoken words. Hearing: perceiving nature of sounds by ear.) Must be able to communicate via telephone.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

Extensive knowledge of academic accountability and student services, including familiarity with relevant federal, state, and local regulations and school board policies.

Proficient in organizational management, adhering to ethical standards, and understanding educational trends and standards, particularly the Virginia Standard Course of Study.

Skilled in staff development, innovative program planning, and fostering external partnerships to enhance academic services.

Capable of effectively managing large-scale programs, from conceptualization and budgeting to implementation and evaluation, ensuring alignment with strategic goals.

Strong ability to communicate, both orally and in writing, make impactful presentations, and engage constructively with the public and professionals in educational settings.

Adept at utilizing technology for administrative tasks, maintaining accurate records, and developing reports that inform decision-making processes.

DISCLAIMER

The preceding job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees for this job.