Director of Advanced Academics and Gifted Programs

Job Description:

The Director of Advanced Academics and Gifted Programs provides visionary leadership to ensure equitable access to high-quality advanced academic opportunities for students. This position oversees the design, implementation, and evaluation of gifted services and advanced academics across the division, ensuring alignment with state and federal requirements as well as the Alexandria City Public School Schools strategic priorities. The Director of Advanced Academics and Gifted Programs (AAGP) administers programs and coordinates services as identified for Advanced Academics, including the Young Scholars Program, International Baccalaureate (IB) Programme, Advanced Placement (AP), Dual Enrollment (DE), and the support of the Honors Programs grades 6-12 in collaboration with the content specialists.

The Director provides both leadership and support in instructional and pupil services as they affect these areas, specifically in academic disparities and disproportionately amongst black and brown students and their white student counterparts in ACPS. The Director leads and supports efforts to identify and nurture student talent, expand participation of underrepresented populations in advanced programs, and foster instructional excellence through professional learning and curriculum development. Serving as the division's lead advocate for advanced academics, the Director collaborates with families, school leaders, educators, and community partners to prepare students for success in college, career, and lifelong learning.

The Director of Advanced Academics and Gifted Programs also works in collaboration with the College and Career team and supervises two instructional specialists, four full-time itinerant teachers and one part-time itinerant teacher. This position reports directly to the Executive Director of Instructional Support.

Qualifications:

• Education: Master's degree required.

• Certificates & Licenses: Valid Virginia Department of Education license required, including Administration and Supervision PreK-12 endorsement and VDOE recognized gifted education endorsement.

• Experience: Job-related within a specialized field with increasing levels of responsibility is required.

Essential Functions:

(These are intended only as illustrations of the various types of work performed. The omission of specific duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment to the position.)

• Develop, implement, and sustain a vision for advanced academics and gifted education aligned to district strategic priorities and state/federal regulations.
• Lead continuous improvement of K-12 advanced academic programming, ensuring equitable access for historically underrepresented groups.
• Communicate program goals, outcomes, and impact to the School Board, superintendent, families, and community partner.
• Develop and manage budgets for advanced academic and gifted programs.
• Oversee allocation of staffing, instructional materials, and technology to support program implementation.
• Build capacity of school-based staff through professional learning to identify, nurture, and support gifted learners, including those from underrepresented populations (ELs, students with disabilities, low-income students).
• Implements procedures and processes for identifying students eligible for Advanced Academics and Gifted Programs at all grade levels division-wide using various assessments.
• Evaluates the effectiveness of instructional methods and recommends improvements as needed.
• Provides regular, school-based instructional support to ensure alignment of written and taught curriculum.
• Acts as liaison with appropriate groups including the Advanced Academic Services Advisory Committee (AASAC) of the ACPS School Board, and partnerships for fostering communication, understanding, and maintaining a public awareness of school division services to gifted students, AP, DE, IB, and honors while ensuring access and opportunity within these academic areas.
• Coordinates meetings with other content specialists, teachers, administrators, and other central office personnel to disseminate information regarding current developments and teaching practices in the field that affords equity and diversity within gifted and advanced academics.
• Conducts research on trends and best practices in various K-12 educational programs, such as IB, AP, DE, and AAS and educational equity.
• Supports leaders in the improvement of instructional delivery and performance.
• Provides input on the expansion or elimination of courses and programs as necessary.
• Facilitates the development, revision, and monitoring of the division's Local Plan for the Gifted per state regulations.
• The Local Plan must include the following:




• statement of philosophy for gifted education and local gifted education definition
• division's program goals and objectives
• procedures for early and ongoing screening, referral, identification, and placement of students
• assurances that selected and administered testing and assessments meet standards
• and supports diversity notification to parents or legal guardians
• providing copies of the plan to the public
• professional learning for educators serving students in Advanced Academic and Gifted Programs
• ensuring continuous and sequential service for students K to12 including differentiated curriculum and programs of advanced studies
• the annual review of the plan's effectiveness
• assurances that student records are maintained in compliance with laws and regulations assurances that student Differentiated Education Plans are incorporated into gifted education services as needed

• Guides or assists with the administration of special Advanced Academic programs for screening, referral, identification, and placement of gifted students in cooperation with the school, student services, and administrative personnel to ensure equitable practices and policies.
• Arranges professional learning for AA, AP, DE, Young Scholars, and IB teachers.
• Arranges learning opportunities for other audiences to provide information on the identification of AAGP students, details strategies for meeting the unique academic, social, and emotional needs of AA students including the unique challenges, experiences, and the needs of AA students of color.
• Designs, supervises, and assists others in placement procedures and initial and ongoing assessment of AA students' progress in academic growth in cooperation with school and administrative personnel.
• Develops and administers budgets for various AAGP program segments and reviews and approves all expenditures.
• Evaluates staff to adhere to the school division's Local Plan for the Gifted plan, along with policies and procedures connected to the program
• Assists principals in the hiring of Advanced Academics and Gifted Program teachers upon request.
• Maintains data with assistance from ACPS Accountability Department on gifted students' enrollment and distribution of students within the school division in adherence to ACPS policies, including disproportionality and underrepresented student groups and other selected information on gifted students.
• Provides leadership in curriculum development to maintain program standards for gifted K-12, including advanced content, original research or production, problem finding and solving, and higher-level thinking that leads to the generation of products, focus on issues, themes, and ideas within and across areas of study.
• Provides information to gifted students' parents/guardians regarding the school division and supports efforts to involve parents in their children's education.
• Administers the Governor's School application process.
• Supports the need of gifted students in division-wide and school planning and policy-making (such as admissions policy, strategic planning, evaluation policy, report card revision, staff development, and minority achievement).
• Responds to local and state agencies to provide information regarding gifted students and school division services provided for them.
• Reviews and is knowledgeable of current legislation, regulations, and policies at the state and division level to assess the impact on the gifted student population and recommend engagement with the findings.
• Establish appropriate procedures for implementation and incorporation of state and division policies and recommendations for increasing academic access and opportunity and minimizing disproportionality.
• Develops and implements models of identification and support to address the disproportionality of underrepresented populations.
• Provides regular communication to internal and external stakeholders through the Advanced Academics and Gifted Programs website, newsletters, and division-wide communication outlets.
• Performs other duties as may be assigned by the Executive Director of Instructional Support.

Salary:

• Salary for this position is on the Adminstrator LAS-F scale/grade, determined by The ACPS Licensed Administrator Salary Scale

Clearances:

• Criminal Justice Fingerprint/Background Clearance.
• Tuberculosis Skin Test.

Public Health Compliance

• Must follow safety and health protocols.

WP