Director of ESL and Related Services

KIPP • Austin, TX

23d • $85,000 - $95,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Director of ESL and Related Programs is a statewide systems leader responsible for driving transformational academic, linguistic, and graduation outcomes for emergent bilingual (EB) KIPPsters in grades 6–12, including newcomer and Students with Interrupted Formal Education (SIFE) populations.
This role owns the strategic design, coherence, and execution of KIPP Texas’ secondary ESL ecosystem, including:
Secondary ESL and Content-Based Language Instruction (CBLI)
Newcomer programming (middle and high school)
SIFE acceleration systems
ELDA/ESOL program structures
International transcript analysis and placement systems
Graduation planning and credit alignment for multilingual learners
Title III programming and family engagement
TELPAS systems and Domain III growth
Through leadership, this role ensures that ESL services strengthen Tier 1 instruction, accelerate credit attainment, protect graduation pathways, and are fully aligned to KIPP Texas academic priorities.
This is not a compliance-driven role. It is a high-impact academic leadership position responsible for building durable systems that produce predictable academic growth and measurable language development across secondary campuses.
The Director of ESL and Related Programs is accountable for statewide secondary emergent bilingual outcomes and ESL system integrity. You know you are successful when:
EB students demonstrate significant year-over-year growth in language proficiency and academic achievement
Newcomer and SIFE students accelerate toward grade-level access and credit attainment
100% of schools in your portfolio achieve an A or B accountability rating
100% of schools achieve the Domain III TELPAS growth measure
100% of schools achieve 90/75/40 on Reading and Math STAAR, with minimal EB/non-EB gaps
Graduation plans for EB students are viable, accelerated, and aligned to CCMR pathways
Newcomer onboarding and transcript systems prevent credit loss and placement errors
ESL programming is integrated into the academic core rather than operating as a stand-alone support
This role builds infrastructure and sustainable systems, not isolated programs.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree or higher preferred
• Minimum 5+ years of leadership experience in secondary ESL or multilingual education
• Experience leading newcomer and secondary ESL/CBLI programs at scale
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Systems & Strategic Leadership
• Demonstrated experience building and strengthening multi-campus secondary instructional systems.
• Proven track record of improving outcomes for secondary emergent bilingual and newcomer students.
• Strong strategic planning and execution skills.
• Deep understanding of graduation pathways, transcript analysis, and secondary scheduling structures.
• Strong analytical ability with experience interpreting performance and credit attainment data.
• Multilingual & ESL Expertise
• Expertise in secondary ESL, newcomer, and SIFE program design.
• Strong knowledge of LPAC systems, reclassification requirements, and multilingual policy.
• Experience integrating language development into rigorous secondary instruction.
• Ability to translate research into scalable systems and coaching frameworks.
• Reliable transportation is needed for travel between campuses
• Ability to maintain emotional control under stress.
• Work with frequent interruptions.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with international transcript analysis and graduation planning strongly preferred

Responsibilities

• Statewide Strategy & Systems Architecture
• Design and continuously refine the statewide ESL strategy for grades 6–12.
• Build coherent systems for newcomer intake, international transcript analysis, placement, and graduation planning.
• Establish acceleration frameworks for SIFE students that balance language development with credit attainment.
• Align ESL systems to graduation requirements, accountability frameworks, and CCMR indicators.
• Develop clear non-negotiables for high-quality secondary CBLI implementation.
• Outcomes-Driven Leadership
• Lead Managers of Multilingual Programs to deliver measurable academic, linguistic, and graduation outcomes.
• Establish performance dashboards across TELPAS, STAAR, credit accrual, course completion, and graduation indicators.
• Conduct root cause analyses when performance stalls and drive corrective action plans.
• Regularly communicate multilingual performance trends and strategy adjustments to executive leadership.
• Ensure ESL strategy aligns to broader academic priorities.
• Strengthening Tier 1 Instruction Through Language Integration
• Ensure content-based language instruction strengthens academic rigor rather than lowers expectations.
• Build systems that integrate language objectives into secondary math, science, social studies, and ELA classrooms.
• Support effective implementation of high-quality instructional materials, including:
• Eureka Texas
• Carnegie Learning
• Amplify Texas / Amplify ELAR Texas
• HMH Into Learning
• Ensure multilingual learners have equitable access to advanced coursework and graduation pathways.
• Newcomer & SIFE Program Excellence
• Oversee the organization’s Secondary Newcomer Program framework.
• Establish strong onboarding systems including ELDA/ESOL placement, language diagnostics, and academic screening.
• Design transcript analysis protocols to ensure accurate credit transfer and appropriate placement.
• Ensure graduation planning begins immediately upon enrollment.
• Develop acceleration pathways that protect long-term graduation viability.
• Organizational Coherence & Compliance Integrity
• Ensure all state and federal ESL requirements are implemented with fidelity across secondary campuses.
• Partner with compliance leadership to maintain strong LPAC systems, reclassification processes, and post-exit monitoring.
• Oversee Title III engagement strategy for secondary families.
• Collaborate with the Senior Director of Assessments to ensure strong TELPAS implementation and analysis.
• Talent & Capacity Building
• Develop Managers of Multilingual Programs into strong instructional leaders.
• Build campus leader capacity around multilingual scheduling, placement, and credit monitoring systems.
• Partner with HR and Talent to increase bilingual/ESL certification pipelines.
• Establish professional learning systems that elevate ESL expertise across secondary content areas.

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans with coverage options for employees and their families.
• Competitive vacation and flexible paid time off (PTO) policies.
• Paid family leave.
• Flexible spending account or high-yield HSA.
• Employee assistance programs.
• KIPP also offers the following employee-paid benefits: legal plans, LifeLock identity protection, life insurance and disability insurance.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Number of Employees: 251-500 employees