St. Louis Public Schools
Aspiring School Leader Fellows Program
Application Packet
2015-2016
Transforming Schools Through Transformative Leadership
Office of Talent Strategy and Management
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Program Overview
The mission of the Aspiring School Leader Fellows Program is to provide experienced educators with the
knowledge and skills necessary to transition into a formal school building leadership role in the district. The
district mobilizes this program through a two-year, job-embedded professional development experience
based-off proven or promising best practices in organizational leadership.
What does the fellowship include?
Year 2
Year 1
• Job-embedded Leadership Project;
School Leadership Team Participation
• Bi-monthly Cohort Consultancies and
Seminars
• One-on-One Monthly Executive
Coaching Sessions
• Priority Consideration for 2016-17
Leader Openings
• $2000.00 stipend
• Formal School Leader or Leadership
Team Member Appointment or
Promotion
• Monthly Cohort Consultancies and
Seminars; Cohort 2 Mentorship
• Participate on a District-level Design
Team (timing varies)
• $1000.00 stipend
Key characteristics of ideal candidates:
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Motivated to lead in an urban school district that serves predominately low income children
Results-driven problem solvers with records of success
Collaborative, exuberant and engaging in leading and learning with others
Culturally competent communicator
Specialized instructional knowledge and pedagogy
In possession of, or working toward appropriate certifications in school leadership
Program Overview, continued
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Year 1 Components
Job-embedded Leadership Project: program participants will collaborate with their school principal and
program staff to design a customized school leadership opportunity that advances the candidate’s knowledge
and skills as a building-level leader. The opportunity must include the following components: (1) a new or
expanded assignment of responsibilities related to a notable academic, cultural or operational challenge facing
the school community; (2) two goals or performance targets that will be used to define success. One goal
must be inwardly facing, focused on the knowledge and skills the program fellow expects to acquire; and, one
goal must be outwardly facing, focused on positive outcomes for students; (3) multiple classrooms and/or
subject area coordination or oversight; (4) participation on the school’s instructional leadership team.
Bi-monthly Cohort Consultencies: program participants meet off-site every two weeks in early evening
sessions (approximately 2-3 hours per session) to workshop their projects, collaborate on problems of
practice in real time, enjoy outside speakers, engage in networking opportunities, and formally explore theories
and practices related to effective school leadership.
One-on-one Executive Coaching: program participants are provided an experienced executive coach to
provide them thought-partnership and strategic guidance.
Leader Recruitment and Selection: program participants selected to advance to the second year of the
program will be “fast-tracked” beyond initial screening activities and directly to the in-person interview round
(which may be accompanied by a pre-interview exercise) of the winter and/or spring selection process.
Eligible placements include: Assistant Principal, Academic Instructional Coach, or Principal.
Program Eligibility
Who’s eligible to apply?
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Currently employed by and in “good standing” with St. Louis Public Schools
Currently considering, in pursuit, or already in possession of appropriate licensure or employment
standards for desired leadership position
Currently possesses at least three years of full-time work experience in St. Louis Public Schools
Has proficient or distinguished evaluations
Is an innovative educator who models high expectations, and maintains a high level of personal
accountability to students, colleagues and families in the district
NOTE: Exceptions will be considered on a case-by-case basis at the request of the Network Superintendent.
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Application
How do I apply?
Complete and/or ensure submission of the following information:
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Educator demographic profile
4 short-answer questions
2 professional letters of recommendation
The application deadline is September 24, 2015. Completed application packets may be either delivered by
postal mail or uploaded to AppliTrack. Persons advancing to the next stage of the selection process will be
notified on an iterative basis through September 25, 2015.
Selection Timeline
Application Open
(September 10 - 24)
Applicant Screenings
(September 18 - 28)
Candidate in-Person
Interviews
(October 3)
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St. Louis Public Schools
1. The District supports a
system of excellent
schools
Transformation Plan 2.0
2. The District cultivates
school leaders in
administration and the
classroom
3. All students read to
lead and succeed
4. Partnerships support
students
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To ensure the effective cultivation of school and classroom leaders, the district has
developed a conceptual model, a set of related skill competencies and measurable
performance targets to drive goal 2 of Transformation Plan 2.0
St. Louis Public Schools
LEADER FRAMEWORK
Staff Culture
Management
and
Operations
Student
Achievement
Student
Culture
Instruction
and
Assessment
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Lever
Staff Culture
Student
Culture
Instruction
&
Assessment
Management
& Operations
Metrics (outcome areas)
• Retention of effective teachers
•
Teacher satisfaction
•
Teacher absenteeism
•
Disciplinary referrals and school suspensions
•
Student satisfaction
•
Observable plans and practices promoting
healthy academic mindsets and behaviors
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Year-to-year APR specifications met
•
Year-to-year student retention (non-terminal
grades)
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Parent representation or involvement in
school governance and planning
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Alignment between teacher-developed
formative assessment data and standardized
assessment outcomes
•
School-wide achievement category shifts
from below grade-level (basic or below basic)
to at/above grade-level (proficient or
advanced) on standardized assessments
•
Year-to-year overall achievement on
standardized assessments for “graduating”
students
Policies, procedures and tools are utilized
and effectively sustain healthy academic
mindsets and behaviors of students
•
•
Each staff and faculty member completes at
least two coaching and feedback cycles each
semester
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District policies and procedures (esp.
regarding safety) are followed with fidelity
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Facilities, materials procurement, and staffing
requests are submitted in timely and accurate
manner
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Structures and tools to enable collaborative
planning and professional development are
implemented with fidelity
Competencies
1. Building professional trust and partnership
amongst and between staff and administration; 2.
Building individual and collective ownership of datadriven goals and goal tracking processes; 3. Building
individual staff efficacy and initiative; 4. Establishing
buy-in and accountability to high expectations; 5.
Identifying and leveraging staff assets
1. Building student trust and partnership amongst
and between students, parents, community and staff
members; 2. Building student trust in and awareness
of everyday expectations, routines and processes; 3.
Establishing ownership of individual goals, learning
activities, and timeline; 4. Building student selfawareness and behavior regulation; 5. Establishing
a culturally and academically inclusive environment
aligned with the diverse needs of students
1. Implementing data-driven, academic coaching
and feedback cycles; 2. Using assessment and
behavior data to isolate skill and content gaps, and
social support needs; 3. Building staff capabilities to
manage achievement data; 4. Aligning teach-made
formative assessments with rigorous standardized
assessments; 5. Identifying and using strategies to
connect students to content and skills; 6. Facilitating
collaborative, data-driven academic planning and
PD sessions; 7. Identifying college-ready curriculum
1. Mobilizing vision and goal-setting processes; 2.
Designing and implementing job-embedded
leadership PD and a succession plan; gathering,
analyzing and presenting relevant data; 3. Building
structures, processes, communications and tools to
track, monitor and support progress in the following
areas related to students and staff: (1) academic
mindsets and behaviors, (2) individual data growth
and ownership, (3) pro-social skills; 4. Developing a
master schedule; 5. Submitting procurement and
staffing requests; 6. Managing team meetings; 7.
Implementing bi-annual evaluations of staff; 8.
Deploying processes and tools to effectively
communicate with staff, students and parents
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The St. Louis Public Schools Leader Pathway Program
Aspiring School Leader Fellows Program Application
Name:
Home Address:
City/Zip:
Highest Degree Earned:
School:
Elementary
Institution:
Middle
High
School Address:
Work Phone:
Cell Phone:
Email:
Certifications:
Number of Years in Education:
Leadership Aspiration: Principal
Number of Years at Present Site:
Assistant Principal
Instructional Coach
Principal Signature: ______________________________________________________
Network Superintendent:
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PROFESSIONAL LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION: You are required to submit two letters
of recommendation. One of your recommenders MUST be a current or recent supervisor.
Recommendations should address the following:
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An experience in which the candidate demonstrated his or her potential to be a strong
instructional leader.
An experience in which this candidate demonstrated his or her the ability to be a creative
leader of change.
Specific ways in which you have observed/used this candidate's practice as a model for
others.
Names and Title of Recommenders:
Letters of recommendation may be submitted to: [email protected]
CANDIDATE QUESTIONS: Please respond to the questions below. No response should
exceed six sentences.
1. When you examine “the staff culture” of a school, what do you look for? In other words, what
elements are important to you and why?
2. Provide two impactful strategies to ensure the student culture is one in which students can
thrive to reach their fullest academic potential. Also, please elaborate on each strategy as
needed.
3. What are three most critical things you would do in a school to accelerate school growth and
ensure that every child is learning?
4. What is your approach to juggling multiple tasks, some that you are aware of and many
others that unexpectedly surface on a day-to-day basis? How do you do it all in a timely and
effectively manner? Can you?
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PROJECT: As mentioned earlier in the application, a major component of The Aspiring
School Leader Fellows Program requires the candidate to design a challenging, school-based
project or assume a coordinating role in collaboratively and cooperatively with their school
principal. The project or added responsibilities must be directly or indirectly focused on
increasing student achievement in their school in alignment with one of the SLPS Leader
Framework Levers. This project-based work involves identifying a problem or need, analyzing
school-based data, developing strategies for change, engaging necessary stakeholders,
planning and implementing the course of action, monitoring and readjusting the plan, and
ultimately, evaluating the plan. The project* does not need to be fully articulated in the initial
application; but, will be required of applicants moving to the in-person interview stage of
the application process.
Please complete and submit your application by postal mail or in AppliTrack no later than midnight on
September 24, 2015. NOTE: All applications must be received by September 24, 2015.
Office of Talent Strategy and Management
St. Louis Public Schools
801 N. 11th Street
St. Louis, MO 63101
Please direct questions to 314-345-4486 or [email protected]