Principal or Vice Principal Principal
Job Description
About Us
New Visions Charter High Schools (NVCHS) provide all students, regardless of their previous academic history, the highest quality education in an atmosphere of respect, responsibility and rigor. We ensure that our students have the skills and knowledge to graduate ready for college, pursue a career, and engage with the 21st century economy. We develop learning experiences that allow risk-taking, cultivate students’ imaginative and creative abilities, and celebrate achievement. Through an intensive study of math concepts in our math and science schools, and literature, English, social studies and arts in our humanities schools, students learn how to generate research questions, develop the skills necessary to answer those questions, create products that demonstrate understanding, and defend their knowledge publicly.
Position Summary
The principal is the instructional leader and leads all aspects of instruction and oversees budget and community engagement in the New Visions Charter High Schools opening in the summer of 2015. At full growth, each school will comprise over 60 staff and close to 600 students. The principal reports directly to the Board of Trustees, and, on a day-to-day basis, to the New Visions Vice President, Charter Initiative. The principal is ultimately responsible for ensuring that the school provides students with the skills, knowledge and experience necessary to succeed academically and socially. The principal must have: the skills needed to adeptly facilitate and collaborate with faculty and staff; experience teaching using alternative pedagogy; ability to identify and use diagnostic and formative assessments; and ability to engage in and support classroom and organizational level inquiry to inform decision-making.
The ideal candidate will have demonstrated leadership experience. Preference will be given to candidates who have participated on an established Inquiry Team in a NYC school or graduated from a recognized leadership certification program. NVCHSs use a challenge-based approach to engage students in learning and foster the use of imaginative capacities for problem-solving. Winning candidate will have demonstrated alignment with the New Visions mission to empower young people by challenging them academically and providing them with the support they need to excel.
The principal must work closely with the school’s Director of School Operations (DSO) and the New Visions Charter Management Organization (CMO) to ensure that the school embodies the New Visions Charter High School model and implements best practices in all instructional and operational areas.
Core Duties and Responsibilities
Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment
- Lead a challenge-based curriculum that has community learning opportunities for students embedded within it.
- Deliver the academic preparation and requisite support for all students to be prepared to succeed in college and career.
- Reinforce and institutionalize the implementation of New Visions Charter School practices. Foster connections between academic learning, the community, and students’ daily lives.
Staff Supervision and Development
- Hire and support the development of all school staff.
- Create a professional community that focuses on instruction and assessment as the primary vehicles for improving student achievement and school culture.
- Provide on-going observation, coaching and evaluation.
- Motivate teachers to continue to develop their content knowledge and instructional repertoire, and to provide the resources needed for them to do so.
School Culture
- Build a school culture that evidences high expectations for courtesy, respect, compassion and an intellectually-engaged environment for both students and adults.
- Ensure a safe, supportive and productive environment for students, staff and families.
- Model effective instructional practices in staff meetings, professional development sessions and team meetings.
Community Engagement
- Prepare for and attend regular Board Meetings.
- Collaborate with the Board of Trustees and the Community Advisory Board to cultivate strong partnerships with community organizations and regional and national partners.
- Initiate and implement community support and advisory groups.
- Leverage community relationships to strengthen and support the school’s instructional and operational programs.
Accountability
- Understand accountability metrics and annual reporting required of charter schools and oversee the submission of all accountability metrics.
- Collaborate with the Board of Trustees to ensure the academic and fiscal success of the school.
- Develop and implement the school’s budget along with the New Visions CMO and the school’s DSO.
Development
- Collaborate with the Board of Trustees and the New Visions CMO to support development efforts to expand instructional and operational capacities of the school.
Education and Experience
- Masters degree in Administration/Management
- School leadership training, certification, and/or experience that is consistent with the core concepts of the New Visions Charter School Model.
- Possession of or in the process of obtaining the New York State School Building Leader certification.
- Teaching experience, preferably at the high school level, with a history of improving student achievement.
- Demonstrated leadership capabilities, including management and team-building skills.
- Experience working in an urban school setting.
- Experience with supervising, evaluating and professional development of teachers and teachers-in-training.
- Experience implementing pedagogical strategies and developing curriculum relevant to the New Visions Charter School model including, but not limited to: challenge-based curriculum, inquiry, data-based decision making, analysis of student performance on an ongoing basis, alternative use of time through scheduling and programming, systems of adult learning.
- Experience developing schedules and budgets.
- Experience working in a shared DOE space, a plus.
Required Skill Sets and Knowledge Base
- Demonstrated commitment to the school vision and mission.
- Commitment to democratic governance and collaborative, data-based decision-making.
- Rigorous approach to problem-solving – collecting all relevant information, consulting diverse perspectives, and creating feedback systems.
- Recognition of self as a learner and reflective practitioner, able to identify areas for growth and commitment to working in these areas.
- Experience and zeal for working in an entrepreneurial environment.
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
- Passion for creating a school community that supports the development and achievement of all students, particularly those underserved and at risk in other school settings.
