High School Department Chair - Counseling (SY25-26, Internal Applicants

Department Chairs Job Description

The High School Department Chair provides academic leadership and support to specific subject-area departments (e.g., English, Math, Science, History, etc.) and serves as a key liaison between teachers and school administration. The Department Chair works to ensure high-quality instruction, content expertise, alignment to standards and curriculum, and a positive, collaborative department culture.

Stipend: $3000/year

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Responsibilities:

Lead the Team:

• Model the use of best practices in instruction and student assessment in your content area.
• Conduct peer observations to monitor curriculum alignment and coherent academic expectations
• Lead Plan and deliver content specific professional development
• Organize, plan and chair regular department meetings and follow up as appropriate with minutes and distribution of information.
• Serve as a liaison between department staff and school or district administration, ensuring effective communication and alignment.

Manage the Curriculum:

• Meet regularly with the Principal to provide input about the short-term and long-term improvements to make to our curriculum to ensure our scholars’ success in high school, college, and beyond.
• Ensure vertical alignment of your content area as well as the integration of literacy in all subject areas.
• Coordinate and monitor all content-specific standardized assessments, including midterms and final exams alongside the school leadership team
• Coordinate and monitor mid-term and final exams
• Be responsible for resource identification, procurement, and organization of materials consistent with the budget.
• Use data to identify priority areas for the following year including using and/or assessments that need revision

Analyze and Respond to Data

• Review and prioritize standards yearly across all grade levels to ensure alignment to MA frameworks, MCAS readiness, and the logic of units.
• Plan and run data meetings after assessments to shape curricular changes and adjustments to lesson plans.
• Plan and run quarterly looking at student work/table scoring sessions with all department instructional staff

Perform other job-related duties as assigned by the principal

Key qualities/experience necessary for the role:

• Exemplary instructional and professional practice

• Commitment to school systems and structures, cross-curricular coordination, and collaboration with school leadership team

• Ability to maintain alignment between smaller projects and a larger strategic priority

• Obsessive use of data/student work to drive decision-making

• Ability to positively influence and support peers

• Deep subject area knowledge

• Commitment to creating clear, simple systems for organization (for curriculum resources and storage)

• High expectations for all and a growth mindset

Requirements

What You'll Need (Key Qualifications)

• Ability to hold a high bar for grade-level academic standards and academic performance
• Ability to collaborate across teams (culture, operations, etc.)
• Ability to utilize data to make decisions
• Ability to positively influence and support peers
• Commitment to creating clear, simple systems for organization
• Solutions-oriented mindset when navigating challenges
• Excitement to grow one’s leadership skills with a community of other teacher leaders
• Willingness to learn from and alongside other department chairs
• Ability to take feedback in order to improve one’s meeting facilitation skills
• Ability to see themselves as a change agent who can influence the practices of peers
• Commitment to anti-racism and ability to utilize the Veritas Anti-Racism Standards to promote change

Time Commitment (In School and Out of School)

• 1 to 2 days of training over the summer
• Quarterly after-school professional development
• Weekly tasks and preparation related to the role, as described above