Wanted: Gifted and Talented Department Head

The Framingham Public School District began advertising for a Gifted & Talented Department Head on August 27, a day after school started for the 2015-16 school year.

Former department head Judith Friedland Leavey retired at the end of the 2014-15 school year. Leavey retired after 35 years with the Framingham Public Schools.

The gifted & talented department head position was an internal posting only. It is a part-time department head position and part-time teacher.

The goal of the position is to ”help students learn and or develop skills that will contribute to their development as mature, able, and responsible men and women.”

The gifted & talented department head reports to the district’s Director of Academic Supports Diane Modest, who is under the Chief Academic Officer Sonia Diaz.

The district’s gifted and talented program, as called SAGE, is a combo of pullout services and independent study.

“Sage provides a differentiated program of work which is based on abstract thinking skills, independent investigation and 12 Thinking Skill Behaviors, 10 self-help skills. Sage classes are part of the core academic program essential for proper growth and development,” states the district’s website.

Teachers and parents can refer a student for Sage services in the district.

Below is department head job responsibilities, as posted on the district’s website:

PERFORMANCE RESPONSIBILIITIES:

•Plans a program of study that, as much as possible, meets the individual needs, interests, and abilities of students.
•Creates a classroom environment that is conducive to learning and appropriate to the maturity and interests of students.
•Guides the learning process toward the achievement of curriculum goals and in harmony with the goals establishes clear objectives for all lessons, units, projects, and the like to communicate these objectives to students.
•Employs instructional methods and materials that are most appropriate for meeting stated objectives.
•Assesses the accomplishments of students on a regular basis and provides progress reports as required.
•Counsels with colleagues, students, and or parents on a regular basis.
•Assists the administration in implementing all policies and/or rules governing student life and conduct, and for the classroom develops reasonable rules of classroom behavior and procedure, and maintains order in the classroom.
•Plans and supervises purposeful assignments for teacher aide(s) and or volunteer(s).
•Attends staff meetings and serves on staff and or school committees.
•Participate in staff development programs.

DEPARTMENT HEAD DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

•Supervision
The department head will work with teachers in the goal setting mode, to establish goals related to classroom instructional improvement and submit a written assessment related to these goals at the conclusion of the school year. The department head will perform all formative evaluations pertaining to the principles and standards of teaching for professional status teachers in the clinical mode and non-professional status. Informal and formal observations will be pre-scheduled to be completed by the department head and the assigned vice principal.

•Curriculum
The department head will be responsible for overseeing all curriculum development within the department and will serve as the curriculum leader in all areas of the subject matter. The department head will conduct regular meetings to facilitate school wide direction and refine subject area instruction.

•Goal setting
The department head will elicit input from teachers to identify departmental goals, which are congruent with school-wide goals.
•Plan relevant professional opportunities for teachers in the department
•Encourage collaboration (collegiality) within and across departments
•Public relations: The department head will facilitate public relations to recognize students, teachers and departmental accomplishments and initiatives.
•Administrative duties: The department head will oversee the instructional and duty performances of their teachers. The department head will serve as an advisor to the principal on all matters pertinent to the subject area. The department head will facilitate the purchase of departmental books, supplies, materials and monitor the status of their budgetary accounts. The department head will actively participate in the school scheduling process and oversee departmental grading. The department heads will disseminate relevant information to their staff, assist in scheduling field trips and support the department by identifying and facilitating community resources and opportunities
•Planning collaborations, in-service and professional opportunities, facilitating and assessing.
•Student liaison responsibility.
•Teaching assignment in accordance with the teachers’ contract.
•Assist in hiring of staff.