Principal or Vice Principal Founding High School Principal
Job Description
The Role
Are you ready to work alongside youth and families to design a new high achieving, racially and socially just Springfield high school? Veritas Prep seeks a full time Founding Principal in Residence (PR) who knows all young people can achieve great things and is ready to partner with them to create a school where they can thrive and prepare for future success. Please consider this exciting opportunity to build on the successes of Veritas middle schools and the high school design process thus far, and lead the development of a new, rigorous, and innovative high school.
What You’ll Do
As the Founding PR of Veritas Prep High School (VPHS), you’ll participate in a one-year full-time residency and planning process to prepare you to become a principal at VPHS while establishing the programmatic and operational details of the school. You’ll work side by side with the middle school staff and high school design teams to internalize the Veritas model, mission, and approach, and to build a strong bridge to high school and an excellent 9-12 program. You will collaborate with staff, students, families and community to synthesize and codify our shared vision; establish the details of school culture, the academic program, operations and more; lead the hiring of the founding team; and prepare to launch the school in the fall of 2022.
In Year 1, you’ll:
- Work with the Executive Director, the Director of High School Design (DHSD), and high school design teams (consisting of teachers, leaders, staff, students, families and community members) to plan and execute the launch of VPHS in 2022-23
- Collaborate with the DHSD to train and prepare design team members for their tasks–this includes students, families, community members and staff
- Finalize our shared vision, values and plans for high school roll-out and collaborate with the DHSD to project manage program development and timelines
- Understand and utilize Veritas Anti-Racism Standards to drive all aspects of VPHS development, including culture and discipline, curriculum and academic program, professional development, hiring, leadership, and management
- Develop an innovative, challenging, and socially just high school program, that ensures rigorous opportunities for Scholars and varied learning pathways that prepare them for college and high impact careers
- Oversee the development and or procurement of quality curricular materials that are standards-aligned, representative of our diverse Scholars and that explicitly address systems of power and oppression and strategies to dismantle them
- Build systems and strategies to ensure differentiated supports for Scholars and strong social-emotional learning so all Scholars can achieve at high levels
- Build an assessment strategy and monitoring systems to continuously gather feedback and adapt to improve Scholar success
- Balance opportunity and sustainability in the design by carefully considering aspirational goals with long term viability of design decisions
- Work with the DHSD to develop strong family, community and higher education partnerships and integrate those partnerships into the VPHS vision and program
- Work with the Director of Talent to hire a passionate and diverse team of effective teachers, operations, and support staff for year 1 of the high school
- Participate in leadership coaching, feedback, and professional development with current Veritas leaders and external providers
- Work with network and school leaders to develop a comprehensive orientation and PD program for founding teachers and staff
In Year 2, you’ll:
- Lead and manage the launch of VPHS with the inaugural 9th grade class
- Leverage the Veritas Anti-Racism Standards for regular reflection and assessment of work to refine our approach
- Effectively lead, manage, support and inspire staff to provide excellent instruction and support to all Scholars at VPHS
- Implement a year-long high-quality professional learning strategy and schedule for teachers and staff
- Implement systems and strategies to foster shared and distributed leadership
- Implement high quality curriculum, instruction and assessment and continuously monitor impact on Scholar success to improve
- Continue to foster family, community and organizational partnerships that enhance our program and Scholar experience
- Work collaboratively with high school design teams and new staff and Scholars to build out details for sophomore year and beyond
What You’ll Need (Qualifications)
- An unwavering belief that all students can achieve amazing things
- A passion for continuous growth as a leader
- Deep understanding of systemic racism and its impact in education
- Commitment to anti-racist practices and policies
- Strong track record with cultural responsive and trauma-informed practices.
- Bachelor’s degree, master’s preferred (Education/Psychology)
- Five years of secondary teaching experience (preferred)
- Three years of school leadership experience at the high school level (preferred)
- Experience successfully developing and leading diverse people and teams
- Expertise in high school curriculum and programming in at least one content area
- Have or be eligible for a MA/DESE administrator license (Principal/Assistant Principal, Grades 5-12), including SEI endorsement
- Current authorization to work in the United States – a candidate must have such authorization by his or her first day of employment
Wondering if you should apply? Are you an experienced educator who is passionate about giving every child access to an education that will prepare them for wherever life takes them? Are you a life-long learner who thrives on feedback? If you answered yes, you should apply!
Think you don’t quite meet all the qualifications listed above? Apply anyway! We are looking for a truly diverse team of leaders, and research shows that historically marginalized groups are less likely to apply if they don’t meet every requirement. We want to recruit and support a diverse staff, to understand the history of inequity in education, and to ensure students see teachers, staff, and leaders who look like them working in their schools.
Still not sure? Set up a call with a recruiter by emailing recruitment@vpcs.org.
Veritas Prep is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against employees or qualified job applicants on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin, disability, veteran or military status, marital status, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity or expression, or any other status or condition protected by applicable law. This policy extends to, but is not limited to, recruitment, selection, compensation, benefits, promotion, training, and termination.
About Veritas Prep
Veritas Prep Charter School (VPCS) was founded in Springfield in 2012 with the mission to prepare students in grades 5-8 to compete, achieve, and succeed in high school, college, and beyond. VPCS now serves more than 370 Springfield students and is one of Massachusetts’ top-performing middle schools. Building on the success of VPCS, Friends of Veritas Prep partnered with the Holyoke Public Schools, launching Veritas Prep Holyoke (VPH) in 2018 as part of Holyoke’s innovative turnaround efforts. VPH is a neighborhood enrollment school currently serving grades 5, 6, and 7 and growing one grade per year through grade 8.
We are excited to develop a high school for our Springfield scholars which is tentatively scheduled to launch in the fall of 2022 with 100 students in Grade 9, and ultimately, serving roughly 350 students in grades 9-12.
Veritas Prep schools provide a college prep curriculum in a safe, positive, and rigorous learning environment that allows students to thrive both academically and socially. Our educators believe in expecting the best from every student and in the power of building strong relationships with students and families, creating a community that supports the achievement of all. To learn more about Veritas Prep and the close-knit academic community of teachers and scholars in Springfield and Holyoke, please visit www.veritasprepma.org.
