Principal or Vice Principal High School Principal Fellow
Job Description
Position: Principal Fellow (Grades 9-12)
Reports to: School Principal
THE CHALLENGE
Do you want to perfect your craft as a school principal in preparation to lead one of STRIVE Prep’s inclusive and transformative high schools?
OVERVIEW OF THE ROLE
STRIVE Prep is a Denver-based community of K-12 public charter schools, that challenges every student to discover and develop the knowledge, skills, and confidence necessary to succeed in college and beyond. STRIVE Prep Principal Fellows are school leaders in training. The goal of the fellowship is to prepare new leaders to take over an existing campus. After being hired by STRIVE Prep, each Fellow will be placed at one of our high school campuses and serve in an assistant principal or other school leadership capacity, while concurrently taking part in a tailored professional development and mentorship program. The Principal Fellow is a year-long professional development and mentorship program and upon completion, fellows may assume a School Principal position.
The Principal Fellow will begin the year-long professional development and mentorship program in the Fall of 2019. Pending proficiency with core competencies and network needs, fellows could assume the Principal role in July 2020, July 2021, or beyond.
THE MUST HAVES
Do the following must haves resonate with you and demonstrable in your unique talents and experiences? If so, we invite you to apply and can’t wait to learn more about you!
- You prioritize social justice AND academic excellence: Your experience in education shows a history of moving students and/or staff to transformational academic gains. You are a champion of social justice and restorative practices, and know they are integral in ensuring strong academic results, student agency, and for preparing students to be agents of change. You treat each student as if they are your own and expect your colleagues to do the same. You know this is key to building and fostering an inclusive, high-performance environment where students and staff are known, empowered, and trusted to be active collaborators to ensure each student’s success.
- You have a strong lens on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI): You value diverse perspectives, seek feedback to inform the work, and keep those on the margins top of mind, which enables you to truly maintain an inclusive school environment. You proactively build meaningful and authentic relationships with your principal, teachers, support staff, parents, students, & community members. You bring a deep belief in equity and action-oriented commitment to advancing DEI work, and you galvanize others to do the same.
- You are a visionary: You drive the vision for school culture and academic outcomes. You are a leader who is able to inspire trust, camaraderie and support amongst your team to achieve success. You are a strong collaborator/communicator/problem solver who keeps the vision front of mind while inspiring students and adults and removing roadblocks that impact success.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
With the must haves driving your daily approach to the work and depending on the school-specific role, Fellows will have an opportunity to do the following:
Academic Program
- Manage a rigorous, comprehensive, standards-based curriculum.
- Execute a strong system for student assessment, data tracking, and appropriate student interventions.
- Support and develop teachers using frequent classroom observations, observation debriefs, lesson plan reviews, data meetings, and formal reviews.
- Use data to drive instruction by creating and refining dashboards, conducting analysis, and developing concise teacher action plans.
- Support logistics for the academic program, including staffing structure and schedule.
- Deliver a detailed professional development plan.
- Partner with the network team to recruit, retain and develop high-quality teachers and staff.
School Culture
- Sustain rituals, systems, and structures that prioritize and promote college access and preparation.
- Design an age-appropriate, school-wide system to support student conduct and discipline.
- Lead community gatherings that set the tone for the academic program.
- Execute a comprehensive plan for extracurricular activities, including sports, arts, and other areas of interest.
Community
- Ensure excellent parent satisfaction.
- Ensure high levels of student attendance.
- Engage external partners to add value to the students’ experience of the school, especially in the areas of extracurricular activities.
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS (OR PREFERENCES WHERE NOTED)
- Bachelor’s degree (required), and preferably an advanced degree.
- Understand, appreciate, and can pull from 3+ years of teaching experience and instructional coaching (required).
- Previous experience working in an urban school (strongly preferred)
- Previous experience working in a Title 1 school (strongly preferred)
- Speak Spanish and/or have experience working with bilingual students (strongly preferred).
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
- Competitive compensation package with performance-based raises.
- A robust, year-long professional development program.
- A cohort experience with principal fellows and coaches at varying levels on their path to school leadership.
- Participation in Colorado’s PERA retirement program, including a 401k contribution option.
- Funding of 100 percent of individual medical benefits and a wide range of insurance plans.
- Approximately three weeks of summer vacation, approximately four weeks of school holidays and vacations, and eight days of paid time off annually.
- Paid sabbatical after 5 years of service.
DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION
STRIVE Prep works to make a college prep education for all students in our community the norm rather than the exception. We are committed to building and sustaining a diverse team by maintaining hiring and recruiting processes that are free from bias and seek to provide each candidate with a unique and equitable opportunity for employment. STRIVE Prep is an equal opportunity employer and actively encourages applications from people of all backgrounds.
START DATE
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis until the position is filled.
