Principal or Vice Principal High School Associate Dean of Students
Job Description
Associate Dean of Students
● Are you a passionate , and talented team player ?
● Do you love working in urban schools ?
● Are you looking for a high school culture that strikes the perfect balance
of structure and freedom , where academic rigor drives all other aspects of school life, and where positive reinforcement for hard work and effort is the norm?
● Do you constantly strive to improve your craft through professional development , incorporation of data, and whatever other resources you can find?
● Do you thrive in the company of a team of equally committed, driven, and gifted people?
MESA Charter High School might be the right place for you!
Math, Engineering, and Science Academy (MESA) Charter High School is a new high school in Bushwick, Brooklyn. On August 19, 2013, we opened our doors, and we now have 470 students in grades 9-12. Our students come from more than fifty different middle schools, including public, parochial, and charter schools. Some are advanced students coming from magnet schools; others are beginning English Language Learners. What they all have in common is a desire to succeed. MESA students come to school every day, ready to work—we have a 95% attendance rate and a 97% punctuality rate, both significantly higher than other high schools in our district! When it comes to regents pass rates, MESA outperforms our peers by a rate of 30-40%!
Some key aspects of MESA’s design are:
● Smart teaching —MESA uses a Standards-Based Grading system, which makes data understandable and accessible. This enables teachers to create targeted, focused instruction, and helps students understand and track their own progres s. MESA teachers love data (or at least aren’t afraid of it!).
● Smart support —MESA teachers have a minimum of rote administrative duties in order to better focus on planning, instruction, and assessment. Teachers receive ongoing coaching and feedback. MESA is committed to collaboratively developing and growing its teachers. Dedicated time for professional development and collaborative planning is built into the calendar.
Smart scheduling —MESA’s school day starts and ends later than most DOE schools, as research indicates that a late start helps high-school students succeed.
● Smart culture —MESA provides students with a separate effort grade each week, which will lead to rewards for students. MESA also emphasizes positive reinforcement for student effort and performance. All MESA teachers lead an Advisory, and serve as Advisor to 10-13 students.
● Smart relationships —MESA believes that all parents want their children to succeed, and enlists them as partners through phone calls, workshops, and frequent contact. More than 85% of MESA parents attended parent-teacher conferences , a number generally unheard of in unscreened urban high schools.
● Smart calendar —MESA’s calendar has187 days of instruction, as well as dedicated PD and grading days. MESA’s calendar and earlier start allow for “Intersession,” during which students receive enrichment, skill remediation, or Regents preparation.
Specific Responsibilities
The Associate Dean of Students is responsible for maintaining high behavioral standards through enforcement of the school discipline policy. He/she supports the Dean of Students in upholding MESA’s high expectations for student culture and conduct. The Associate Dean of Student’s main responsibilities are to:
● Serve as the main point of contact for parents, pro-actively contacting parents of students who struggle with behavior or attendance requirements.
● Work with the Director of Student Culture to align positive culture incentives with MESA behavioral expectations and ensure consistency of implementation.
● Implement the discipline policy on a day-to-day basis, including following MESA’s procedure for notification and administration of consequences.
● Conduct student observations and/or Functional Behavior Analyses for students who have persistent behavioral issues.
● Own all aspects of the MESA dress code, including monitoring, enforcement and follow through.
● Administer detention or other consequences.
● Send out daily detention notifications to teachers.
● Compile and send out the “No Jeans, No Sneakers” list.
● Notify parents in the event of student absence and or low-level
disciplinary issues.
● Conduct home visits, as needed.
● Ensure safe and timely student arrivals and dismissals are carried out daily.
Qualifications: (1) Bachelor’s degree preferred; (2) Some background working with high school-aged students in urban communities (3) Belief in and alignment with MESA’s core beliefs and educational philosophy; (4) Spanish-speaker strongly preferred.
Salary: Highly competitive, commensurate with experience.
