Title: Innovation Specialist
Reports to: Chief Information Officer
FLSA Status: Exempt
Effective Date: July 1, 2020
School Overview
Breck School is a preschool through twelve, college preparatory, Episcopal day school located in Golden Valley, Minnesota. In the context of an inclusive and caring community, Breck enjoys a national reputation for excellence and achievement in academics, athletics, and the arts. Our School’s Episcopal roots are lived through the unwavering commitment to diversity and inclusion where we respect the dignity of every human being and hold a firm belief in social responsibility. We are a close and caring community that focuses on lifelong learning and a commitment to the greater good.
Across the school and across constituencies, there is collective focus on care for each individual student in service of excellence. A community of high-achieving and motivated students and faculty, staff, and administrators focused on intellectual inquiry, engagement, and bridging research to practice, Breck is committed to offering an exceptional school experience to our students. Upon graduation, Breck students lead lives of intellectual curiosity, self-knowledge, and social responsibility and matriculate to colleges and universities throughout the world.
Job Summary
The Innovation Specialists strengthen instruction, innovation, and technology integration in order to advance Breck’s mission and establish Breck as a nationally recognized leader in instructional technology, by providing coaching, support, and training that:
- Empowers Faculty
- Engages Students
- Champions Innovation
- Coaches Collaboratively
- Leads Transformation
Success Indicators
Empower Faculty
You are someone who is highly empathetic, and someone who seeks opportunities to challenge the status quo.
- Develop strong and deep relationships.
You are someone who brings context to content.
- Deepen impactful technology use across divisions and departments.
- Serve as a thought partner for using instructional technology in ways that advance Breck’s mission.
You are someone who can help others understand how to put theory into action.
- Align work with Mind, Brain, & Education and the characteristics of a high-quality Breck educator.
You are someone with big ideas who can meet people where they are and inspire them to aspire for more.
- Model pedagogical expertise in work with all Breck faculty.
Engage Students
You are someone who believes schools make better decisions when students have a seat at the table.
- Empower students to publicly share their technical knowledge with others via professional development and conference presentations.
You are someone who believes that creative solutions should be celebrated, challenged and supported.
- Work closely with students as they pursue creative learning solutions, personalized assessments, and individual innovation projects with school-wide, local, national and global impact.
You are someone who believes that diverse perspectives lead to better solutions.
- Include diverse student voices to amplify equity and inclusion across divisions and departments.
You are someone who empowers students to demonstrate excellence beyond traditional expectations.
- Advance critical thinking.
You are someone who believes in Breck’s mission.
- Impact every student at Breck to deepen their intellectual curiosity, self-knowledge, and social responsibility.
Champion Innovation
You are someone who believes you have a role in building a better future.
- Share a personal interest and deep knowledge of instructional technology with the entire school.
You are someone who believes that technology can be a force for good.
- Empower faculty with the toolsets, skill sets, and mindsets needed to leverage technology to advance collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, communication, and learning.
You are someone who has a broad network of colleagues and mentors who inspire, affirm, and challenge you.
- Connect to the broader instructional technology community and draw on national/global experts to help advance our common work.
You are someone who is eager to engage in new learning.
- Serve as a mentor to faculty and students.
You are someone who understands how clear benchmarks can help us achieve big goals.
- Develop and report on clear benchmarks that illustrate how we are maximizing our investment in technology.
You are someone who helps others authentically problem solve, advocate for new solutions, and champion big ideas.
- Actively empower faculty and students with:
- the ability to use our technology tools to automate tasks, increase efficiency and broaden access
- the skill sets to create real work, contribute to the larger discussion and advance communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity
- and the mindsets to advocate, authentically problem solve and champion big ideas.
Coach Collaboratively
You are someone who is comfortable in discomfort and enthusiastic about helping others work through it.
- Directly coach a group of faculty each quarter.
You are someone who understands the importance of stories.
- Highlight faculty and student success.
- Highlight specific Breck faculty successes in regularly scheduled updates.
- Empower colleagues to develop and share great ideas.
You are someone who finds satisfaction in helping others achieve success.
- Collaborate with faculty to strengthen authentic learning experiences using digital tools and strategies founded in Mind, Brain & Education and research-driven pedagogical practices.
You are someone who welcomes feedback at each step of your design process.
- Share your goals with the broader community.
You are someone who gets things done punctually and seeks ways to learn and grow with each new project.
- Organize and deliver compelling professional development for faculty, staff, and administration throughout the year.
You are someone who is energized by working on a highly collaborative, fast-paced team.
- Collaboratively write a scheduled newsletter highlighting goals, big ideas, and Breck’s successes.
Lead Transformation
You are someone who is committed to disrupting systemic inequities and making space for more voices at the table.
- Champion diversity, equity, and inclusion and incorporate many voices into our shared work.
You are someone who draws on a wide range of expertise to build a more lasting solution.
- Build programs that align with Breck’s mission and create buy-in across departments and divisions.
You are someone who has unique and diverse skills, talents, and interests.
- Share expertise to strengthen the team’s overall impact.
You are someone who can solve problems, manage changing priorities, and thrive in the midst of ambiguity.
- Collaborate with others to always advance the team’s goals.
You are someone who has brought innovative ideas to life.
- Leverage design thinking and similar models to advance innovative solutions.
Education and/or Experience
- 10+ years of teaching experience
- Experience teaching in a 1:1 environment
- Advanced degree preferred
- One or more of the following certifications:
- Google for Education Certified Innovator
- Apple Distinguished Educator
or
- Google for Education Certified Trainer with a plan for Innovator and/or Distinguished Educator application
- Evidence of successfully launching and maintaining innovative programs with a local, national and/or global impact
- Experience leading design thinking and similar models to advance innovative solutions
- Experience teaming to facilitate a strong coaching program with 3+ years of coaching experience
- Established record of presenting in schools and at conferences
- Experience facilitating dynamic large and small group professional learning for teachers
- An established web presence
To Apply
Submit resume, letter of interest, and two letters of reference to: employment@breckschool.org