Position Summary: The Watertown Public Schools seeks a strategic, collaborative, and creative leader who is dedicated to advancing the District’s equity work to help Watertown Public schools become an anti-racist and anti-bias school system. This person will report directly to the Superintendent of Watertown Public Schools and will be a part of the Superintendent’s Leadership Team.
Together, we are building a diverse and equitable school community based on the ABCDs: Academics, Belonging, Commitment to dismantling racism and oppression, and Diversity. These four principles from the RIDES (Reimagining Integration: Diverse and Equitable Schools) initiative have guided our work over the years, and the new Director will support these principles in their role. We seek candidates who share our commitment to removing barriers and limits that have historically been in place for our underrepresented and marginalized communities. The Director of Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging will have a dedicated budget to accomplish their work and will have access to administrative support.
In your cover letter, please include a diversity statement, explaining your past equity efforts, ideas, and experiences designed to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion in a school district or institution.
Compensation: $128,000-$141,000. The salary range will be determined by the Superintendent.
Start Date: As soon as possible, but no later than October.
Work Year: This is a full-time, salaried, non-aligned full year position that will require some evenings and weekends.
Benefits: This position is eligible for health and other voluntary insurances and benefits.
Reports to: Superintendent of Schools
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Racial Equity, Anti-Bias and Anti-Racism
- Serve as the primary steward of anti-racism and anti-bias dialogues and district-wide training.
- Design, lead implementation, evaluate and facilitate learning and other processes for all staff members that advance racial equity throughout all levels of the organization.
- Align Watertown Public Schools District Goals with the Equity Plan and the WPS School Committee Anti Racism Resolution.
- Serve as a coach, guide, advisor and mentor to school and department leaders, and ensure the sharing of racial equity, inclusion, and belonging best practices across departments and schools.
- Identify accountability and progress measures, document and report on outcomes through channels that are accessible and transparent to those whom racism impacts most.
- Build and support mechanisms that elevate the voices of students and families of color for input and leadership in key decision-making processes.
- Enhance availability of culturally responsive practices and modalities that honor the lived experiences of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) students and families.
Develop, manage and coordinate District’s Equity Priorities
- Develop, support, monitor, evaluate and recommend appropriate responses/actions to address institutional biases and structural racism in district programs and practices, and their associated impact on underserved and underrepresented communities.
- In collaboration with the Assistant Superintendent for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment, develop and coordinate efforts to ensure that the content of Watertown’s curriculum reflects its diverse student population as well as different historical perspectives.
- Collaborate with curriculum leaders to identify more culturally responsive and anti-racist/anti-bias learning opportunities and to modify curricula, as needed.
- Champion several of the District’spriorities and goals in its multi-year Strategy for Success.
- In collaboration with WPS staff plan, implement, and evaluation the District’s multi-year implementation plan for Restorative Justice.
- At the secondary level, working alongside principals, advance equity in leveling and course enrollment, including, but not limited to honors and advanced placement courses and academic electives, as well as extracurricular activities.
- Develop and implement professional learning for all faculty, staff, and associated groups to support culturally responsive, anti-bias, and anti-racist practices throughout the district.
- Implement the Equity Plan to ensure that the equity initiatives across the District are successful.
- Utilize an equity lens to support all strategic initiatives, decision-making, systems and goals for the District.
- Develop and coordinate efforts with the Assistant Superintendent and the Director of Student Services to ensure the District is in compliance with all federal and state civil rights laws and regulations.
Consultation and Collaboration
- Provide building administrators and staff with support and guidance in addressing and responding to specific incidents, including modeling inclusive communication and equitable discipline.
- Facilitate the Equity Leaders Team (teacher, parent, student and community representatives from all Watertown schools) to advance our commitment to becoming an anti-racist, anti-bias institution to share our work and our positive outcomes.
- Provide guidance, support, coaching, and mentoring to district leadership regarding diversity, equity and inclusion practice.
- Serve as the Title VI/Title IX Coordinator for students, along with the Director of Student Services.
- Other duties assigned by the Superintendent.
Collaboration with Human Resources
- Design and implement talent management processes and systems to increase diversity of the District faculty, staff and Leadership Team.
- Work with the Director of Human Resources to develop and deliver meaningful and engaging required training regarding discrimination and harassment.
- Provide support for hiring teams, including assisting with the creation of bias-free job descriptions, postings, and searches that reach diverse candidates.
- Work with Human Resources Director to recruit and hire educators within BIPOC groups; Facilitate pathways for professional growth, shared decision-making, and development for educators of color that build capacity and afford opportunities to create a professional culture where staff of color belong and want to remain for their career.
Program Monitoring
- Establish protocols and a system for reporting, tracking, and monitoring incidents of bias, racism, and discrimination.
- Measure, track and analyze the effectiveness of the District’s equity initiatives to becoming an anti-racist institution; report to the School Committee on progress and identify opportunities for improvement.
- Develop and implement feedback and monitoring systems that engage and capture the voices of families and students.
Student and Staff Relationships
- Form and facilitate partnership with our student leaders, build upon and institutionalize student-led equity initiatives to continue to enhance student climate and engagement.
- Facilitate and oversee the Anonymous Bias Reporting System, and the Bias Incident Review Team.
- Engage directly with students and staff to establish support groups and networks for underserved and underrepresented communities.
- Provide oversight for regular, consistent assessments related to school climate, diversity, and inclusion, including analysis and sharing of results; determine appropriate actions based on the results.
Family and Community Engagement
- Partner with the Anti-Bias Coalition and other community groups to help ensure the community’s understanding of our commitment to anti-racist and anti-bias school system, and awareness of our steps enacted to address the existence and impact of bias, discrimination, disability, and racism within the school community.
- Act as liaison to relevant City groups/boards.
- Plan, execute, and attend events that engage families in the work of DEIB (examples include community conversations, celebration events, etc.)
- Develop strong and substantive relationships with families to advance equity and inclusion.
- Collaborate with the District Diversity Parent Council.
Other:
Perform such additional responsibilities and duties as designated by the Superintendent of Schools or his/her designee.
Skill Set:
As the incoming Director of Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, you will possess many, though perhaps not all, of the following skills and experiences:
- Values and has a record of very effective collaboration and communication with shared District goals.
- Uses a strengths-based approach in determining what is working well in WPS, what needs improvement, and what is absent and in need of construction.
- Demonstrates initiative of a leader rather than a follower.
- Excellent command of current diversity, equity, and inclusion concepts and issues in public schools or institutions.
- Demonstrated success as a team and relationship builder. Strong interpersonal skills and ability to build coalitions and collaborative working relationships with a broad range of diverse individuals and groups.
- A systems thinker and change agent who understands/uses essential change leadership tenets.
- Demonstrated cultural awareness, agility, and ability to build trust, credibility and navigate a complex political and ideological landscape.
- Strong track record in managing change with an understanding of the history and politics within institutions that might impact the implementation of effective diversity change efforts.
- Exceptional oral and written communication skills with experience in multiple communication modes, including social media, and an ability to articulate the importance of inclusion and diversity to the broader community in Watertown.
- Knowledge of laws, regulations, and guidelines related to diversity, inclusion, and nondiscrimination in schools, including Title IX, Title VI, Title VII, IDEA, ADA, and Section 504.
- Experience using data and analytics to develop insights and drive decision-making.
Required Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s Degree required.
- Managing an equity and/or culture change initiative.
- Experience working with children/students, families, and staff from various racial, cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
- Demonstrated experience in DEIB work and in developing strategies that support cultural transformation in schools;
- Academic coursework in diversity, equity, and inclusion, Cultural and Ethnic Studies, or related fields;
- Excellent written and oral communication skills.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Master’s degree or graduate level coursework in counseling, educational leadership, social work or equity and inclusion preferred
- Teaching or administrative credential or similar non-school related certification
- 3-5 years of previous secondary-level administrative experience including significant supervisory experience
- Experience in a social justice agency
- Demonstrated bicultural and bilingual skills
- Experience facilitating faculty training and learning experiences
Equal Opportunity Employer
Watertown Public Schools is committed to maintaining a work and learning environment free from discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, pregnancy, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital/civil union status, ancestry, place of birth, age, citizenship status, veteran status, political affiliation, genetic information or disability, as defined and required by state and federal laws. Additionally, we prohibit retaliation against individuals who oppose such discrimination and harassment or who participate in an equal opportunity investigation.