Job Class: 0350, Director: Shoestrings Children's Center Early Education and Elementary Programs

Salary Range: $134,939.44 -$$183,656.83/annually

Calendar: Full Time / Full Year

Who We Are

The San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) is the seventh largest school district in California, serving more than 50,000 students who speak more than 44 documented languages across 130 schools in the city of San Francisco every year. We aim for every student who attends SFUSD schools to discover his or her spark, along with a strong sense of self and purpose, and that all students graduate from high school ready for college and career, and equipped with the skills, capacities and dispositions outlined in SFUSD’s Graduate Profile. Every day in our quest to achieve this mission we provide each and every student the quality instruction and equitable support required to thrive in the 21^st century.

What It Means to Work Here

The SFUSD community is unified by our Core Values:

Student-centered: We put students’ needs first
Fearless: We persist through challenges
United: We celebrate and build on each other’s strengths
Social Justice: We stand with those most vulnerable in our community
Diversity-driven: We respect and seek to understand each person

We are also inspired by Vision, Values and Guardrails which captures our aspirations and vision for the future of public education in San Francisco. Alongside the District’s strategic plan. SFUSD is reimagining how public education will change over the next decade to meet the dynamic future of San Francisco. As a CORE district, SFUSD is also a leader in critical systems change for more comprehensive school accountability and innovations that help strengthen the instructional core, which is the foundation of our strategic plan and Vision 2025.

Who We Want

We want talented people from diverse backgrounds and experiences, who are inspired by our mission, steeped in equity, and who are motivated to unleash our children’s potential. We want people who are strong collaborators, skilled communicators, and problem solvers who are comfortable in a community of continuous learning.

The Director of the Shoestrings Children’s Center and Tier 1-3 Supports oversees the strategic growth and daily operations of the program, including its expansion into the Shoestrings Hybrid Programs as well as the development of a second site: Shoestrings Children’s Center 2.0. Key responsibilities include supervising operations, managing resources, and ensuring policies and practices align with district goals for equitable early education and social-emotional learning. The Director plays a critical role in addressing disproportionality in discipline, special education referrals, and early intervention access for historically marginalized students. In partnership with the Early Education Department, the Director leads the integration of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) across Tiers 1–3 and supervises the PBIS team. This team supports trauma-informed, inclusive, and culturally responsive environments by aligning Tier 1 universal practices with Tier 2 and 3 interventions. The Director ensures this model creates a feedback loop between practice and policy, elevating systemic issues and strengthening support pathways for underserved students.

Essential Duties

Program Leadership & Strategic Oversight

Oversee, monitor, and evaluate the effectiveness of the Shoestrings Children’s Center, ensuring that operations align with district objectives and best practices in early childhood education, mental health support, and sensory integration.

Expand the program by integrating CCEIS Shoestrings Hybrid Program within multiple school sites, ensuring continuity of services and equitable access for children.

Develop and implement Shoestrings Children's Center 2.0, establishing a second location that enhances the program’s reach and impact.

Align Shoestrings' goals with SFUSD’s priorities for reducing disproportionate disciplinary actions, improving inclusive practices, and fostering early intervention strategies to address and dismantle systemic barriers contributing to significant disproportionality among African American students.

Developing the Early Education Department’s revised Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) will increase the capacity to provide cohesive, tiered behavioral and social-emotional supports across all early education sites.

Provide leadership and supervision for the Early Education internship program, including undergraduate and graduate-level student interns. Ensure high-quality fieldwork experiences that align with the Early Education Department’s mission and support children and families across Tiers 1–3. This includes coordinating placements, providing reflective supervision, and facilitating integration of trauma-informed, culturally responsive practices across Early Education School Sites and the Shoestrings Children's Center Programs. This role includes developing and maintaining strong partnerships with universities, from San Francisco State University to the University of Southern California, to ensure high-quality, field-based learning experiences.

Policy, Operations, and Program Development

Develop, implement, and maintain policies and administrative procedures to ensure smooth operation and growth of the program across multiple locations.

Coordinate work activities across Shoestrings programs, school sites, and SFUSD departments to enhance service delivery and resource allocation.

Identify programmatic challenges and develop solutions to improve program efficiency, quality of services, and outcomes for students.

Direct the implementation of best practices for social-emotional learning (SEL), sensory integration, and behavioral intervention within Shoestrings programs.

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Reporting

Analyze program reports to assess outcomes and impact; develop data-driven improvements to enhance student success.

Direct the preparation of monthly, quarterly, and annual reports documenting progress, outcomes, and challenges, ensuring accountability to funders, district leadership, and other stakeholders.

Utilize data and research to refine interventions and recommend adjustments to Shoestrings programming, ensuring continuous improvement with a specific focus on reducing racial disparities in discipline and special education placement.

Facilitate meetings and prepare reports for the California Department of Education (CDE), Medi-Cal LEA BOP, Public Education Enrichment Fund (PEEF), and community partners to ensure compliance, secure funding, and advocate for program sustainability.

Staff Supervision, Coaching, and Professional Development

Provide leadership, coaching, supervision, and performance evaluation for Shoestrings program staff across all sites.

Implement a structured professional development plan to ensure staff have ongoing training in trauma-informed care, SEL, and culturally responsive teaching.

Foster a collaborative team culture rooted in communication, collaboration, and flexibility, addressing barriers to team effectiveness.

Resource Allocation & Budget Management

Oversee budget development and management for Shoestrings programs, ensuring alignment with district priorities and funding requirements.

Direct and monitor expenditures across multiple sites, ensuring efficient use of resources and cost-effectiveness of program operations.

Identify funding opportunities and build relationships with potential funders, ensuring sustainability and expansion of Shoestrings initiatives.

Stakeholder Engagement & Cross-Collaboration

Serve as a liaison between SFUSD, African American Achievement and Leadership Initiative (AAALI), African American Parent Advisory Council (AAPAC), funders, Medi-Cal partners, community-based organizations, and other stakeholders to align program goals and expand service delivery.

Work collaboratively with school administrators, educators, and district leadership to ensure Shoestrings programs are effectively integrated within SFUSD’s early education and elementary framework.

Advocate for policies and practices that support racial equity, trauma-informed interventions, and holistic child development within early education settings, with an emphasis on disrupting disproportionate referrals of African American students to special education and exclusionary discipline.

Innovation & Future Planning

Develop new models for early childhood behavioral and sensory integration support, positioning SFUSD as a leader in equitable, developmentally appropriate interventions.

Lead efforts to scale Shoestrings programming, identifying additional schools and communities that could benefit from expansion.

Utilize research and best practices to ensure Shoestrings 2.0 establishes a cutting-edge framework for early childhood mental health support.

Minimum Qualifications

Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) or Mental Health Professional or BCBA Certification
Master’s degree in social work or related field.
5-8 years of supervisory experience
Extensive experience in program design and implementation

Desired Qualifications

Bilingual/biliterate
Pupil Personnel Services Credential (PPSC)
Experience designing and implementing multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) and early intervention frameworks to improve outcomes for children experiencing behavioral and sensory challenges.
Strategic leadership and management experience in a PK-12 urban public educational setting.

Director, Shoestrings Children's Center Early Education and Elementary Programs (0350)(2025/2026)