Program Manager

DescriptionProgram Manager - Minnesota READ Act

Reading Partners is changing the education landscape. We are a leader in working to solve the literacy crisis in our country by leveraging community tutors in under-resourced schools. Our diverse and expansive volunteer base provides one-on-one tutoring to students twice weekly, and our program is proven to help children master the reading fundamentals they need to unlock their potential as successful, happy, and confident readers in school and in life. Our people are our heartbeat and our greatest resource; we are all passionately rallied around our mission to help children become lifelong learners by empowering communities to provide individualized instruction that truly works. Join our stellar, committed team leading the charge to deepen our impact and expand our service. Watch this video to learn more about the mission and core tutoring work of Reading Partners.

The high level:

The Program Manager (PM) is part of a team of leaders rallied together to eradicate the early literacy crisis. The Program Manager’s main role is to lead, develop, and mobilize a team of AmeriCorps Volunteers and community tutors to deliver high-quality, effective one-on-one instruction to our students that maximizes students’ literacy outcomes.

Reporting directly to a Program Director, the Program Manager manages all aspects of program quality, delivery, and implementation in 4-6 schools. The Program Manager in Minnesota will take the lead on facilitating and developing critical tutor trainings required for the Minnesota READ Act throughout the fiscal year.

The Program Manager directs the day-to-day operations of our reading centers, internal and external relationships (e.g. principals, community-based organizations, etc.), leads and supports a team of 10-12 AmeriCorps Volunteers, trains, coaches and supports community tutors, drives processes and strategies to maximize literacy development in our students, and uses data to drive decision-making and progress. The Program Manager is an inspiring team leader, is savvy at the art of managing people and projects, is goal-oriented and is excited by both strategic and on-the-ground work.

They will partner closely with the Program Director assigned to support their portfolio with program quality standards, problem-solving, student assessment, progress monitoring, program accountability, and related activities to program enhancements or program pilots. The PM will work closely with peers on the ground and across Reading Partners to ensure successful outcomes for over 600 students in the region.

What you’ll do:

Execute the Reading Partners program across 4-6 schools in Minnesota

Ensure that our program is implemented and executed with fidelity in alignment with the program quality standards
Ensure the program is implemented and executed to the highest quality to have the highest impact for an average of at least 60 students per reading center in your portfolio.
Supervise program implementation so that students enrolled achieve their literacy goals:

Ensure each student is assessed, enrolled, and placed properly in the curriculum
Achieve 90% enrollment of students by the beginning of February each school year.
Achieve and maintain above 90% attendance for all students enrolled in the program
Ensure every student completes milestone assessments
Provide support so that students will master grade-appropriate foundational literacy skills, as measured by a research-based, elementary literacy assessment:

85% of all students will meet their individualized end-of-year literacy growth goal

Create and manage systems to ensure student success (e.g. students are properly placed in the curriculum, every student is enrolled in 2 sessions per week)
Design and supervise the implementation of individualized learning plans
Manage execution of the Reading Partners program, so students are receiving the necessary academic intervention as it pertains to literacy through our program
Conduct regular observations of students/tutors to collect anecdotal data to monitor progress
Analyze data and create action plans to improve student results
Be present, in person, each reading center observing sessions and coaching at least 6 hours a week

Create and cultivate Reading Partners champions within each school and each community

Start or maintain a principal relationship and ensure 90% principal or site supervisor satisfaction with the program
Share student impact information with the school or community space throughout the year (notably with the Principal, a student’s teacher, and/or site administration)
Coach AmeriCorps Volunteers on teacher and community tutor relationship-building
Model customer service skills for all staff and AmeriCorps Volunteers by coaching and supporting volunteer tutors within our program
Advocate for what Reading Partners needs to be successful within each school or reading center site at all times
Support tutor community building efforts in portfolio with the support of AmeriCorps volunteers and the Executive Director to help recruit and retain volunteers
Ensure 90% tutor satisfaction and retention so that we can retain ~30% of tutors year over year
Ensure continued program partnership and support the regional program leadership team to collect the fee-for-service

Recruit, hire, coach, manage and train a team of up to 12 Reading Partners AmeriCorps volunteers toward successful program implementation across five schools:

Retain 85% of AmeriCorps volunteers through the term of service
Build a strong, positive and productive culture across the AmeriCorps team
Share best practices and work with the team to share vision, develop strategies to meet overall goals, and contribute to a growth mindset culture
Coach AmeriCorps volunteers to use student data to make informed decisions that will improve student outcomes

Lead the Minnesota region’s compliance efforts with the Minnesota READ Act training requirements for AmeriCorps Volunteers and community tutors.

Lead the development of RPAO schedule and trainings to incorporate required READ Act trainings for AmeriCorps Volunteers
Support the scheduling and implementation of the 4-part READ Act training on behalf of the community tutors within the Minnesota region, with the goal that all tutors will complete the training by the end of the school year.
Work closely with the Community Engagement Team to create systems of accountability for tracking tutor participants in READ Act trainings

Be a partner to the National Program and Regional Operations teams to support regional impact

Partner with the National Program Director to regularly discuss student progress, program quality standards, programmatic solutions, curriculum, and student assessment
Support overall community volunteer experience by attending volunteer recruitment and engagement events
Be a partner to the Development team to support our fundraising goals by supporting local development events
Support with any organizational operations goals

How you’ll do it:</sp