Humanities Instructional Coach
About the Paulo Freire School
The Paulo Freire Charter School (aka The Freire School) has received authorization and approval from the
New Jersey State Department of Education to open a charter school in Newark, NJ to serve students in
grades 9-12. In September 2012, The Freire School will open its doors to 80 incoming 9 th grade students.
Mission of the Paulo Freire Charter School
The mission of the Paulo Freire Charter School (aka The Freire School) is to service those who strive to grow
in knowledge, wisdom, and understanding for the betterment of our society. We seek to improve the
quality of life by putting scholarship into practice for the purpose of addressing social inequities and
injustices. Through a cyclical process of inquiry, thoughtful discourse, and social engagement our scholars
take key concepts and apply them to service learning projects that promote social justice and democracy.
Our goal is to develop a self-actualized scholar, who possesses a knowledgeable and discerning mind,
thrives in service to others, and is prepared for higher education. Our belief system is built upon a
commitment to social justice, a respect for all classifications of individuals, and an understanding of our
impact on the future.
Administrators, Instructional Managers (teachers), and Support Staff must firmly believe in the mission of
the school, its goals, and its core value: as teachers one of our most important roles is to foster the active
use of knowledge.
The Freire School is committed to:
1. Placing a premium on inquiry based instruction and social engagement.
2. Maintaining a commitment to a cognitive apprenticeship methodology.
3. Hiring and retaining high-quality, mission aligned teachers.
4. Using a data-driven approach to plan and implement lessons.
5. Employing a variety of customized daily student supports.
About the Position:
The Humanities Instructional Coach helps guide faculty within the school to design and deliver the highestquality curricula and to ensure that students’ learning experiences are engaging and rigorous. The
Humanities Instructional Coach dialogues with teachers within the humanities content areas
(English/Literature, Social Studies, and Foreign Language) about their pedagogical practices and planning in
order to further each individual teacher’s development. Expectations of this role include regularly scheduled
classroom observation and feedback sessions, support of curriculum and lesson design, planning and delivery
of professional development sessions, and sharing external professional development opportunities with
faculty and school leadership. The Humanities Instructional Coach supports data-driven instruction to
ensure student mastery of grade-level and college-readiness standards.
The Humanities Instructional Coach reports directly to the Dean of Curriculum and Instruction and is also
accountable to the Chief Academic Officer and School Leaders.
The Humanities Instructional Coach performs the following essential duties and responsibilities:
Ensuring the continuous professional development of content-area staff, including:
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Contributing to and supporting plans for individual and content team professional development;
Conducting classroom observations and following up with targeted feedback and support for teachers,
aligned with the Paulo Freire Charter School Instructional Framework;
Executing the Paulo Freire Charter School Instructional Coaching Cycle to support teachers’ attainment
of performance and professional growth goals;
Collaborating with the Academic Leadership Team to support individual teacher growth and to develop
a menu of internal and external professional development opportunities available to teachers;
Providing model teaching and real-time coaching support to teachers on an as-needed basis,
Submitting weekly schedule that includes by the hour activities with teacher that includes but not
limited to: observations, coaching meetings, planning, lesson planning
Submitting activity logs on the above activity that includes but not limited to: areas of concern, areas
of focus and action steps; and
Recording individual teachers’ goals, action steps, and observation notes and storing them onto the
school database.
Supporting the development and implementation of a rigorous, college preparatory curriculum, including:
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Collaborating with the entire Academic Team to facilitate the development of curricular support
documents;
Supporting with managing classrooms, setting up and using resources, completing professional
responsibilities to help teachers reflect on their practice;
Providing lesson-planning and unit-planning support to teachers; and,
Supporting teachers’ development and use of high-quality, standards-based instructional materials.
Supporting internal and external assessment systems and helps teachers use assessment data to further
improve the quality of instruction, including:
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Working with teachers to set clear, measurable student performance goals for students in their
individual classes;
Holding frequent data conversations with teachers, strategically analyzing areas for targeted
instruction;
Help teachers understand the new Common Core based assessments administered by the state and
plan their curriculum and instruction with this end in mind;
Fostering teacher analysis of formal and informal assessment data in order to target interventions that
will ensure the academic success of all students; and,
Collaborating with the Academic Leadership Team to generate and facilitate common assessments and
their administration.
Supports the teacher evaluation process, including:
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Providing written feedback from execution of the Paulo Freire Instructional Coaching Cycle for
documentation of teachers’ professional growth, aligned to our coaching documentation platform;
Communicating with school leadership to support equitable mid- and end-of-year evaluations of
teachers;
Reviewing lesson plans and providing feedback weekly; and,
Recognizing and celebrating student achievement and staff professional growth and success.
Team Work and Partnering
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Working closely with the administration to establish a positive, structured, achievement-oriented, and
creative school culture.
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Serving as the primary formation and discipline authority for students, supporting teachers with
students who are being disruptive in class, removing students (as necessary) and assigning appropriate
consequences
Working with colleagues to maintain a consistent discipline policy that rewards positive behaviors
(through school leadership opportunities, enrichment trips, and congratulatory home visits) and deters
negative behaviors (through detentions, exclusion from extended-day programs and enrichment trips,
and home visits)
Helping teachers build effective relationships with students and parents by establishing protocols and
best practices to ensure that teachers communicate regularly with parents
Supporting teachers to hold all students to high and consistent behavioral expectations
Researching, recommending, developing, and implementing new initiatives that strengthen student
success
Reviewing homework completion rates by class and by student and intervene as necessary with
teachers and parents.
Creating behavior plans for students with behavioral challenges; partner with teachers to provide extra
interventions, and assist teachers, students, and parents in the effective implementation of individual
behavior plans.
Professional Development
1) Attending required staff meetings and serve, as appropriate, on staff committees
2) Being open to feedback and willing to take personal responsibility
3) Maintaining a robust personal organization system that ensures all tasks or “To Do” items are
captured, prioritized, and ultimately accomplished; plan each day and week to ensure that top
priorities are addressed and accomplished on time
4) Engaging in appropriate studies and activities to improve professional competence
5) Participating in appropriate local, state and national professional meetings, conferences, and
conventions
6) Keeping informed of the latest research trends and developments in pertinent areas of position
7) Continuing to grow professionally through collaboration with colleagues and professional growth
experiences
Performs other duties as assigned
Skills & Qualifications
1) Bachelor's Degree, Master’s Degree in Education, Curriculum and Instruction, or other related area
preferred
2) Possession of New Jersey Standard Teaching Certification, or out-of-state certification, in
Secondary English or Secondary Social Studies.
3) A minimum of 4 years of successful teaching in a low income schools with demonstrated exemplary
student results.
4) Must have desire to be part of a team-oriented, mission-driven school.
5) Research and evaluation experience, including qualitative and quantitative data analysis.
6) Maintain a familiarity with current research and best practices related to curriculum development,
instructional pedagogies, and assessment.
7) Must have desire to be part of a team-oriented, mission-driven school.
8) Must be creative and detail oriented, with well-developed organization skills.
9) Must be able to acquire, synthesize and implement new information quickly and confidently.
10) Must have a willingness to do whatever it takes to ensure the school's success.
11) Must be flexible under pressure.
12) Must enjoy working with high school students; Experience in urban schools, highly preferred.
13) Demonstrated capacity in being a catalyst for change, well organized and collaborative.
Salary will be commensurate with experience and past results. Employee benefits include medical, dental,
and participation in state pension program.
Please send a (1) cover letter, (2) current professional resume, (3) a written document outlining your
Philosophy on Education, (4) a completed application to careers@thefreireschool.org.
Please put the job title, Humanities Instructional Coach, in the subject line of your email.
Please also see our website www.thefreireschool.org for additional details.
The Paulo Freire Charter School is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of
race, religion, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital or familial status, national origin, alienage or
citizenship or disability status.
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