Teacher Leadership Opportunities
-
JPS is a place where you can grow in your career. Explore our many teacher leadership opportunities available to you!

-
Mentors
JPS recruits classroom teachers to serve as new teacher mentors each year. Mentors receive leadership experience, One Continuing Education Unit (CEU) toward licensure renewal, and a $3,000 yearly stipend.
Candidates must hold a valid, standard Mississippi educator license and have at least three years of successful teaching experience as an employee in JPS.
-
Aspiring Leaders
The purpose of the Aspiring Leaders Program (ALP) is to recruit, develop, and retain potential assistant principals who will achieve the vision, mission, and goals of Jackson Public Schools.
To be effective, an assistant principal must possess knowledge, skills, and talent that cannot be acquired in college courses alone.
The program helps to bridge the gap between theory and practice for teachers aspiring to be future school leaders.
Every attempt is made to tailor experiences to meet the specific needs of those accepted into the program while being aligned with the mission and goals of Jackson Public Schools.
-
Instructional Coaches
Reporting directly to the school principal and working collaboratively with members of the Office of Teaching and Learning, instructional coaches provide teachers with ongoing, job-embedded professional development that addresses their needs and is aligned to state standards, curricula, and assessments.
The overall goal is to improve student achievement by building teacher capacity and bringing evidence-based practices into the classroom.
-
Curriculum Leads
Reporting to the director of teacher development, the curriculum lead will monitor curriculum implementation and instruction to ensure excellence in teaching that supports student achievement across subject areas and within an assigned group of schools (elementary, middle, or high)
Special emphasis will be placed on ensuring that a high-quality ongoing professional development program is implemented in a manner that contributes to the development of highly effective teachers.
-
Supporting Teacher Effectiveness Project
The Supporting Teacher Effectiveness Project (STEP) is a systemic, asset-based approach to professional learning communities that helps educators discover and replicate what's working in their schools.
Implemented in districts nationwide, the STEP framework guides educators in identifying the bright spots—assets—that can be leveraged and scaled toward greater improvement and replication.
STEP was developed by Insight in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Kitamba, American Institutes for Research, and Sage Education Advisors to create an approach to help teachers solve problems through discovering, testing, and sharing better practices.
-
Department Chairs
The role of the department chair was established for the purpose of promoting the district’s curriculum and instructional programs at the district and building level.
By collaborating with the principal and other teachers on the building leadership team, the department chair carries out duties that are critical to the overall educational program and require effective and ongoing communication and collaboration with staff and administration.
This is a stipend position.
-
Interventionists
Reporting directly to the school Principal and working collaboratively as a member of the school team and MTSS Team, an Interventionist works to create and enhance a culture of excellence where high expectations and results are the norms.
Interventionists are responsible for ensuring all students are making significant academic gains through direct work with students and supporting teachers to maximize their work with students.
-
Teacher Advisory Council
One of the greatest challenges of Jackson Public Schools is that we’re often choosing between multiple options that are less than ideal. To help us make more informed decisions, each year we identify representative scholars, teachers, and administrators to serve on advisory committees and make recommendations to more effectively guide the district. Although they do not make final decisions, these committees play an important employee/public relations role, as well as provide different perspectives on key issues.
-
Academy Coaches
Academy coaches work with the school leadership team to align and plan professional development, support instruction, and promote collaboration between the different curriculums.
Coaches also work with guidance counselors and administrators to coordinate post-secondary participation through dual enrollment, articulated credit, and other means of accelerating opportunities for students.
Academy coaches support smaller learning communities and academies by also working with community and local business partners to obtain resources used to enhance the school education program.
-
Graduation Coaches
Reporting directly to the school principal and working collaboratively with the Dropout Prevention Office, Graduation Coaches utilize the components of a profile of characteristics of potential dropouts to identify high school students with a high probability of not graduating.
The graduation coach develops and manages a “Graduation team” for identified students that works to track identified student progress, provide support measures, identify and link area social agencies, and develop partnerships with community organizations for at-risk youth as they work toward graduation.