Principal or Vice Principal High School Principal
Job Description
MANITOU SPRINGS SCHOOL DISTRICT 14
MANITOU SPRINGS COLORADO
VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT
POSITION:
PRINCIPAL – Manitou Springs High School
LOCATION:
MANITOU SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL
401 EL MONTE PLACE
MANITOU SPRINGS, CO 80829
SCHOOL PROFILE:
Manitou Springs High School is an innovative, forward-thinking, award-winning school of nearly 425 students (46% of all students choice into Manitou Springs School District from surrounding communities) and 60 staff members. Manitou Springs High School is proud of our success in meeting the needs of every student. In addition to a challenging academic curriculum including Advanced Placement and Concurrent Enrollment course offerings, Manitou Springs High School offers comprehensive art, physical education, music, computer technology, Special Education, and Gifted/Talented instruction.
The culture of the school is positive, safe, kind, inclusive, and collaborative. We are looking for a fully committed leader to accentuate our outstanding and numerous attributes while leading us to become an even more effective, responsive, and innovative school moving on into the next decade. Our high school is seeking a principal who can relate to students and help guide them on the journey of life.
COMMUNITY PROFILE:
Manitou Springs is a small, mountain community to the west of Colorado Springs, Colorado where people know and care about each other. This historical, tourist town is scenically beautiful and a perfect spot if you love the outdoors. Manitou is a community where residents are long-term and support their local school district. It’s a terrific place that’s “big enough” but “not too big.”
https://manitousprings.org/. We are driven by our core values of Relationships, Deep Learning, and Opportunity as we serve our children and our communities.
REQUIREMENTS:
- School leadership, including principal or assistant principal, experience required
(3 years preferred) - Current Colorado Principal License or ability to obtain
- Success as an instructional leader (professional development/curricular/program development/instructional delivery/pedagogy)
- Experience in establishing and maintaining a positive, proactive, safe, and innovative climate for students and staff
- Experience in leading innovative change
- Experience in team-building
- Ability to communicate to all stakeholders in multiple ways
- Ability to successfully lead a culturally responsive school
- Demonstrated success as a leader who builds strong relationships with families
- Ability to manage school finances and building facilities
- Experience in leading and supporting athletics and activities through The Colorado High School Activities Association
PREFERRED:
- High school leadership experience preferred
- Secondary classroom experience preferred
Expected Qualities/Characteristics:
Core Value – Relationships: We are looking for an individual who:
- Consistently implements systems that support and honor the school’s and district’s goals, policies, and procedures while holding themselves to the same expectation
- Fosters a positive school climate where all students and staff are healthy, hopeful, engaged, supported, encouraged and celebrated
- Demonstrates excellent use of time and resources to focus on the value of all members of the school community to lead and manage in an effective manner
- Leads, advocates, and supports staff to remove barriers to ensure an excellent work and learning environment
- Models timely, effective, transparent communication with respect, honesty, and integrity
- Understands the history, traditions, and uniqueness of Manitou Springs High School and a small town
- Develops genuine relationships with staff, students, and parents that embrace deep trust and transparency; know students, staff, and families personally and by name
- Embodies genuine and authentic leadership that is trauma informed to create and develop an effective team and school culture
- Recognizes and acknowledges ALL students and staff for accomplishments
- Is visible and accessible for students, staff, and parents
- Is an individual with a strong history of recruiting and retaining the most effective staff
Core Value – Deep Learning: We are looking for an individual who:
- Is a visionary leader to create a supportive system of high standards that maximizes instructional time to meet the learning needs of all students
- Is a focused and consistent leader that provides clarity around school policies, expectations, and consequences
- Exemplifies instructional leadership that is able to maximize the school’s potential and deep learning opportunities for all students (music, experiential learning, athletics, arts integration, social-emotional learning and activities)
- Continues and grows community partnerships to offer more creative class offerings and real world experiences
- Provides individualized and personalized professional development for staff and department needs so that staff can deliver a rigorous educational experience for all students
- Collaborates with school staff to develop and expand a multi-tiered system of support (both academic and social-emotion/affective) to increase intervention offerings and student enrichment
- Ensures sustainable learning opportunities in the areas of Career and Technical Education, Advanced Placement coursework, Career Start, and Concurrent Enrollment
- Collaborates with school staff to develop and expand Professional Learning Communities
- Is a leader who creates and cocreates policies and practices for distraction free classrooms
Core Value – Opportunity: We are looking for an individual who:
- Develops, in collaboration with staff and students, a strong plan of student engagement, good first instruction and purposeful learning opportunities that support students’ preparedness for all pathways after high school
- Maintains an empowering place where ALL students have opportunities to explore traditional and non-traditional pathways and student credit recovery options
- Supports students passion and needs while being held to a high standard
- Supports and leads a safe environment where students’ social emotional learning is embedded in all aspects of the school
- Supports the creation of clear communication resources that allow students and parents to make informed decisions
Additional Qualities and Characteristics: We are looking for an individual who:
- Has the ability to build a strong and effective building leadership administrative team
- Exercises decisiveness and confidence in daily decision making as well as crisis decision making
- Navigates conflict, conflict management, and conflicts of interest
- Creates strong/clear policies that are co-created by administration, teachers and students (ex: cell phone, tardy, late, dress code)
- Coordinates with the Ute Pass BOCES Director, 504 Coordinator, and Assistant Superintendent to ensure proper support for students with specific educational plans and needs (i.e., Individualized Education Plans, Advanced Learning Plans, 504 Plans, English Learning Plans)
- Provides leadership and direction for the development and implementation of the building-level improvement plan that aligns to the district-wide plan
- Has the ability to create and foster strong evaluator/evaluee relationships
Please include your responses to the three essay questions as part of your application packet.
Limit your response to 400-500 words per question.
Question #1:
Why do you want to serve as the leader of Manitou Springs High School? Describe one significant way you engaged a school community that you have led.
Question #2:
Student’s interests, needs, and passions are so diverse. As a school principal how have you created innovative ways for all student’s needs to be met? What was a specific outcome of the initiatives for students?
Question #3:
What is your philosophy on school culture? Describe how you would work towards leading a positive, trusting, and open school culture where staff and students feel included, safe, and supported?
TERM OF EMPLOYMENT:
8/1/2022 – 6/9/2023 (200-day contract)
COMPENSATION:
Please see Administrator Salary Range on Salary Schedule
(on District Website)
SITUATION:
Grades 9-12
TO APPLY:
Please submit an online application packet
Applications available at www.mssd14.org
POSTING DATE:
December 14, 2022
CLOSING DATE:
February 1, 2023: 4:00PM
PAPER SCREENING:
February 2, 2023
CANDIDATES NOTIFIED:
February 3, 2023: 4:00PM
INTERVIEW DATE:
February 9, 2023
Manitou Springs School District 14 is an equal opportunity educational institution and will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, creed, religion, sex (which includes marital status), sexual orientation, disability, age, genetic information or conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth in its activities, programs or employment practices as required by Title VI, Title I, and Section 504. For information regarding civil rights or grievance procedures, contact Dr. Elizabeth Domangue, Superintendent of Schools, Manitou Springs School District 14, 405 El Monte Pl., Manitou Springs, CO 80829, (719) 685-2024, edomangue@mssd14.org, or the Office of Civil Rights, U.S Dept of Education, 1961 Stout Street, Denver, CO 80294, (303) 844-2991.
