Senior Associate, Massachusetts Personalized Learning Network
DISTRICT & SCHOOL DESIGN TEAM
JOB POSTING
The Center for Collaborative Education is seeking a qualified candidate to be a Senior Associate
for our Massachusetts Personalized Learning Network (PLN) to create personalized learning
online modules and assist districts that are engaged in the MAPLN and related personalized
learning programming. This position is housed within our District and School Design Team and
reports directly to the Director of the MA Personalized Learning Network. This is a full-time
position.
The PLN
CCE has a rich history of supporting in-district schools that have autonomy to be more
innovative, believing that schools have the best opportunity for educating a diverse enrollment of
students when they are provided maximum control over their resources and decisions, paired
with a strong accountability system and expectations of high performance on multiple measures.
Yet, as stated by the Next Generation Learning Challenge (2014), “the prevailing model of
schooling in the United States largely reflects a century-old factory/efficiency model that was not
designed to meet the needs of today’s global society or increasingly diverse student population.”
As the state’s student population grows more diverse, this one-size-fits-all model of schooling
from the past will not close achievement gaps or produce citizens who are equipped with the
knowledge, skills, and entrepreneurial spirit that will be necessary for success in the 21st century.
In March 2014, the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education released a report on The New
Opportunity to Lead, providing recommendations for the future of MA education, in which they
called for “unleashing innovation.” The report calls for the state to “adopt new models of
schooling which are student-centered and personalized: where students can learn anytime,
anywhere; where teaching is more tailored to their needs and aspirations; where students play a
much more active role in their own learning; and where they move ahead once they have mastery
of relevant knowledge and skills.” Massachusetts needs “proof points” of how learning can be
structured radically different than most of today’s schools, while enabling all students to excel.
With this backdrop and in partnership with Learn/Launch, Massachusetts Department of
Elementary & Secondary Education, National Center for Time on Learning, and BPE, CCE is
launching the Massachusetts Personalized Learning Network (PLN). We aspire to have PLN
contribute to a fundamental shift away from the traditional approach of schooling to one that
enables the increasing diversity of our students to excel in relevant and rigorous instruction and
real-life assessments of progress. Through a multi-district approach, we seek to create a MA
“tipping point” for personalized learning (PL).
Tel: 617.421.0134
33 Harrison Avenue, 6th floor Boston, MA 02111
www.cce.org
Fax: 617.421.9016
PLN will be driven by the following principles:
- Personalized Learning Pathways
- Competency-Based Progression
- Flexible Learning Environments
- Engaged Learning: Small Group, Project-Based & Blended
- Next Generation Curriculum & Instruction
- Social & Emotional Learning and Academic Mindsets
Over the coming years, we hope to sponsor successive cohorts of personalized learning schools.
All proposed school designs will originate within Boston and other selected MA urban school
districts, and will be required to gain Innovation or Horace Mann charter school status.
Preference will be given to new school design and proposed redesigned schools that can
demonstrate break-the-mold capacity and embrace all PLN tenets. Selected teams will receive
planning and then implementation grants, as well as support in all aspects of design and early
implementation (through the first launch year) that will be contextualized to each individual
design team and unique conditions. An ongoing PLN will provide opportunities for PL schools
to visit one another’s schools, share successes, problem-solve dilemmas, and engage in further
learning. Simultaneously, the PLN will work with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary
& Secondary Education (ESE) to explore supportive policy and resources to promote PL schools
across the state.
Responsibilities of the Senior Associate for the PLN
The Senior Associate for the MA Personalized Learning Network (PLN) will be responsible for
some or all of the following:
- Create personalized learning professional development modules to include an online course of
study
- Provide and coordinate coaching, technical assistance, and professional development to
assigned schools engaged in PLN
- Provide network professional development and follow-up coaching support to cohort districts
- Assist in developing professional development and materials related to personalized learning,
the competency-based progression, flexible learning environments, engaged learning
(including small group, project-based, and blended learning), next generation curriculum and
instruction, and social emotional learning (SEL) and academic mindsets
- Collaborate on a coaching plan for schools and districts based on their current needs
- Work as a collaborative member of the PLN team in planning and facilitating the provision of
high quality services to partnering schools
- Be a collaborative member of the District and School Design Team and Center for
Collaborative Education
Tel: 617.421.0134
33 Harrison Avenue, 6th floor Boston, MA 02111
www.cce.org
Fax: 617.421.9016
Qualifications
The successful candidate for the position of the Senior Associate for the PLN should have the
following qualifications:
-
Masters or advanced degrees in education or a related field
Experience working in public schools, either in a teaching capacity or other professional role
Experience with coaching strategies or protocols
Strong facilitation and teaming skills
Knowledge and understanding of autonomous schools (i.e. Innovation, Pilot, and Horace Mann
Charter Schools)
- Knowledge and understanding of basic principles of personalized learning as described above
- Good writing skills
- Experience with a school reform effort, either as a staff person or as an outside facilitator is
desired
Salary
The salary and benefits are competitive.
Application
Interested applicants should send a cover letter and resume to Allison Short at
ashort@ccebos.org.
The Center for Collaborative Education is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and
is committed to diversity in the workplace by maintaining a staff that represents the voices of the
communities we serve.
This position is open until filled.
Background to the Center for Collaborative Education
The Center’s mission is to transform schools to ensure that all students succeed. We partner with
educators and leaders to develop strategies, processes, and tools that support our vision of
schools that prepare every student to achieve academically and make a positive contribution to a
democratic society.
We fulfill this mission in three primary ways:
- Creating, supporting, and sustaining learning environments that are collaborative, democratic,
and equitable
- Building capacity within districts and schools to adopt effective practices that promote
collaborative, democratic, and equitable learning for students and educators
- Catalyzing systemic change at the state, district, and school levels through policy, research, and
advocacy work.
Tel: 617.421.0134
33 Harrison Avenue, 6th floor Boston, MA 02111
www.cce.org
Fax: 617.421.9016