Principal or Vice Principal Principal, New Visions AIM II High School, Bronx
Job Description
Organizational Mission and Vision
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. Our schools shift classroom dynamics from one where students receive information to one where students find solutions to community-defined problems by using their imagination coupled with a mastery of content and skills. We develop learning experiences that allow risk-taking, cultivate students’ imaginative and creative abilities, and celebrate achievement. Within our network of ten charter schools, we support two charter schools–AIM I and AIM II– that provide youth who face the greatest obstacles to successful high school completion with the supports, experiences and opportunities they need to graduate high school prepared for a successful transition into a post-secondary academic or work preparatory program.
New Visions AIM Charter High Schools give preference to the students most often ignored: those involved in the juvenile justice system; homeless students; those in foster care or child protective services; and those at least one year behind their graduation cohort. Our goal is for all students to earn a diploma and successfully navigate college and career options and we achieve this by:
- Building trusting relationships that foster a safe community, honor student perspectives, and enable intentional socio-emotional learning;
- Immersing students in a tailored program that accelerates academic learning, builds professional skills, and broadens career awareness;
- andCultivating a mission-driven culture of continuous improvement that is responsive to students’ complex and diverse needs.
Position Summary
The principal is the organizational leader and leads all aspects of instruction and oversees budget and community engagement in the New Visions AIM II Charter High School in the Bronx. The school comprises approximately 40 staff and 250 students. The principal reports directly to the Board of Trustees and, on a day-to-day basis, to the New Visions Superintendent. 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 experience serving on a leadership team in a NYC school and have graduated from a recognized leadership certification program. NVCHS’s 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. Experience working in a high school setting and prior experience working with over-age, under-credited students or youth development, alternative education and job readiness programming is strongly preferred.
The principal must work closely with 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 embedded in it, community learning opportunities for students.
- 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 the natural world.
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 Director of Operations.
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 a high school urban school setting with over-age, under-credited students or youth development, alternative education and job readiness programming is strongly preferred.
- 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.
