At Rocketship Public Schools, we believe in the infinite possibility of human potential. We believe that every student deserves the right to dream, to discover, and to develop their unique potential and it is our responsibility and our privilege to unleash the potential inside every Rocketeer we serve. Our non-profit network of public elementary charter schools propels student achievement, develops exceptional educators, and partners with parents who enable high-quality public schools to thrive in their community. We are a collective of parents, teachers, leaders, and students working together to transform the future for underserved communities across our country. At Rocketship Public Schools, we are unleashing potential.
Position Description
The Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE) serves as the regional leader and program owner for Rocketship DC’s early childhood education pilot. This role is responsible for the design, launch, implementation, quality assurance, and continuous improvement of Rocketship’s ECE program, ensuring high-quality, developmentally appropriate learning experiences for young children while maintaining full compliance with state and local early childhood regulations.
This role sits on the regional team and operates with a program-implementation and strategic planning lens, rather than as a site-based instructional leader. In the absence of school leaders with deep ECE expertise, the Director serves as the primary instructional quality authority for the ECE program, establishing systems, monitoring fidelity, and ensuring alignment with external accountability standards, including OSSE and Teachstone’s CLASS.
The Director of Early Childhood Education is deeply committed to the success of each Rocketeer, and the daily workload reflects that commitment. The essential functions of this position include, but are not limited to, the following:
Program Design, Launch & Strategic Leadership
Lead the design and launch of Rocketship’s early childhood education pilot, including program model, policies, procedures, staffing structures, and operational systems.
Establish and steward a clear ECE instructional vision grounded in child development, developmentally appropriate practice, and state early learning standards.
Develop short- and long-term strategic plans for program stabilization, evaluation, and potential scale.
Serve as the primary regional owner for the ECE program, ensuring alignment across instructional, operational, and compliance priorities.
Program Quality, CLASS Alignment & Instructional Systems
Own the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of ECE instructional quality systems across participating schools.
Serve as a Teachstone CLASS Certified Observer, ensuring classrooms are observed and evaluated according to CLASS standards and OSSE expectations.
Design and oversee systems for CLASS-aligned observations, feedback, and continuous improvement, particularly in environments where school leaders may not have ECE expertise.
Analyze CLASS data alongside developmental progress, attendance, and implementation metrics to inform strategic planning and instructional adjustments.
Establish clear expectations for curriculum, instructional practices, and teacher–child interactions aligned to CLASS domains and state ECE frameworks.
Partner with school-based leaders to translate CLASS data into actionable improvement plans while maintaining appropriate role boundaries.
Licensing, Compliance & Operations
Ensure full compliance with all state and local ECE licensing regulations, including health and safety requirements, staff-to-child ratios, enrollment, and reporting.
Serve as the primary liaison with OSSE, licensing bodies, and external evaluators.
Prepare for and lead licensing visits, audits, and quality reviews.
Develop systems to proactively monitor compliance and mitigate operational and regulatory risk.
Partner with Operations, Facilities, HR, and Legal teams to ensure ECE environments, staffing models, and schedules meet regulatory requirements.
Oversee ECE program budgets in partnership with the Executive Director and Finance, ensuring fiscal sustainability.
Educator & Leadership Capacity Building
Partner with school-based leaders to support the recruitment, onboarding, development, and retention of ECE educators.
Build the capacity of site-based leaders to understand and apply CLASS-aligned instructional expectations.
Establish clear role definitions, decision-making frameworks, and escalation pathways between regional and school-based teams.
Support leaders in using CLASS and other quality data to drive improvement while maintaining a joyful, supportive learning environment.
Family & Community Partnership
Design and oversee systems for meaningful family engagement that honor families as children’s first teachers.
Ensure communication structures are in place to keep families informed, supported, and engaged in their child’s learning experience.
Partner with schools to build inclusive, culturally responsive relationships with families and communities.
Professional Culture & Collaboration
Model reflective leadership by owning outcomes, responding constructively to feedback, and continuously improving practice.
Collaborate across schools and regions to share best practices and strengthen ECE implementation.
Contribute to Rocketship’s organizational learning around early childhood education and quality assurance.
Required Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education, Child Development, or a related field (Master’s preferred).
5+ years of experience in early childhood education, including 3+ years in a ECE leadership role.
Teachstone CLASS Certified Observer (Pre-K).
Demonstrated experience using CLASS data to drive instructional quality and program improvement.
Experience operating ECE programs within school-based, charter, or network environments.
Physical Demands:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions. While performing the duties of this position, the employee is regularly required to talk, hear, and communicate with both adults and children. The employee frequently is required to use hands or fingers, handle or feel objects, tools, or controls. The employee is frequently required to stand; walk; sit; and reach with hands and arms. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds and occasionally climb ladders. Specific vision abilities required by this position include close vision, distance vision, and the ability to adjust focus. The noise level in the work environment is moderate to high.
Compensation:
Commensurate with qualifications and experience, plus excellent health and wellness benefits, 403b retirement plan, flexible spending account (FSA), and generous paid time off.
Rocketship Public Schools provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, amnesty, or status as a covered veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws. Rocketship Public Schools complies with applicable state and local laws governing non-discrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including, but not limited to, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.
Rocketship Public Schools expressly prohibits any form of unlawful employee harassment based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status. Improper interference with the ability of Rocketship Public Schools’ employees to perform their expected job duties is absolutely not tolerated. Click here for our Sexual Harassment Policy.
For questions, concerns, or complaints, please contact Human Resources.
