Career Center

At The Speyer Legacy School, students are inspired to be intellectually curious and passionate. They realize their full potential as accelerated learners in a collaborative community that is committed to ethical values and action. Speyer students learn with like-minded classmates and are guided by academically fearless teachers who share and nourish their enthusiasm for knowledge and inquiry.

The Speyer Legacy School, a K-8 school for gifted students in Manhattan, seeks a self-motivated and passionate Director of Gifted Curriculum and Instruction, working to ensure that our teaching is engaging, effective, innovative, and aligned with the school’s mission and best practices in Gifted Education. A member of the senior administrative team, the Director works with Division Heads to develop, monitor, and deliver an appropriate curricular program. The Director will be responsible for both horizontal coordination and vertical scope and sequence of all elements of curriculum, both academic and social/emotional. The Director will be steeped in research and will use data and other assessments and feedback to ensure that the school’s curriculum and pedagogy meet the needs of gifted learners. The Director is responsible for ensuring teachers are appropriately trained to deliver curriculum of the highest quality and will observe, advise, and provide feedback to teachers through our informal and formal evaluation processes. This is a new role at Speyer.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Collaborate with teachers and division heads to regularly revisit curricula, ensuring vertical coherence from Kindergarten through eighth grade.
• Support teachers in implementing Gifted Education practices through co-planning lessons, conducting class observations, co-teaching and delivering demo lessons, providing instructional coaching, and sharing and recommending resources.
• Help hire and train new faculty; mentor new teachers focusing on Gifted Education as it is practiced at Speyer.
• In conjunction with the division heads, evaluate faculty and set professional development goals related to Gifted Education practices.
• Help develop plans for professional development days, including the week before school starts and the days devoted to professional development during the school year.
• Work with the division heads to develop the faculty meeting schedule; remind faculty/staff of upcoming meeting topics to ensure preparation.
• Support teachers in meeting the needs of Speyer students who perform above grade-level even compared to their Speyer peers.
• Partner with the School Psychologist Office to ensure SEL needs are woven throughout the curricular experience for gifted students.
• Partner with the DEIB Coordinator to ensure instruction and academic programming incorporate principles of Gifted Education and are culturally responsive and equitable.
• Promote an understanding of and communicate a cohesive vision for Gifted Education as it is practiced at Speyer to multiple constituencies, potentially including but not limited to faculty, families, the Board of Trustees, and the broader Gifted Education community.
• Participate in meetings and school events related to academic programming, curriculum, and instruction both during and after the school day as needed.
• Through attending relevant conferences and workshops, among other strategies, keep up-to-date with the latest research and trends in Gifted Education and critically examine their applicability and appropriateness for Speyer.
• Proactively identify additional opportunities to further the mission of the school.
• Take on additional responsibilities as assigned by the Head of School.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities

• Experience working with students in multiple grade levels and subjects preferred.
• Experience writing curricula, preferably with an eye towards vertical coherence.
• Demonstrated comfort working individually with and differentiating instruction for students working beyond grade-level.
• Familiarity with implementing principles of Gifted Education.
• Outstanding interpersonal, listening, and presentation skills and a sense of humor.
• Skill in applying research to practices and communicating this to faculty members.
• Willingness to listen, be flexible, and reflect as the first person to occupy this role.

Qualifications

• Completed certification or certificate in Gifted Education required.
• Completed master’s degree or higher in Gifted Education preferred.
• Demonstrated track record in pursuing, or willingness to pursue, continued professional development in Gifted Education after obtaining certification.

Application Information

To apply please send a cover letter reflecting your understanding of Gifted Education and reasons for pursuing this opportunity as well as your résumé indicating training and continued professional development in Gifted Education to employment@speyerlegacyschool.org. You should also include the contact information of three to five professional references. Please indicate “Director of Gifted Curriculum and Instruction” in the subject line.

The Speyer Legacy School welcomes candidates who will add to the diversity of our community and who have demonstrated a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in their teaching and learning.

The Speyer Legacy School is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, sex, disabilities, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, or family composition or any other status protected