Principal

Company: RePublic Schools
Location: Jackson
Posted on: May 26, 2023

Job Description:

Who We Are
Serving more than 3,300 scholars in six schools across two cities; Jackson, Mississippi and Nashville, Tennessee, RePublic Schools is the only school network solely dedicated to reimagining public education in the South.
Part of reimagining education in the South means that we confront the historic inequities that work against our scholars and actively work to dismantle those inequities. We are doing this by intentionally creating environments that embrace, honor, and celebrate our scholars' identities and experiences, as well as the identities and experiences of every member of our community.
At RePublic, we cultivate a cohesive community of families, staff, and scholars committed to doing whatever it takes to ensure our scholars succeed. We are looking for a determined Principal to lock arms with our Smilow Prep team in Jackson, MS for the 2023-24 school year. . Candidates must share our unwavering belief that all children can achieve at high levels and change the world. Sound like you?
What You'll Do
Overview
At RePublic, we believe that the people in front of our scholars each day are the key determinants of their ultimate success. We believe that trajectory-changing teachers are not born - they are coached and developed by strong school-based leadership teams deeply dedicated to their success. The Principal is the most impactful leadership position at RePublic, and participates in strategic decision-making, at the school and network level. Equal parts instructional visionary, strategic mastermind, data-driven decision-maker, people developer, and community builder, the Principal stands at the nexus of the highest-leverage unit of change in a child's life: the school.
Key Responsibilities

• The Principal will drive instruction and create a culture of academic ownership by:
  • Setting astronomical goals for student growth and achievement;
  • Leading the school-based leadership team and teachers to collectively and individually monitor academic progress of all scholars and analyze student achievement data to drive instructional decisions and change course as needed to ensure transformational academic outcomes;
  • Ensuring scholars are prepared to be accepted to, enter, and succeed in the colleges and universities of their choosing by creating opportunities for scholars to master content aligned to a college-ready bar;
  • Fostering a school-wide culture in which students love learning, are obsessed with reading, think critically, and take ownership over their own academic and extracurricular progress and inquiry; and
  • Building strong relationships with families, students, and staff to ensure collective investment in instructional priorities, initiatives, and expectations.
  • The Principal will empower and develop teachers and leaders by:
    • Owning all aspects of leading, inspiring, managing, and developing a staff of dynamic, driven, and diverse individuals (middle school -40, high school -60 teammates);
    • Setting clear, ambitious, and measurable short and long term goals and priorities for the school that align with RePublic's mission and values, investing the team in these goals and priorities, and making progress against these known to all teammates;
    • Managing and developing a school-based leadership team of approximately 6 individuals;
    • Leading and facilitating robust school-based professional development weekly that sets staff up to: master the fundamentals of classroom management, backwards-design planning and intellectual preparation, relationship-building and communication with scholars and families, data-driven action planning, and implementation of school wide cultural, academic, operational, and extracurricular systems and initiatives;
    • Training and coaching leaders to effectively move individual teacher instructional practice and, subsequently, students' academic achievement, through high-leverage and consistent observation and feedback cycles; and
    • Creating a culture where all staff give and receive feedback fluidly - both positive and constructive - as part of daily practice to move the entire school forward.
    • The Principal will lead the school's continued excellence by:
      • Recruiting, selecting, and hiring top talent from across the nation to teach, lead, and support the mission and vision of the school;
      • Managing the leadership team to develop culture and operational systems and outcomes that create a school environment where scholars feel safe, able to take social and academic risks, and excited to come to school each day;
      • Leading the school team to build deep relationships with families and scholars such that key stakeholders are inspired to remain with the school, and committed to persisting through challenges to produce scholars that are bound for success in college and in life;
      • Overseeing the growth of the school (facilities as well as the academic and extracurricular program) as it expands to full growth over four years;
      • Serving as a liaison to the broader local (and national) educational community to champion the work RePublic is doing and build a network of supporters committed to seeing our scholars succeed; and
      • Ensuring compliance of the school with the full scope of federal and state regulatory requirements. Who You Are
        Our ideal candidate for a Principal has an unwavering belief that our students can achieve at an exceptionally high level. Beyond that, he/she is:
        • Deeply committed to serving our kids. You have elected to work with historically underserved students, and do this work because you believe that all students, regardless of background, are capable of excellence - and that it's on us as adults to get our kids there. You can speak knowledgeably about our mission, and demonstrate a commitment to our educational model. You understand that educational inequity is more pronounced in the South than anywhere else in the nation, and you want to work with RePublic in part because of our commitment to this region.
        • A proven school leader, and a driver of results. You've demonstrated ability to drive results in the pursuit of an ambitious vision and strategy, and you combine your exceptional strategic, analytical, and critical-thinking skills with your penchant to use data to drive decision-making to achieve impressive outcomes. You've got a background in instructional excellence, and leadership, and have both achieved your own impressive results in the classroom and have moved other teachers and leaders to do the same.
        • A people developer. You've led, directly managed, and coached teams and individuals to achieve wildly impressive results for scholars. You love and actively seek opportunities to develop others through ongoing coaching, clear expectations and accountability, strong inspirational and motivational skills, high leverage feedback, and targeted professional development.
        • ...and a people leader. Let's be real - managing people is hard. You've coached, directly managed, and demonstrably moved the effectiveness of other adults before taking this job. You build relationships across lines of difference, authentically inspire and motivate others to buy into your vision, navigate challenging conversations with finesse, make tough calls, communicate effectively in all formats, give and receive feedback fluidly, and model/hold a high bar for adult excellence and exuberance.
        • A systems builder. You're comfortable with ambiguity, and thrive in situations where you get to build something out of nothing, or create order out of chaos. You choose start-up over bureaucracy any day.
        • A masterful executor. You appreciate big picture, but you know it's all in the details. Your organizational systems ensure you get things done. You prioritize your time and fervently plan to maximize the time each day you spend moving adult practice. You do the things you say you'll do, and you communicate when you won't. You delegate when needed, set deadlines, and hold others accountable to get across important finish lines.
        • A growth-minded tinkerer. You are self-aware and humble enough to understand where you rock, where you need to pick up your game, and how this impacts the people you lead. You seek feedback constantly because you're hungry to get better, and you take extreme ownership of the outcomes of the people you coach and manage - you "pull back the thumb" before you "point the finger."
        • An A+ Communicator. You've got a knack for speaking and writing clearly, succinctly and persuasively. You think about time, place, and format to share a message that will resonate to accomplish your goals.
        • A gritty problem-solver. You keep it cool when things are crazy, approach problems with viable solutions, and know when you need to roll up your sleeves to support your team.
        • Other qualifications:
          • A bachelor's degree with a preference for a graduate degree in a related field.
          • At least 3-5 years of teaching experience in K-12 with a track record of impressive student achievement results required.
          • At least 2-3 years of leadership experience directly coaching and managing teachers (ideally in the role of an Assistant Principal) required.
          • Prior experience as a school Principal with a track record of results strongly preferred
          • Experience and deep dedication to serving scholars who are historically underserved strongly preferred; prior experience in high-performing charter organizations with aligned mission statements strongly preferred
          • Valid teaching certification in TN, MS, or in states with reciprocity not required, but strongly preferred. Salary is competitive and commensurate based on experience. Compensation at RePublic includes a comprehensive benefits package.
            To Apply
            • Interested? To apply for this position, please submit a resume and an optional cover letter: http://republiccharterschools.org/careers
            • Questions? Contact us: careers@republiccharterschools.org

Keywords: RePublic Schools, Jackson , Principal, Education / Teaching , Jackson, Mississippi