Summer Instructional Coach
Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville Campuses
ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW
About Us and Our Philosophy
Breakthrough Greater Boston (BTGB) is a transformative college access and teacher training program. BTGB offers six years of academic enrichment and college preparation to middle school and high school students with high potential but limited opportunities. Simultaneously, BTGB recruits, trains and inspires a diverse cohort of high achieving college students to become the next generation of urban teachers. Leveraging a Students Teaching Students model, BTGB provides engaging, tuition-free academic programming during the summer and after school. Our students gain the skills and motivation to succeed in rigorous high school courses and, ultimately, in college. Meanwhile, our teachers gain hands-on experience, research-based training and coaching from professional educators.
Over the past eight years, 97% of our graduating students have matriculated to college, and 82% of them have persisted through their undergraduate years. On average, more than 70% of our graduating teachers have gone on to pursue careers in education. After two decades of success at our original Cambridge site, BTGB embarked upon a significant program expansion and opened a second site in Boston in the summer of 2013 and a third site in Somerville in 2018. As an independent 501c3 nonprofit, Breakthrough Greater Boston is part of The Breakthrough Collaborative, a national educational movement working to improve educational outcomes for youth across 25 U.S. cities.
With a deep commitment to our mission, BTGB operates with the highest standards of integrity and best practices, while also enjoying the ability to be innovative and flexible to meet the evolving needs of our students, families and teachers. Our team is diverse, high-performing and dedicated. We continue to build an organizational culture that emphasizes our core values for every member of our community:
● Spirit: We cherish and embody the youthful energy and spirit of our students and
teachers
● Continual Learning: Everyone in our community has something to learn and
something to teach
● Team Together: We all chip in to accomplish whatever is needed for our teammates
and the broader organization
● Student Centered: Our students are our first priority and our decisions center around what benefits our students
● Equity and Opportunity: We value diversity of identity, background and thought. We treat everyone with dignity and respect
● Excellence in Everything: We maintain high expectations for ourselves
Breakthrough Greater Boston encourages individuals of all backgrounds to apply for this position, and we do not discriminate on any basis prohibited by applicable law. We celebrate the diversity of our world and our community, and we seek to build a team that reflects that diversity in every way. We welcome and encourage all qualified applicants who share that same vision, as we wish to engage all those who can contribute to our work and this mission.
THE OPPORTUNITY
BTGB’s Instructional Coaches are a team of seasoned teachers who train, mentor
and support our young teaching staff. Through regular observation and coaching,
Instructional Coaches help our teachers learn to teach effectively, plan diligently and
become immersed in education.
YOUR CONTRIBUTION
● Provide guidance and support for teachers in writing lesson plans, developing
instructional techniques and implementing classroom management plans
● Observe 4-10 teachers regularly and conduct follow up conferences to provide
feedback
● Coach and support our high school junior teaching fellows
● Ensure junior teachers are integrated into daily department meeting times
● Collect, evaluate and provide feedback for teachers on daily lesson plans
● Facilitate a weekly extended professional development session for teachers on
Wednesday afternoons
● Observe, evaluate and provide feedback for teachers based on BTGB’s
Teacher Excellence Rubric
● Collaborate with Program Directors to ensure teaching fellows are making
gains in key professional skills
● Write a summative evaluation for each teacher in your group to be completed
by the final day of the Summer Program
● Provide advice and instruction for teachers on “hands-on” teaching
techniques and resources
● Collaborate with Program Directors on pre and post assessment
administration, data collection and data analysis
● For Math Instructional Coaches: provide targeted, differentiated support for
students as determined by Program Director
● Support program management and model effective teacher leadership
during key community times such as hallway transitions, snack time, lunch,
clubs, and special events
● Support teaching fellows and students in community spaces
● Co-lead instruction and provide classroom coverage as needed
● Support as needed with individual student academic and behavioral
challenges
● Potential to collaborate and support with subject specific interventionist
YOUR BACKGROUND AND QUALIFICATIONS
● At least two years of teaching experience (three or more years preferred)
● Teaching degree or certification strongly preferred
● Commitment to and passion for educational equity
● Understanding of the social, emotional and cognitive developmental level of
middle school students
● Ability to work with students from diverse cultural and economic backgrounds
● Ability to deliver positive, constructive and honest feedback
● Outstanding presentation, writing and organizational skills
● Energy!
LOGISTICS
Breakthrough is seeking Instructional Coaches for all sites.
Locations for summer programming are:
Boston: New Mission (655 Metropolitan Ave Hyde Park, MA 02136)
Cambridge: Cambridge Rindge and Latin School (459 Broadway, Cambridge)
Somerville: John F Kennedy School (5 Cherry St Somerville, MA 02145)
Instructional coaches work approximately 40 hours per week during the 5-week
Summer Program (July 8-August 9). An example schedule is below; the summer IC
schedule for this being created.
● M/W: 8-2:30; T/TH: 8-4:30
● Fridays: Assigned two Fridays to work 9-3pm (dates TBD)
● Max 40 hours a week
● 3-5 hours of take-home work each week
Instructional Coaches will support during pre-summer teacher training dates TBD (IC
hours are flexible during the pre-summer teacher training). Instructional Coaches
will have 10 hours of pre-summer training in late May/early June.
COMPENSATION
The Instructional Coach is a paid position. The hourly rate is $40/hour.
HOW TO JOIN OUR TEAM
Apply online at https://breakthrough.tfaforms.net/306643 or email
jobs@btgbmail.org with your resume and cover letter.
For more information, reach out to Carrah Olive-Hall, Director of Curriculum and
Instruction, at colivehall@btgbmail.org.
Candidates for employment and employees are considered without regard to race,
religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, citizenship, military
status, gender identity, genetic disposition or carrier status, marital status or any
other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law.
Thank you for your interest in Breakthrough Greater Boston!