The New Teacher Project Seeks Curriculum Writer (Remote)

Curriculum Writer - Training and Certification
Flexible location
 
The New Teacher Project (TNTP) helps school districts and states fulfill the promise of public education by ensuring that all students—especially those from high-need communities—get excellent teachers. A national nonprofit organization founded by teachers, TNTP is driven by the knowledge that although great teachers are the best solution to educational inequality, the nation’s education systems do not sufficiently prioritize the goal of effective teachers for all. In response, TNTP develops customized programs and policy interventions that enable education leaders to find, develop and keep great teachers and achieve reforms that promote effective teaching in every classroom. Since its inception in 1997, TNTP has recruited or trained approximately 37,000 teachers—mainly through its highly selective Teaching Fellows™ programs—benefiting an estimated 5.9 million students. TNTP has also released a series of acclaimed studies of the policies and practices that affect the quality of the nation’s teacher workforce, most recently including The Widget Effect: Our National Failure to Acknowledge and Act on Differences in Teacher Effectiveness (2009). Today TNTP is active in more than 40 cities, including Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, New Orleans, New York, and Oakland, among others. For more information, please visit http://www.tntp.org/.


We are currently seeking a full-time Teaching for Student Achievement (TfSA) Curriculum Writer to join our Training and Certification central team. The TfSA Curriculum Writer will work from a home office based anywhere in the U.S. This position is available immediately and will end in September, 2011. Once the project concludes, the Curriculum Writer may apply to other available opportunities at TNTP at that time.

Background
The New Teacher Project delivers services through several core lines of business: Teaching Fellows Programs, Training and Certification, Staffing Initiatives, and Policy. In the Teaching Fellows Programs business line, TNTP brings expertise in the recruitment, selection, cultivation, preparation and placement of alternate route and traditionally certified teachers. We specialize in recruiting candidates for shortage-area subjects and staffing high-need schools.

In most of our Teaching Fellows programs the new teachers TNTP recruits prepare to begin teaching through rigorous, local pre-service training institutes, which are usually about six weeks long. In addition, local TNTP staff connect the new teachers in their first or second years of teaching to resources throughout the school year to further ensure their success in the classroom.

The New Teacher Project’s pre-service training program, Teaching for Student Achievement (TfSA), is currently in its fifth edition. The training, which is designed specifically with the needs of novice teachers in mind, is based on the essential knowledge and skills that new teachers need in order to be immediately successful in the classroom. The conceptual framework is informed by the latest pedagogical research as well as TNTP’s own field-based research of program participants. Over the last several years of development, TNTP has integrated the best practices of its most successful candidates with those of other successful teachers in high-need schools to create a training program with two central goals for participants: (1) To make immediate academic progress with all students; and (2) To close the achievement gap. Teachers who participate in the Teaching for Student Achievement curriculum receive a Guidebook, our central text for the training experience. The Guidebook serves as a resource to teachers during the training experience and beyond.

Role and Responsibilities
The TfSA Curriculum Writer will report directly to the Partner, National Curriculum Development to revise the national pre-service foundational text, the Guidebook. Through a comprehensive research and literature review, as well as analysis of current curricular implementation data and trends from our existing Teaching Fellows Programs, the TfSA Curriculum Writer will drive and manage a collaborative process with multiple stakeholders to ensure development of a high-quality product that consistently meets expectations and deadlines. Specific responsibilities will include but are not limited to:

• Internalize existing key theoretical and philosophical program underpinnings and translate into narrative text to support beginning teacher development
• Research and summarize complex educational theories as part of literature review
• Conduct review of national and professional organizations’ standards to inform manuscript
• Outline manuscript chapters and corresponding figures and charts that integrate research-based best practices in instructional planning and delivery, content pedagogy, and assessment into each chapter
• Documenting references and obtaining copyright permissions for materials used
• Participating in an iterative curriculum design process with TNTP staff members
• Responding to staff feedback and incorporating feedback into course revisions as part of a collaborative design process with TNTP staff members
• Collaborating with other members of the curriculum design team including the graphic designers, proofers, and TNTP design staff
• Provide general writing, editing and other communications support as necessary

Qualifications 
We are seeking candidates who believe deeply in our organization's mission, who thrive in an entrepreneurial and dynamic environment, and who demonstrate a record of achievement. Successful candidates will also demonstrate:

• Interest in and support of alternative routes to teacher certification
• Successful prior experience developing and writing research-based curriculum for a range of audiences required
• Exceptional writing, research and editing ability and attention to detail
• Previous experience researching and developing curriculum for teacher training or professional development (preferred)
• Successful prior experience writing formal documents such as teacher preparation materials, and graduate-level coursework syllabus writing and preparation
• Prior experience with education standards (preferred)
• Familiarity with a backward design planning approach, including experience with analyzing state standards, setting measurable goals, designing assessments, and selecting appropriate instructional strategies, and current educational research in classroom management and culture theories and practices
• Excellent organizational and project management skills and the ability to manage multiple projects and responsibilities simultaneously and independently and produce a quality work product
• A commitment to producing consistently high quality, detailed work
• Strategic and critical thinking in order to proactively identify challenges and thoughtful solutions
• The ability to learn quickly, adhere to tight deadlines, work in a fast paced environment and multi-task effectively
• The ability to synthesize feedback from multiple stakeholders and generate actionable next steps and apply lessons learned
• The ability to work well independently while collaborating with others on meeting common goals
• Flexibility in a context of rapidly changing priorities; ability to move a project forward through ambiguous circumstances
• Professional demeanor, discretion, and good judgment
• Strong word processing, page layout and graphics design skills (proficiency in MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Acrobat) and familiarity with online tools such as wikis required
• A willingness to work non-standard hours and/or occasional weekends

Compensation
The annual salary for this position is $73,000 or commensurate with experience in a similar position. We also offer a motivated team of colleagues, a collegial atmosphere that values professional development, a comprehensive benefits plan effective on the first day of employment – including medical, dental, vision, disability, life insurance, flexible spending account options, generous vacation time, and a 403(b) plan with matching – as well as the opportunity to impact the direction of a growing, mission-driven company that is committed to the success of our nation’s children.

To Apply
Please submit your resume and tailored cover letter online at http://tbe.taleo.net/NA5/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=THENEWTEACHERPROJECT&cws=1&rid=637

 

We review applications on a rolling basis – so it is to your advantage to apply as soon as possible. We will not consider applications without a cover letter tailored to this position, which can be addressed to the Human Capital Team. The New Teacher Project is committed to fostering and capitalizing on the diversity of our organization. We are an equal opportunity employer and seek individuals of all ethnic and racial backgrounds to apply to this position. If you would like to learn more about our mission, please visit our web site at http://www.tntp.org/.