Academy Teacher Stipend: $3,500** (full week)

Summary & Overview of February Empowerment Academies

SEZP’s mission to dramatically improve educational opportunity for Springfield students is marked by our Empowerment Academy programming. Empowerment Academies are an initiative to provide targeted, small-group academic support to middle and high school students during February break. This extended learning time was shown to be an effective support for improvement of student performance through a randomized trial study completed in 2016.

For Empowerment Academies, a select number of students at each school will work in small intervention groups led by highly effective, dedicated educators. The small group size and targeted instruction will allow students to receive intensive, personalized academic support tailored to their specific needs. The academy opportunity will also enable teachers to hone intervention delivery skills to more effectively carry out intervention beyond the February vacation experience. Students will be selected based on data that details student academic need and attendance trends.

As we continue to both feel the effects and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, the data suggests significant learning loss for students across SEZP schools and February Empowerment Academies will play a pivotal role in the following ways:

• Allow schools to roll out and refine intervention lessons, programs, and approaches that continue throughout the regular school year after February vacation
• Provide planning and collaboration time for educators to understand and analyze relevant intervention data, define root causes for learning loss and unfinished learning, and identify well-matched “treatments” to address specific student needs
• Determine ways to monitor response to treatment and understand when to continue or modify approaches

Academy Teacher Overview

Empowerment Academies need strong teachers to plan and/or deliver a week-long intervention experience for robust, academic support. Throughout the week, it will be the teacher’s responsibility to diligently monitor student response to interventions and implement a variety of strategies to increase student attendance and engagement. This role requires teachers to attend relevant school-based planning and professional learning sessions and integrate relevant content throughout the entire week of intervention. The focus of the professional learning will allow academy educators to understand the purpose and pedagogy associated with various interventions and learn methods for monitoring response to these interventions.

Academy Teacher Responsibilities

• Implement strategies for building an equitable, anti-racist, high-quality and caring Empowerment Academy culture
• Thoroughly plan for all intervention lessons/treatments
• Actively drive at for at least 90% class attendance rate each day among all students
• Track attendance each day
• Monitor student response to intervention treatments throughout the week
• Adjust interventions according to student data
• Teach the required number of hours specified in the school-based academy schedule each day
• Attend all academy professional development sessions (to be determined by your academy coordinator/leader) and be in attendance 100% of each day of the academy with your students
• Carry out any additional responsibilities specific to each school’s unique schedule of additional supports and experiences (e.g., morning circle, community building, awarding of incentives)

Academy Teacher Requirements

• Committed to actively dismantling racism and inequity in the classroom by holding all students to high expectations, delivering rigorous, grade-level instruction with appropriate scaffolds, aggressively monitoring for understanding, and ensuring all students have an active voice as a learner
• Demonstrated techniques for building relationships with students & families
• Demonstrated ability to work in a complex environment

Important Dates

• February 17th – February 21st** (Empowerment Academies in session)

Academy Teacher Application

In the general application, please indicate whether your experience pertains to ELA or math instruction (or both) and describe the traits and experiences that would make you successful as an Empowerment Academy Teacher.

**Stipend rates and dates may be subject to specific schools; please consult your Principal or February Academy Coordinator with questions 

NONDISCRIMINATION STATEMENT

The Springfield Public Schools does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry, age, disability or military service or marital status. The Springfield Public Schools does not discriminate in admission to, access or treatment in its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, sex, gender identity, religion, national origin, or sexual orientation, disability or homelessness.

NOTICE OF SEX NONDISCRIMINATION

Springfield Public Schools does not discriminate on the basis of sex and prohibits sex discrimination, including sex-based harassment, in any education program or activity that it operates, as required by Title IX and its regulations, including in admission and employment.

Inquiries about Title IX may be referred to the Springfield Public Schools’ Title IX Coordinator, titleix@springfieldpublicschools.com, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights at https://ocrcas.ed.gov/contact-ocr, or both.

The Springfield Public Schools Title IX Coordinator is Katie O’Sullivan, Senior Administrator of Human Resources, 1550 Main Street, Springfield, MA 01103, 413-787-7100 ext. 55428, titleix@springfieldpublicschools.com.

Springfield Public School’s sex nondiscrimination policy and grievance procedures can be located on the Springfield Public Schools website, www.springfieldpublicschools.com/non-discrimination

To report information about conduct that may constitute sex discrimination or make a complaint of sex discrimination under Title IX, please refer to titleix@springfieldpublicschools.com