Bronx Prep High Varsity Speech & Debate Head Coach
The mission of our schools is to educate responsible citizen-scholars for success in the college of their choice and a life of active citizenship. Core to achieving this mission is providing access to high-quality training in public speaking, the art of persuasion, and developing capacities for scholars to navigate and respect opposing views on a variety of complex topics related to personal and artistic development and active citizenship. Reporting to the Bronx Prep High School Leader and working closely with the Arts Education Director, the Varsity Speech & Debate Head Coach will ensure that Speech & Debate programming provides this access to Bronx Prep High scholars, and is supported through systematic, proactive and efficient operations for content generation, rehearsal and competition in Speech & Debate tournaments.
Who You Are
- An educator with an unwavering commitment to the Democracy Prep mission of college success and authentic civic engagement for our scholars.
- A self-reflective and self-aware teammate who is dedicated to aligning their work to Democracy Prep's commitment to antiracism and who is eager to use these skills to contribute to a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- A highly motivated collaborator who identifies problems, understands root causes, and proposes potential for change.
- An organized, data-driven project manager who utilizes your content-matter expertise to partner with teams, schools, and other leaders to develop strong systems and solutions.
- A strong communicator (written and oral) who adapts to fit the needs of the audience in order to build a sense of shared purpose and progress forward.
- An exceptional project manager who can take an idea and turn it into a complete and detailed plan, considerate of all stakeholders and context.
- Prior experience working with high school students in Speech & Debate and/or Theatre arts.
What You’ll Do
Curate and create Speech & Debate performance pieces
- Research, curate, and edit/”cut” performance pieces for Speech & Debate events.
- Maintain and grow a bank of DP Speech pieces for use in future tournaments.
Coach Varsity Speech & Debate Team members, Assistant Coach & Judges
- Screen, audition, and coach DP scholars toward excellence in Speech & Debate activities.
- Attend and direct in-person varsity weekday rehearsals 2 days/week.
- Attend and supervise scholars and tournament judges on Speech & Debate tournaments outlined in the annual tournament schedule.
- Ensure supervision and safety protocols are upheld on all Speech & Debate trips, maintain proactive communication with the school leader and Arts Education Director whenever incidents arise.
- In collaboration with the school leader and Arts Education Director, conduct training on judge/chaperone roles and responsibilities a minimum of two times per year, in August and January for any Speech & Debate Assistant Coaches and Judges.
- Maintain regular communication with parents and families about team and scholar progress.
Ensure Compliance With Annual Program Budget
- Work with the Arts Education Director to plan the tournament schedule based on the program vision, annual priorities, and approved annual budget.
- Ensure systems for Speech & Debate recruitment and tournament attendance qualification align with allocated annual and tournament budgets.
- Ensure team expenses are documented and personal reimbursements completed accurately and in line with finance policy.
- Front up to $500 in personal funds per tournament for meals and travel expenses, to be reimbursed by Democracy Prep according to finance policy.
- Monitor BVA reports and adapt plans as needed to remain within budget.
Manage the Strategic Development of the Speech & Debate Program
- In collaboration with the school leader and Arts Education Director, develop a program vision and annual priorities in alignment with the annual budget.
- Monitor rehearsal attendance, engagement, and overall progress of the team, anticipate risks and propose solutions to sustainability and growth in accordance with core values.
Other
- In the event that needs arise to revise the program vision and/or planned tournament schedule, devise and conduct in-school or local Speech & Debate and/or Theatre initiatives.
- Perform other Arts-related duties as assigned, including participation in network-wide or department-specific initiatives and/or projects.
Qualifications
- Prior experience coaching high school Speech & Debate teams or leading Theatre initiatives.
- Completion of relevant National Speech & Debate Association training packages before the commencement of auditions/rehearsals.
Compensation
The stipend range is $10,000 - $15,000, commensurate with your experience and to be determined by the approved rehearsal and tournament schedule.
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Democracy Prep is an Equal Opportunity Employer and will not discriminate against an applicant or employee on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, national origin, or ancestry, sex, age, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, veteran or military status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, familial status, domestic violence victim status, or any other legally recognized protected basis under federal, state or local laws, regulations or ordinances. Our mission is to educate responsible citizen-scholars who will change the world. We strongly believe that by building a DREAM team that represents numerous perspectives, backgrounds, and expertise, we can achieve this goal together. This is a value we highly support and strongly encourage candidates of all backgrounds to apply.
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