Director - Secondary Teaching & Learning

About the Department

Tacoma Public Schools

Expected Start Date: July 1, 2026

FTE: 1.0

Salary Level: $163,764 - $222,275 DOE

Benefits: This job has the full range of benefits offered by Tacoma Public Schools. 

Position Duties

JOB SUMMARY

The Director, Secondary Teaching and Learning provides strategic, equity-focused leadership to strengthen teaching and learning in middle and high schools by designing and implementing a coherent instructional system, building leadership capacity, and driving continuous improvement through data-informed practices. The Director provides districtwide leadership for curriculum and instruction by aligning standards-based curriculum, instructional practices, professional learning, and assessment systems with district goals; building leadership capacity among principals and instructional leadership teams; and ensuring that culturally responsive, evidence-based Tier 1 instruction and MTSS implementation are consistent across secondary classrooms and schools. The Director collaborates with cross-functional teams and district leadership to support school improvement and uses student and implementation data to prepare secondary students for college, careers, and community involvement. Leads curriculum and instruction for grades 6–12, including secondary-specific systems such as course pathways, graduation requirements, grading practices, and postsecondary readiness.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

1. Design and align the secondary instructional system by leading the alignment and prioritization of 6^th through 12^th learning standards, curriculum expectations, and assessment supports in service of district goals. 

2. Ensure College and Career Pathway coherence by aligning secondary curriculum and instructional supports with graduation requirements to prepare students for college, career, and community (including coherent course progression approval, equitable access, and district grading practices). 

3. Plan, develop, and maintain 6^th through 12^th programs across content areas; identify and implement strategies that strengthen student learning outcomes and reduce opportunity gaps across all subjects, including AVID, IB, AP, CiHS, and Dual Credit courses. 

4. Direct curriculum adoption and implementation for secondary programs in accordance with district policy and state requirements, including developing and refining standards-aligned resource banks and guidance that connect standards, materials, rubrics, grading, and assessments. 

5. Lead a cohesive professional learning system for principals, instructional leadership teams, and educators to ensure curriculum alignment, consistency, and instructional improvement, including turnkey and job-embedded supports, routine communication, and internal website content. 

6. Facilitate school-based implementation by establishing structures for ongoing input from principals and educators and using that input to refine district supports, tools, and communications. 

7. Monitor, evaluate, and ensure implementation fidelity by utilizing evidence cycles (student learning and implementation data) to identify trends, modify supports, and refine professional learning and resources over time. 

8. Strengthen MTSS Tier 1 and data-driven cycles by collaborating with cross-functional teams and departments to clarify expectations, tools, and routines that support effective instructional decision-making in secondary settings. 

9. Partner with district leaders and school administrators to support principal and teacher evaluation processes through shared learning, calibration, and instructional coherence using the CEL 5D+ Instructional Framework.  

10. Supports the integration of technology as an instructional tool, including in a 1:1 environment, ensuring digital resources, applications, and systems promote high-quality instruction and equitable access.

11. Supervise and develop staff, including Instructional Facilitators and other assigned personnel: provide recommendations for hiring and placement, conduct evaluations, coaching, performance conversations, and establish professional learning structures for the department.  

12, Manage budgets and resources: develop and oversee budgets for assigned projects, approve expenditures, and ensure spending aligns with instructional priorities and district and state guidance.  

13. Manage grants, waivers, and partnerships (as assigned): write and monitor grants or waivers that support curriculum implementation; collaborate with families and community partners to enhance understanding of academic systems and pathways.  

OTHER JOB DUTIES

1.Maintains and updates knowledge and skills required for success in the position by participating in professional development activities, as needed or as assigned, shares knowledge with District staff.

2.Assists with special projects and performs related duties as assigned, on a temporary basis.

3.Regular, reliable, predictable attendance or physical presence is an essential job requirement and critical to the performance of the work.

REPORTING RELATIONSHIPS
Reports to Assistant Superintendent, Teaching and Learning or another assigned administrator. Supervises certificated and office professional staff.

CONDITIONS
Experiences frequent interruptions; required to work with, and defuse, if appropriate, difficult and sensitive situations and/or people; regularly required to travel to District or community sites; required to work beyond the regular work week; may be required to lift and carry up to 20 pounds, bend, squat, stoop, kneel, crouch, walk, twist, climb, and/or be mobile.

Minimum Qualifications

Education and Experience
Master’s degree in Education or a related field from an accredited college or university; three to five years of increasingly responsible experience in public education or a closely related field, including secondary teaching experience and secondary building leadership experience; experience in a public school district, with district-level administrative experience required; or any combination of experience and training that provides the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and ability required to perform the work.

Licenses/Special Requirements
Must maintain all licenses and certifications as a condition of continued employment.
Valid Washington State driver’s license.
Washington State Administrator’s certificate.
Forty-hours Project Management training, preferred.
Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) Certificate, preferred.
LEAN experiences, practices, and/or certification, preferred.
5D+ Instructional Framework training including evaluating certificated staff, strongly preferred.
Fingerprints and successful WSP and FBI background clearance/sexual misconduct clearance.
Allowable Substitution
Equivalent combinations of education and experience may be evaluated by the Human Resources Department for comparability.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
Knowledge of state learning standards.
Knowledge of curriculum development and implementation.
Knowledge of effective leadership and supervisory principles and practices.
Knowledge of organization and operation of public-school systems.
Knowledge of school board policies and administrative procedures.
Knowledge of educational applications of current technology.
Knowledge of effective staff development principles and practices.
Knowledge of effective collaborative decision making.
Knowledge of current research, best practices, and effective instructional strategies.
Skill in leadership, communication and group process. 
Skill with designing and leveraging a multi-metric approach to accountability.
Skill in decision-making and problem solving.
Skill in obtaining, clarifying, and exchanging information.
Skill in word processing and spreadsheet software applications.
Skill in facilitating cross functional group projects, processes and training.
Skill in successfully implementing, evaluating and assessing the effectiveness of services and programs.
Skill in developing a highly functioning and sustainable department.
Ability to apply concepts from implementation science and theory to further system wide innovative change in support of student learning.
Ability to provide leadership to District staff at all levels.
Ability to uphold school board policies and administrative procedures.
Ability to write effective grant proposals and monitor grant requirements.
Ability to demonstrate supervisory proficiency with professional and administrative staff.
Ability to demonstrate effective collaboration with District administrators and staff.
Ability to demonstrate exceptional customer service.
Ability to organize, prioritize, and maintain good follow through procedures.
Ability to maintain confidentiality.
Ability to demonstrate reasonable, reliable, and regular attendance.
Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with a variety of people in a multi-cultural, diverse socio-economic setting.
Ability to facilitate and promote collaborative decision making as part of a team.