Dreamer School Director

Overview of Organization and New Dreamer School Model

The mission of “I Have a Dream” Foundation – Oregon is to help low-income kids succeed in school and college. Through a unique combination of long-term relationships with caring adults, academic and social support services, and creating a “culture of college” starting in third grade, we have doubled or better high school graduation rates for 10 cohorts of 900 total student “Dreamers” over the past twenty years. Building on this success, “I Have a Dream” Oregon has developed a strategic plan that will enable this relatively small non-profit organization to expand our reach over the next ten years from 300 to 3,000 kids annually.

We will accomplish this growth by shifting from our current cohort model of adopting one entire third grade level of students in a school to adopting three entire low-income Portland area elementary or K-8 public schools as “Dreamer Schools.” We are currently in the final stages of selecting our first Dreamer School partner district/school.

In addition to continuing the three core services cited above, the Dreamer School model will include expanded emphasis on pre-K services, college completion, and deeper collaboration with participating school districts and leading educational and non-profit organizations. Ultimately, our goal is to substantially increase high school graduation and college completion rates for all students in each of our three Dreamer Schools and to serve as a demonstration project for wider replication in Oregon. This bold new Dreamer School model is also the first of its kind among the national “I Have a Dream” network and has significant potential for replication beyond Oregon.

Dreamer School Director Responsibilities

Absolutely central to the success of this first-of-its-kind Dreamer School model will be a highly motivated, entrepreneurial, articulate and visionary Dreamer School Director. The Dreamer School Director will be responsible for galvanizing school/district leaders, major educational and nonprofit partners, parents and community residents to transform a low-performing school into a place where at least 80% of its students go on to complete a college certificate or degree and that creates more residential and neighborhood stability. Intermediate Dreamer School goals will include at least 90% of students “meeting” and at least 50% of students “exceeding” on state benchmark tests.

The Dreamer School Director will serve as a member of the management team of “I Have a Dream” Foundation – Oregon and as a member of the management team of our first Dreamer School. Working closely with both management teams, the Director will provide central leadership to ensure the success of our first Dreamer School, including:

- Establishing highly productive relationships with “I Have a Dream” leaders, Dreamer School Principal and other building leaders, Dreamer School families, district leaders, and leaders in the Dreamer School’s surrounding community.

- Initiating and managing highly effective partnerships with a wide range of Dreamer School partner organizations (e.g. leading educational and nonprofit organizations, local associations and businesses). The Director will be expected to collaborate effectively with existing school and community partners and to develop and lead a consortium of additional partners to substantially increase the volume and effectiveness of mentoring, wrap-around, culture of college, and pre-K preparedness

- Managing close collaboration with an outside evaluation partner to establish and implement a comprehensive assessment and reporting system to track Dreamer’s progress from pre-K through college and to make related program adjustments.

- Initiating and managing an intensive planning process with all of the above constituencies during the 2010-11 academic year to determine exact Dreamer School program elements and to develop major partnerships with education and nonprofit leaders to deliver them.

- Hiring and supervising additional “I Have a Dream” Oregon Dreamer School staff, as necessary, to deliver services.

- Developing and administering Dreamer School budget.

- Actively assisting in fund raising, public relations, and media relations for the Dreamer School model.

- Working with state and national “I Have a Dream” staff and with other educational leaders to share best practices, continue honing services based on data-driven outcomes, and encourage replication of the Dreamer School model.