About Great Oaks Charter Schools

At Great Oaks, students will shape the world, not be defined by it. We believe that children learn best through a combination of project-based, authentic learning experiences, and direct instruction to support skill development and accelerate learning. Instruction and culture are grounded in our design principles of Mastery, Leadership, and Community. As part of the model, Great Oaks Americorps Fellows provide students with additional opportunities to engage in critical content, which helps to close academic achievement gaps and level the playing field. We are seeking talented, tenacious people who share our belief that all students deserve a high-quality education.

Great Oaks Principles

Mastery: For students to shape the world and not be defined by it, they must have deep knowledge and understanding and the ability to apply that to new contexts and situations. It is an attitudinal disposition that emphasizes continuous learning and growth over success/perfection. We support continuous improvement and innovation through improvement science.

Leadership: The purpose of leadership as a focus is to support a vision of the world in which equity and justice are essential to its development. We nurture and develop leaders by integrating love and an understanding of how humans learn into the systems and structures in our schools.

Community: Our schools are firmly rooted in community and explicitly designed to serve all children towards college and career readiness. Community as a goal of education is predicated on the understanding that if it takes a village to raise a child, why not help raise the village.  Wesupport the whole child in the development of healthy self-esteem and confidence through building deep relationships with others and themselves.

About Great Oaks Charter School – Wilmington

Great Oaks (GO) Charter School – Wilmington opened in downtown Wilmington in the fall of 2015. This school year, Great Oaks – Wilmington serves 450 students in 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th grades. Great Oaks – Wilmington will grow to serve students in grades 6th -12th by adding on one-grade level each year until we reach full enrollment. Our students arrive, on average, behind grade level.  Many live in poverty. Upon arrival, they are statistically less than 10% likely to graduate with a 4-year degree.  Our mission is that each child ultimately graduates from college. 

We have high academic and behavioral expectations for our students. We pair rigorous curriculum and teaching with intense personal support from teachers, tutors, and staff. The school’s mission is to prepare our students for college and career success through several key elements:

• Small school – Grade-level cohorts of less 100 students allow each student to feel known and cared for. Our focus is on a sense of community and relationship building with families and students
• More time on task – Longer school days than traditional schools. Weekend sessions and summer school for students who are struggling.
• High expectations – Rigorous, differentiated, college-preparatory coursework from K-12. Advanced Placement and real college courses for all juniors and seniors.
• Individualized Instruction – World-class teachers with clear expectations,, who are supported by a cadre of AmeriCorps fellows.

Position Summary  

Great Oaks Wilmington Charter School is seeking a dynamic, experienced, and focused Executive Director to lead Great Oaks Wilmington through its next stage of development.   The Executive Director is responsible for the overall performance, management, and operations Great Oaks.

The Executive Director oversees a Principal of the middle school and high school as well as other key administrators.   In this role, the Executive Director is responsible for working collaboratively with the leadership team in establishing the overarching vision and implementation of the plan and processes that result in quality student outcomes, teacher satisfaction and overall school success for Great Oaks Wilmington.

• Conceptualize, design and implement an effective strategy that enlists the staff, families and students on a common effort for student college and career readiness;
• Establish effective and regular ongoing systems of communication as the leader key stakeholders including staff & tutors, parents,the community at large, and state and local government agencies;
• Ensure high quality curriculum, instruction, and assessment throughout the school aligned to state standards and designed to accelerate student outcomes and their passion for learning;
• Ensure that systems exist to collect, monitor and provide feedback to teachers, Fellows, students and families about student progress and areas for growth;
• Ensure that systems exists to develop, support, coach and supervise teachers in a way that builds teacher knowledge, inspires and enlists them, and holds them accountable for student learning. The Executive Director ensures that the school attracts and retains high quality staff;
• Ensure that effective youth culture systems exist that build off of established leadership in strengths based leadership development practice and enlist staff and students to establishing an effective and caring culture in the school;
• Implement  the Fellow Corps model, where every student receives effective tutoring and mentoring each week that significantly improves their skills and abilities and orientation towards college readiness;
• Implement the policy, structures and systems to support effective management of the school in areas ranging from budget to enrollment, student data systems to state compliance;
• Coordinate support with the Great Oaks Foundation across domains of the school:  instructional, assessment, curricular, culture, data, finance, HR, etc..
• Work with the Board of Trustees and Great Oaks Foundation to deliver on the promises contained in the school’s charter;
• Take responsibility for his/her part in reversing negative outcomes for students, to work relentlessly to support our efforts to engage each and every student, and to uphold our mission to prepare every student to succeed in college to the extent possible;
• Through formal and informal feedback, consistently seeks to continue to develop and improve his/her job performance while employed by the School.  At Great Oaks, an ongoing quest for improvement is considered essential for all staff members.

The Executive Director formally reports the Great Oaks Wilmington Board of Trustees.  Through an MOU, the Charter Management Organization, the Great Oaks Foundation, provides day ongoing  management and support of the school, coordinated by the Executive Vice President.

Competencies and Qualifications (Required):

The successful candidate will have proven success as an experienced educational leader, with experience coaching and developing adults in order to support students. S/he will possess unbridled enthusiasm for the Great Oaks mission and the unique opportunities afforded by the Fellows  Corps model. With a relentless focus on teaching and learning and deep experience formulating strategy and implementing plans, the Executive Director will bring the ability to improve operations and deliver high quality outcomes. S/he will possess exceptional internal and external relationship building skills and the ability to communicate clearly and effectively to multiple constituencies.  S/he will drive student outcomes by using a wide range of engaging, rigorous pedagogical strategies to reach all students. The successful candidate will also have:

• A strong academic record with a Masters degree or an advanced degree in Education, Education Administration or equivalent experience.
• At least 7 years experience in K-12 education, with at least 3 years as an administrator
• Prior Executive level leadership a plus
• Experience working with urban, underserved youth strongly preferred
• Prior experience with charter schools a plus
• A strong belief that all students can succeed
• A commitment to building relationships with students and families
• A do-whatever-it takes attitude
• Sense of humor and a growth mindset
• An exceptional ability to respond well to and incorporate feedback
• Demonstrated expertise in leading professional development for educators
• Experience using both quantitative and qualitative data to shift instruction to reach all students.
• Be relentlessly committed to preparing every student for college or a career of his/her choice
• Possess strong leadership and team skills
• Be a self-aware leader who knows how to treat all members of the school’s community with respect, appraises accurately his or her strengths and weaknesses, and is perceptive about how he or she is regarded
• Have superb organizational and self-management skills and be able to handle multiple responsibilities effectively; have strong planning and execution skills; be a goal-oriented and effective problem-solver
• Be dependable
• Be driven to improve the minds and lives of students
• Be passionate about academic learning and insistent on academic excellence and rigor at all times
• A clear record of elevating student achievement in an urban classroom, with a strong understanding of pedagogy that drives results
• A relentless work ethic and commitment to achieving the school’s mission
• Excellent strategic planning, leadership, management, and communication skills, with a proven ability to lead instructional and non-instructional staff.

Required to pass a background check through fingerprinting and receive security clearance to work at Great Oaks WIL.

Compensation

Great Oaks provides a competitive compensation and benefits package; exact compensation will vary based on experience and education.

General Information

This position is for the 2020-2021 school year and the successful candidate will preferably start by May 1st to ensure effective transition and no later than July 1, 2020.