Summit K12
Director of Curriculum & Instruction (DCI)
Edtech.com's Summary
Summit K12 is hiring a Director of Curriculum & Instruction (DCI). This role leads the development and quality assurance of standards-aligned, culturally responsive curriculum and instructional models for K–12 learners, focusing especially on multilingual and diverse student populations. The DCI collaborates across academic, product, UX, and engineering teams to ensure instructional integrity and supports state adoption and compliance efforts.
Highlights
- Lead academic and instructional leadership for product curriculum and pedagogy reflecting research-based best practices for diverse learners.
- Oversee curriculum development, quality assurance, and mentoring of curriculum writers and subject-matter experts.
- Partner with Product, UX, Engineering, and Product Operations teams to integrate instructional designs with platform workflows and product roadmaps.
- Direct design and validation of formative, interim, and summative assessments aligned with literacy, language development, and science standards.
- Provide leadership for state adoption submissions and compliance with instructional standards and review processes.
- Ensure teacher-facing resources support differentiation and personalized learning for multilingual and diverse classrooms.
- Lead and develop curriculum team members, defining workflows and quality controls that maintain instructional rigor.
- Manage operational processes to align academic work with product release schedules and track risks and resource needs.
- Required qualifications include 7+ years in curriculum development or instructional leadership for K–12, experience with multilingual learners, and standards-aligned material design.
- Compensation includes medical, dental, vision insurance options, company-paid disability and life insurance, 401(k), paid time off, holidays, and wellness programs.
Director of Curriculum & Instruction (DCI) Full Description
Director of Curriculum & Instruction (DCI)
Job ID
27768738
Work From Home
Yes
Work Remote
Yes
Location
US
Work From Home
Remote
Work From Home
Remote
Other Location
Description
JOB SUMMARY
At Summit K12, we believe that every student can do well in school if instruction is tailored to their unique learning needs and they receive the encouragement to strive and achieve. Our learning programs provide teachers with the ability to differentiate instruction, monitor progress, and support learners in their journey toward success.
From English learners, multilingual students, bilingual students and dual language learners who are struggling to read or write, Summit K12’s online, standards-based supplemental curriculum will close gaps and ensure growth for all students.
The Director of Curriculum & Instruction (DCI) is the senior academic leader responsible for ensuring that all Summit K12 products are instructionally strong, standards-aligned, culturally responsive, and grounded in high-quality research. The DCI ensures that curriculum, assessments, and instructional models support meaningful learning experiences for all K–12 students, including multilingual learners, striving readers, and diverse classroom contexts.
Working in partnership with the Chief Academic Officer (CAO) through a dotted-line relationship, the DCI bridges academic vision with product execution, ensuring that every product reflects pedagogical integrity and meets the evolving needs of districts, educators, and students nationwide.
This role ensures coherence and consistency across all instructional touchpoints including ELD, Literacy, Science, Assessments, Personalized Learning Paths (PLPs), and teacher-facing materials, so that every product reflects high-quality, research-informed instructional design. The DCI also provides academic leadership for instructional quality assurance and contributes critically to state adoption cycles and compliance requirements.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
From English learners, multilingual students, bilingual students and dual language learners who are struggling to read or write, Summit K12’s online, standards-based supplemental curriculum will close gaps and ensure growth for all students.
The Director of Curriculum & Instruction (DCI) is the senior academic leader responsible for ensuring that all Summit K12 products are instructionally strong, standards-aligned, culturally responsive, and grounded in high-quality research. The DCI ensures that curriculum, assessments, and instructional models support meaningful learning experiences for all K–12 students, including multilingual learners, striving readers, and diverse classroom contexts.
Working in partnership with the Chief Academic Officer (CAO) through a dotted-line relationship, the DCI bridges academic vision with product execution, ensuring that every product reflects pedagogical integrity and meets the evolving needs of districts, educators, and students nationwide.
This role ensures coherence and consistency across all instructional touchpoints including ELD, Literacy, Science, Assessments, Personalized Learning Paths (PLPs), and teacher-facing materials, so that every product reflects high-quality, research-informed instructional design. The DCI also provides academic leadership for instructional quality assurance and contributes critically to state adoption cycles and compliance requirements.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
1. Academic & Instructional Leadership
- Serve as the organization’s primary instructional leader for product development, ensuring curriculum and pedagogy reflect research-based best practices for diverse learners.
- Maintain a collaborative dotted-line relationship with the Chief Academic Officer to align instructional decisions with the company’s academic philosophy and strategic goals.
- Guide development of instructional models, frameworks, and learning progressions across ELD, Literacy, Science, and assessment domains.
- Ensure curriculum supports language development across listening, speaking, reading, and writing and is appropriate for multilingual learners at varying proficiency levels.
- Ensure instructional approaches reflect a balanced understanding of literacy development, including foundational reading skills, language comprehension, vocabulary growth, and disciplinary literacy.
- Promote culturally and linguistically responsive instructional design that supports equitable outcomes for all students.
2. Curriculum Development & Quality Assurance
- Lead the design and review of curriculum including scope and sequence, lesson architecture, teacher guidance, and student-facing materials to ensure clarity, coherence, rigor, and alignment to state standards.
- Oversee and mentor curriculum writers, editors, and subject-matter specialists to ensure consistent pedagogical quality.
- Validate that materials support language acquisition, reading development, conceptual understanding in science, and integrated learning experiences.
- Develop and maintain academic documentation such as crosswalks, correlation guides, and instructional narratives required for product development and state adoption cycles.
- Ensure instructional designs integrate smoothly with platform workflows, UX patterns, and digital learning experiences.
3. Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Partner with Product Managers to define academic requirements, validate instructional components, and support product discovery and refinement.
- Collaborate with UX and the Director of Platform Experience to ensure learning experiences are intuitive and instructionally appropriate for students and teachers.
- Work with Engineering to ensure product architecture supports instructional fidelity, assessment logic, and content delivery requirements.
- Coordinate with Product Operations to align curriculum development workflows with agile processes, timelines, and release readiness expectations.
- Participate in roadmap planning to inform instructional dependencies, risks, and feasibility considerations.
4. Assessment & Learning Measurement
- Oversee the design of formative, interim, and summative assessments that support instructional goals across literacy, language development, and science.
- Ensure assessments measure both language development and content understanding appropriately, using research-informed approaches.
- Support development of rubrics, scoring guides, and feedback mechanisms that provide actionable insights for educators and students.
- Collaborate with research partners or internal teams on efficacy studies, pilot designs, and analyses tied to learning outcomes and product impact.
5. State Adoption & Compliance Support
- Provide instructional leadership for state adoption submissions, ensuring compliance with state rubrics, standards, and required instructional components.
- Partner with Product Managers and Marketing to prepare adoption materials, teacher guides, academic narratives, and correlation documents.
- Support the organization during state review processes and represent the academic quality of Summit K12 products as needed.
6. Teacher Experience & Educator-Centric Design
- Ensure that teacher-facing resources, including lesson plans, instructional routines, rubrics, reports, and other instructional supports, reflect the real needs of classroom educators.
- Validate that instructional supports empower teachers to differentiate, scaffold, and personalize learning for multilingual learners and diverse student populations.
- Provide an academic voice for marketing, professional learning, district presentations, and field support materials as needed.
7. Team Leadership & Development
- Lead and mentor curriculum team members, including content developers, instructional designers, and subject-matter experts.
- Define workflows, review cycles, and quality control processes that ensure high instructional rigor and clarity.
- Support the professional growth of academic team members and build capacity for future leadership.
- Cultivate a collaborative, scholarly, learner-centered team culture.
8. Operational Excellence
- Establish and maintain process discipline for curriculum development, documentation, and communication.
- Collaborate with Product Operations to ensure academic work aligns with sprint cycles, timelines, and release requirements.
- Track academic risks, dependencies, and resource needs across product lines.
- Review and validate all academic components during release readiness processes.
QUALIFICATIONS:
Required Experience
Required Experience
- 7+ years experience in curriculum development, instructional leadership, or academic design for K–12 programs.
- Strong background in teaching and leading instructional improvement for multilingual learners
- Experience designing or reviewing standards-aligned instructional materials.
- Experience supporting cross-functional teams and collaborating with product, UX, engineering, or research functions.
Preferred Experience
- Experience in edtech product development or digital curriculum design.
- Familiarity with state-level instructional frameworks and language development standards.
- Experience with literacy or language development models that support diverse learners, including multilingual and struggling readers.
- Experience contributing to state adoption processes.
Skills
- Strong pedagogical expertise with an inclusive understanding of literacy and language development.
- Exceptional written communication and instructional design ability.
- Ability to translate academic insight into actionable requirements for product and technical teams.
- Strong collaboration skills, able to build trust across academic and non-academic roles.
- Effective leadership and mentorship skills.
- Ability to manage multiple initiatives within structured product development processes.
SUCCESS INDICATORS:
- High-quality curriculum delivered on time and aligned with roadmap milestones.
- Strong academic coherence across product lines, including ELD, Literacy, and Science.
- Clear, consistent partnership between Curriculum, Product, UX, and Engineering.
- Positive feedback from districts, educators, and academic leaders.
- Successful state adoption submissions and improved product competitiveness.
- Effective integration of the CAO’s academic vision into day-to-day product development.
COMPENSATION & BENEFITS:
We offer a comprehensive benefits package. Highlights include:
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance with multiple plan options
- Company-paid short-term disability, long-term disability, and life insurance
- 401(k) retirement plan
- Paid Time Off (PTO) program
- 10 paid holidays plus 1 floating holiday annually
- Wellness resources and support programs
Summit K12 is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.
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