Who We Are Eugene School District 4J (“4J”) is the seventh largest district in the state of Oregon, serving approximately 16,000 students in 19 elementary school programs, eight middle schools, four comprehensive high schools, and alternative high school programs, in addition to five public charter schools.
Set in the third largest city in Oregon, the district spans 155 square miles in Oregon’s southern Willamette Valley, where two large rivers and many smaller ones converge.
The district’s mission is very clear and straightforward
– to do what’s best for all 4J students, to continue to learn and grow, and to respect and care about each other.
We have a commitment to school-based decision making (described further below).
The seven-member Board of Directors grounds itself in the guiding beliefs and values linked here.
The successes and strengths of 4J are many, including its keen focus on building a safe and inclusive school community through its All Students Belong Initiative .
Highly regarded is the district’s robust school choice program which includes five K-12 language immersion programs, and an International Baccalaureate (IB) high school program on multiple campuses.
The district is increasing its focus on supporting all of our students’ postsecondary and career success, including those preparing for career as well as those preparing for college.
What You’ll Do Reporting directly to the Board of Directors, the Superintendent will serve as the face of the district and will set the tone for the district’s key priorities.
While 4J has many strengths and successes to build on, we have more work to do to realize our vision to prepare all students for success in life.
In the current system, inequities exist among schools in terms of their ability to address students’ educational needs.
We are seeking a qualified change agent, with a proven track record of standing their ground, taking risks, trying new things and questioning policies that aren’t working for students.
The permanent Superintendent will bring the vision and leadership skills necessary to build on our successes to date, while tackling the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
This leader will have the self-awareness, motivation, social skills and empathy to lead with compassion and work well in a very real way with staff and stakeholders.
Key leadership responsibilities for our permanent Superintendent include the following: Your Key Responsibilities (The “What”) Partner with and foster a trusting collaborative relationship with the board, schools, staff and community Support school-based decision making by Ensuring that the individuals most proximate to the students are included in and able to influence decisions before they are made.
Partnering with schools and staff to ensure that equity is achieved districtwide and to implement district priorities based on the unique context and unique students needs at each school.
Embracing and respecting educators’ and school leaders’ expertise in crafting specific solutions and strategies to achieve district wide goals with their particular students.
Build collaborative environments that honor the voices of students, teachers, community.
Develop long-range plans, aligned with the board’s annual goals, vision and priorities, consistent with population trends, community growth, cultural needs, and appropriate use of district resources.
Communicate and collaborate with all members of the board, keeping the board up-to-date on developments, initiatives and issues in the district; provide leadership to enable the board to function effectively.
Work closely and openly with the Board and its committees and foster an open relationship and clear vision for role clarity between the Board of Directors and the Superintendent.
Strengthen communication and collaboration with parents to enhance learning for their own children and all children.
Expand trust, partnership and connection with our community, learning what matters to our families and our communities to inform key decisions and priorities for the district.
Create trusting relationships with community partners, advocacy organizations, state/county leaders, and higher education institutions and offer solutions that create value for students.
Welcome students as partners in the decision-making process ensuring that students voices and feedback are heard at all levels of the organization.
Establish the vision and mission for aligned academic and non-academic programming for the district Create a learning environment and culture where students experience acceptance, support, inclusion and belonging and where students understand and believe in their innate strength and ability to succeed.
Keep students at the center of all decision making and ensure our students’ academic success and focus on whole student support, including mental health and school safety.
Support teaching that sparks curiosity, strengthens self-confidence, and conveys a joy in learning.
Improve students’ mental health and decrease the amount of anxiety, depression, self harm and other stress-related problems experienced by 4J students.
Address systemic inequities that persist in order to improve the experience of students, teachers and families.
Proactively identify, name and address experiences of racism, ablism, religious discrimination, heteronormativity, and punitive relationships with students.
Ensure that the district’s mission and vision and key priorities are well-articulated and well understood by our staff, partners and stakeholders.
Implement multiple post-secondary pathways and career opportunities for students.
Continue to invest in early literacy and ensure that all students learn to read confidently by third grade.
Advocate for learning environments that fully support multilingual learners and students with diverse learning needs.
Promote and advance the progress of the multi-year All Students Belong Initiative through the careful deployment of time, talent, and resources to support the goals and milestones.
Promote innovation in the classroom and support a diverse systems of schools Identify and support opportunities for collaboration and shared learning across the districts schools.
Continue to expand and strengthen program opportunities into neighborhood schools, advanced placement offerings, and career and technical education.
Adopt instructional models and structures based on practices that are research based, culturally responsive and demonstrated to be effective and desired by families.
Provide relevant, research based, and ongoing professional development and learning support for teachers and school leaders.
Lead and develop a strong workforce and build a positive work culture Manage the day-to-day operations of the district within the policy parameters adopted by the board, assuming responsibility and authority for the planning, operation, supervision, assignment, and evaluation of the programs, services, staff, students and facilities of the district.
Recruit, retain, develop and inspire highly effective staff at every layer of the organization, with a particular emphasis on diversity, fair and equitable compensation, and the implementation of culturally-responsive education practices.
Create the working conditions for staff to collaborate, feel supported and have the mental health supports needed in order to do their best work on behalf of the students they serve.
Build effective partnerships with teachers, classified staff and school administrators, and work to improve the morale and retention of educators.
Requirements The Skills You’ll Need to be Successful (The “How”) Advocate for Equity, Anti-racism and Inclusion Demonstrate cultural fluency, sensitivity and a strong equity lens to establish a culture of growth and learning mindset around issues of equity and inclusion and to meet the needs of our diverse students and staff.
Recognize race and power dynamics playing out within our organization and community at all levels and interrupt those inequities through honest and difficult conversations and actions.
Address matters of race, equity and bias in how decisions are made with clarity, confidence, humility, historical context, and empathy.
Foster, promote, and drive a culture of inclusion in the organization and commit to improve Diversity, Equity and Inclusive practices in the district’s planning, prioritization and implementation of key initiatives.
Build authentic relationships across lines of difference (race, ethnicity, gender, age, socioeconomic background, LGBTQ status, etc.) both internally and externally.
Innovative, Inspiring and Demonstrated Educational Leadership Build on the organization’s past successes and commit to continuous improvement through analysis, inquiry and assessment of results and alignment to district strategic priorities.
Lead the organization through strategic planning and mobilize the community behind a unified vision, goals and key priorities.
Demonstrate belief and hold self and others accountable for providing a high quality education for all students.
Lead courageously, centered in children, and seek out the voices of marginalized communities to ensure diverse input on key decisions.
Engage in transparency in decision making and share with stakeholders how their input informed the district’s decisions.
Authentic Relationship Builder and Courageous Communicator Serve as an ambassador for the students, building effective relationships with city, county, and community organizations, helping to tell the story of the districts successes, and successfully advocating when needed to ensure that the district is able to meet students’ needs.
Challenge assumptions and preconceived notions when needed to avoid distraction from core priorities and goals in the better interest of student success.
Build trust among board members, district staff, teachers, and leaders, and core stakeholders to establish a shared vision for the district.
Lean into conflict and seek the best outcome for the health and wellness of students.
Navigate politically complex structures, relationships and dynamics to challenge ideas and enable thoughtful decisions and positive outcomes for students.
Hold self and others accountable to decisions, acknowledge mistakes with transparency, seeking to fully understand community members and stakeholders perspectives before establishing the direction forward.
Ability to Manage Complex Organizations and Systems Commit to using a process of continuous inquiry and improvement, communicating results transparently and honestly while establishing the path forward.
Analyze complex, nuanced data and information from multiple angles and exercise judgment in making critical decisions, and communicate the implications to diverse audiences.
Build, inspire, manage and coach an effective senior leadership team/Cabinet to achieve the goals and priorities aligned to the district’s strategic plan.
Hold self and others accountable for high standards of performance, communication, collaboration and transparency toward the achievement of key goals and priorities.
Model and foster conditions for professional growth and organizational learning through continuous feedback, honesty, and coaching.
Set priorities to maintain a high quality and equitable academic program within the districts financial means.
Emotional Literacy and Professional Maturity Maintain composure when conversations are challenging and decisions are unpopular.
Fearless in the face of conflict; maintains a keen awareness of the interests and motivations of others, and acts with integrity in a politically-charged environment.
Comfortable naming issues and addressing them openly as they occur.
Not afraid to share difficult news.
Lead complex and difficult tasks transparently and effectively.
Appropriately judge the right timing to engage executive leadership around key issues.
Reflective and self-aware; accepts responsibility for decisions, mistakes and lessons learned.
What You’ll Bring A clear track record of improving academic outcomes for students with a keen focus on equity, access and inclusion for all students.
10 years of senior leadership experience with evidence of successful development and organizational outcomes and effective operational and fiscal management.
Experience in the role of superintendent is preferred but not required.
Successful experience working in diverse economic, multicultural, and multilingual communities and environments.
Proven cultural-competence skills with a history of inclusive and relevant equity practices.
Advanced knowledge of public school policy and law, procedures and management.
Thorough understanding of national, state and local educational goals and standards required to advance PK-16 public education.
Demonstrated experience building consensus and trust, working in conjunction with a board to identify priorities, establish goals, monitor progress, and produce outcomes in service to stakeholders.
A growth mindset and belief that continuous improvement happens through constant learning.
A clear track record of working collaboratively with teachers, classified and school administrators.
Shares the value of reducing time spent on standardized testing.
Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until the position is filled.
Interviews will begin in late March Benefits Salary for this integral position is competitive, commensurate with prior experience, and typically in the range of $220 to $230K.
In addition, a comprehensive benefits package will be included in the ultimate offer.
We look forward to discussing details with you as the interview process progresses.
Eugene School District 4J is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer committed to diversity and valuing the cultural, educational, and life experience of each student and employee, as well as equitable outcomes for all students.
Eugene School District 4J is committed to the support and development of a culturally competent workforce.
As part of our commitment to diversity, persons of color and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply.
The District is also committed to complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Any applicant with a qualified disability under the ADA may request accommodation by contacting Human Resources.