Career Center

Deerfield Academy seeks a dynamic and experienced Director of Academic Support to start July 2023. The primary responsibilities will be to help shape and direct a program that supports students in achieving their academic potential. The Director of Academic Support will work individually with students and families, as well as coordinating the activities of others in the areas of content-specific tutoring, learning-skills development, psychoeducational testing, academic accommodations, onboarding and acclimation to our academic program. Deerfield Academy faculty enjoy an outstanding work environment and excellent benefits, and engage with students who are eager to learn.

We are looking for candidates who exhibit excellence in the classroom and who can help develop in students the fundamental learning objectives traits outlined in The Deerfield Student: leadership and judgment, open-mindedness and curiosity, mastery and metacognition, and scholarship. Additionally, we seek colleagues who are life-long learners.  Beyond the classroom, candidates must be prepared to fully participate in the life of a bustling boarding school, teaching, mentoring, and modeling in all aspects of school life. We believe diversity and inclusion are essential elements of a thriving educational community and actively seek candidates who are members of and/or exhibit the skills needed to support traditionally underrepresented groups, especially in terms of race, sexual orientation, and educational background.

Why Deerfield? 

Deerfield Academy offers faculty an opportunity to contribute to a dynamic educational institution, continue to develop professionally, and live in a close-knit community. Among the reasons faculty are drawn to and continue to work at Deerfield:

• Our students, who come to us from 36 states and 47 countries, are excited to learn, work hard at their studies, and actively engage in a variety of activities outside the classroom.
• Our 300-acre campus boasts exceptional facilities and access to the picturesque natural surroundings of Western Massachusetts’ Pioneer Valley. Our physical spaces on and adjacent to campus support powerful teaching, learning, and community building.
• Our proximity to the Five Colleges network (Amherst, Mount Holyoke, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, and Smith Colleges and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst) provides ample opportunities for collaboration beyond our campus.
• Our faculty are committed to continuous growth for themselves and our programs, and we provide extensive support for that growth. Over the past five years, we have committed $1.6M to funding faculty professional development, including supporting 33 faculty in their work towards advanced degrees.
• Our faculty enjoy an excellent benefits package, including on-campus housing, meals, and use of campus facilities for themselves and their families.

Job Responsibilities: 

• Meet individually with students and possibly parents to understand the specific needs of students and how our program might support them;
• Coordinate with other offices on campus to support students;
• Actively understand how our students engage with our academic program and work with the Dean of Academic Affairs to help refine our program;
• Manage and oversee the work of other members of the Academic Support team as well as contracted third-party colleagues who support the work of the office;
• Manage any on-campus tutors, ensuring they are compliant with Academy policies;
• Work cooperatively with the Dean of Teaching and Learning to identify particularly effective pedagogical practices that we wish to have coherently implemented across the curriculum;
• Coordinate on-campus psychoeducational testing;
• Manage academic accommodations;
  • Coordinate on-campus accommodations;
  • Coordinate accommodations for standardized tests with the College Board and ACT;
• Support students who are working through temporarily, medically justified academic issues;
• Develop and maintain asynchronous academic support materials, such as checklists, flyers, and/or websites;
• Coordinate, plan, direct, and participate in onboarding programs for students, including the program currently known as the ‘Rising Scholars Program’ (RSP);
• Develop and deliver a Study Skills Program to support underprepared students:
  • Design and teach a course to help students develop skills supporting academic success;
  • Teach “Writer’s Craft”, a course meant to review and reinforce essential composition skills;
  • Propose alternative resources and programs to help students develop learning skills.
• Manage Peer Tutors

Qualifications: 

• Master’s Degree, learning behavior specialist, or equivalent degree preferred
• 3 - 5 years teaching and/or experience working with adolescents who are overcoming academic-related challenges
• 1-3 years of administrative experience, particularly in academic environments

• Demonstrated commitment to inclusion and viewpoint diversity

• A relentlessly student-centered approach to teaching and learning

• An exceptional ability to connect with people, work in teams, and establish partnerships with third parties

• Ability to work independently with initiative, as well as be a part of a team
• Excellent organization, oral and written communication skills
• Diplomacy to manage challenging interpersonal interactions
• Ability to manage, and sensitivity to, highly confidential information
• Ability to use data and information effectively in planning and decision-making
• Ability to multi-task effectively
• Detail-oriented
• A sense of humor

About Deerfield Academy

ABOUT DEERFIELD ACADEMY: Deerfield offers an unmatched environment for teaching. Near the Five Colleges (Amherst, Smith, Mount Holyoke, Hampshire, and UMass Amherst), Deerfield’s 300-acre campus hosts exceptional facilities that enable powerful teaching both in and out of the classroom. Our students are engaging and excited to learn—and they are willing to work hard at their studies. Outside the classroom, our community is focused on active and ethical living. Our teachers are committed to ongoing renewal. We seek candidates who are committed to their own professional growth, who are eager to work with colleagues in a productive manner towards departmental goals, and who can foster critical thinking, empathy, and determination in our students. As a boarding school, our faculty teach, mentor, and model—in the classroom, in the dorm, at the dining hall, and on the playing field. Diversity is essential to Deerfield’s success. Diverse perspectives within our school population fuel creative and innovative thinking, build empathy and consideration, and provide varied skills and experiences from which the entire community can benefit. Deerfield actively seeks candidates who are me...mbers of or support traditionally underrepresented groups—especially in terms of race, sexual orientation, and educational background. Deerfield Academy is a private, coeducational boarding school located in western Massachusetts with 650 students and 132 faculty. The Academy was founded in 1797 and has no religious affiliation. Deerfield Academy is committed to a policy of Equal Opportunity Employment and nondiscrimination against any individual on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, transgender status, marital status, national origin, ancestry, genetic information, age, disability, status as a veteran or being a member of the Reserves or National Guard, or any other classification protected under state or federal law.

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