Candidates will not be considered without an updated cover letter.

STRIVE Prep is a Denver-based community of public charter schools that challenges every student to strive for college and thrive throughout life by helping them to discover and develop the knowledge, skills and confidence necessary to succeed in college and beyond.

Our inclusive and transformative community seeks a Middle School Principal for the 2018-2019 school year.

Objective: STRIVE Prep Principals will create exceptional outcomes for scholars by implementing high quality school wide systems and leading procedures for school wide routines, as well as providing instructional coaching support for teachers.

About STRIVE Prep – Sunnyside:

• Currently in its seventh year of operations, STRIVE Prep-Sunnyside opened in 2010 (originally as West Denver Prep – Highland), as a result of a grassroots parent movement to create a high quality middle school option in the neighborhood.
• The Sunnyside campus serves approximately 270 students in grades 6-8; the student population is approximately 92% Latino, 84% FRL, 65% ELL, and 13% special education.

We seek dedicated educators that live STRIVE Prep’s  core values every day:

• Con Ganas: The work we do is challenging, but every challenge is seen as an opportunity and we rarely give up.
• The High Road: We do the right thing and we treat one another with respect and dignity.
• Joy Factor: We work to create a joyful and optimistic work environment that values levity and laughter.
• Accountable Action: We hold clear, high expectations for our work, and we are appropriately held accountable to those expectations by ourselves and others.
• Growth Mindset: We continue to develop professionally and operate with a growth mindset in order to create the best school possible for our students and families.
• Lean In: We communicate with one another professionally, appropriately, honestly, and transparently, both in person and in writing.
• We Serve:  Every day is an opportunity to partner with and learn from our students and families, whom we serve with grace and humility.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

   Academic Program::

• Lead an effective, student achievement focused administration team of 5-6 people.
• Implement the network’s common curriculum, ensuring teachers have internalized and are prepared each day to deliver the rigorous, comprehensive, standards-based curriculum in alignment with the Common Core State Standards
• Model and ensure high quality observation/feedback cycles, student work analysis protocols, and real-time coaching.
• Lead and oversee a rigorous system for student assessment, data tracking, and appropriate student interventions.
• Design and deliver comprehensive professional development during summer training and throughout the school year.
• Oversee all supporting logistics for the academic program, including staffing structure and schedule.
• Partner with the network team to recruit and select high quality teachers and staff.

  Student Culture:

• Set, model, maintain, and monitor a vision for strong student culture.
• Build and sustain rituals, systems, and structures that prioritize and promote student safety and college access and preparation.
• Implement network-wide systems to support student conduct and discipline.
• Lead community gatherings that set the tone for the academic program.
• Oversee extracurricular activities, including after-school sports, partnerships with outside providers, and other areas of interest.

   Staff Culture:

• Model and hold adults accountable for excellence.
• Care for and empower staff members.
• Model professionalism.

Talent Management

As Primary Talent manager for your campus you will:

• Own and prioritize staff retention
• Oversee evaluation of all staff members twice annually
• Regularly collaborate with Talent Team on hiring strategies and cultivation of quality candidates
• Collaborate with Talent Team to determine hiring competencies for each role upon posting
• Prioritize recruitment within your school and leveraging the staff for referrals
• Designate time in weekly schedule for in person interviews, candidate follow up and recruitment

  Community:

• Ensure excellent parent satisfaction and parent participation.
• Ensure high levels of student attendance.
• Engage external partners to add value to the students’ experience.

  Network Leadership:

• Regularly collaborate with other principals and Central staff.
• Be a network leader, always considering the needs of the network and the needs of the campus.
• Effectively implement network programming.

Requirements:

• Understand, appreciate and can pull from at least 3 years of teaching experience. Have demonstrated proven school leadership skills in urban settings with an emphasis on data-driven instruction and demonstrable gains in student achievement.
• Can pull from at least 2 years of demonstrated experience in a school leadership role or in instructional coaching.
• Bachelor of Arts or Sciences degree

In addition, we strongly prefer the following:

• Speaks Spanish and/or has experience working with English Learners.
• Demonstrated success working with students of color.
• Demonstrated success developing and retaining staff.

What We Offer Our Network Staff:

• Competitive compensation package.
• Annual performance-based raises.
• Participation in the Colorado PERA retirement program, including a PERA 401k contribution option.
• Funding of 100 percent of individual medical benefits and a wide range of insurance plans.
• Approximately three weeks of summer vacation, approximately four weeks of school holidays and vacations, and eight days of paid time off annually.

Join This Movement:

STRIVE Prep educators inspire and encourage our students to think critically, communicate clearly, and collaborate openly, both in and outside of the classroom. By bringing together challenging academics with celebration and joy, we fuel a sense of curiosity, creativity and lifelong possibility in our students and our teachers. No matter where you join us in your career, we welcome our teachers to help make STRIVE Prep a place where everyone in our community can STRIVE and THRIVE.

Equity and Inclusion

STRIVE Prep works to make a college preparatory education for all students in our community the norm, rather than the exception.  We must challenge ourselves as educators on what it means to serve all students, families and each other through a lens of Dignity for All, all the time. To us, Dignity for All means honoring and respecting the rich diversity of who we are and the unique gifts and talents that each of us bring. To achieve this we are committed to building and sustaining a diverse team by maintaining hiring and recruiting processes that are free from bias and seek to provide each candidate with a unique and equitable opportunity for employment.

Questions?

Contact Desiree’ Beckett (Staffing Manager) at dbeckett@striveprep.org