School Network Staff Colorado School Founder Fellow
Job Description
WHO WE ARE
The Legacy Fellowship (startaschool.org) is a paid two year training program for education leaders and entrepreneurs interested in starting a new charter school in Colorado. Fellows work full time to open a new school that embraces serving the whole student and provides an educational model with a compelling vision for the community they intend to serve.
The Legacy Fellowship is run by the Legacy Institute (springslegacy.org), a nonprofit dedicated to advancing education and community development in Colorado. The Fellowship is guided by an exceptional leadership team with over two decades of collaboration and experience in education, philanthropy, and professional development, including significant experience building new schools and training new leaders.
Through the Legacy Fellowship, participants will have the opportunity to:
- Create an enduring school and organization
- Meet the needs of the whole kid
- Build an organization set up for success and successors
- Have real impact on thousands of kids and adults
WHAT YOU’LL DO
Legacy Fellows will be responsible for completing a rigorous two year training program and securing an approved charter application for a new school of their founding in Colorado.
As a Fellow, your primary responsibilities will be:
- Attending 2 years worth of trainings
- Visiting strong schools across Colorado and the country
- Building a coalition of local supporters, parents, and board members
- Writing a rigorous and politically viable charter application that gets approved
- Opening an exceptional new school that endures for multiple decades
WHO YOU ARE
- Level 5 Leadership: You balance personal humility with professional determination, deliver exceptional results, and drive long-term shared success with others.
- Personal Humility: You care nothing about credit and put the needs of the students, the team, and the school above yourself at all times.
- Professional Resolve: You are fiercely dedicated to both achieving meaningful outcomes and developing people, especially in challenging situations.
- Entrepreneurial Spirit: You are innovative, adaptable, and willing to take calculated risks to build something special and impactful.
- Dedication to Colorado: You thrive in an in-person, hands-on role based locally. This is a full-time, in-person opportunity, in a real community.
- Endurance: You demonstrate resilience, sustaining physical and mental effort to overcome challenges and have the unusual stamina to do the work for 10+ years.
- Cultural Competence: You understand the impact of identity differences and are capable of building and leading a diverse team and organization.
- Relationship-Building: You build genuine connections with diverse stakeholders and communicate the vision of work passionately and clearly.
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
- Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s or Professional degree preferred
- Strong connection to Colorado with 2-3 years living or working in the proposed school region preferred
- Commitment to opening a new school with a significantly longer day and year that better aligns the school calendar to the working family calendar strongly preferred
- Commitment to opening a new school that starts with preschool and or elementary grades and expands to at least PreK-8 strongly preferred
- 2-4 years full-time professional work experience required; 5-7+ years strongly preferred
- Two years of experience in PreK-12 education is preferred; 5-7+ years of PreK-12 school based experience strongly preferred
- Public school (district or charter) and or nonprofit experience serving primarily students from under-resourced communities strongly preferred
- Preference for candidates with a strong history of managing and developing people, preferably in a school based or nonprofit setting
- Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion principals required
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
This position offers a competitive salary of $125,000 and robust benefits including medical, dental, and retirement. More details can be provided upon request.
