The Chief Schools Officer will serve as the driver of school culture and academic success.
This leadership position will carry the responsibility of ensuring that every student at Company attends an equity-driven, community-centric school that achieves academic success.
The Chief Schools Officer will achieve the academic goals of the organization, the consistency of excellence at all schools, the strength of the leadership pipeline and the support of all students.
The next Chief Schools Officer at Company is a passionate and skilled educator who has a track record of achieving results with students by galvanizing teachers and leaders around a common mission of excellence.
The Chief Schools Officer will report to the Chief Executive Officer.
Essential Responsibilities
• Leadership Management
• Function as a key leader of Company’s executive team and define/shape the organizational priorities and strategic direction;
• Develop the cultural vision, the structures and systems designed to achieve results for all students in the Company network;
• Manage the teaching and learning systems, academic program, and principal management for a midsize charter school network;
• Lead the school management and performance of all Company schools, fostering a culture of achievement, anti-racism, community orientation and growth;
• Manage a team of network leaders including managing directors overseeing academic systems, student experiences, and teaching and learning;
• Manage a team of principals, fostering a team culture that drives excellence at all schools;
• Ensure the effective management, coaching, and mentorship of managing directors and school leaders in ways that drive significant student achievement gains, school health, and professional development;
• Lead the hiring, development, coaching, and evaluation of Company’s principals through the managing directors of academics/schools and in collaboration with the talent team
• Manage the schools team, student services and data team to establish individual, team, and professional learning goals; evaluate and measure success for each direct report that leads to the their continued growth
• Collaborate curriculum team to plan and execute summer institutes for school leaders, new teachers, and returning staff;
• Identify and remove structural barriers to DEIA wherever possible, considers school and network staff suggestions and addresses individual biases or behaviors that prevent all schools and network members from growing to their full potential
• Scholar Achievement and Results Orientation
• Implement the model of Strategic Architect in relationship between the network office and the schools by defining the network program expectations and the opportunities for school-based design;
• Develop a school health dashboard in partnership with network and school leaders to create a shared understanding of “healthy schools” at Company so that efforts to drive school improvement are coordinated and aligned to a shared definition of success
• Oversee the goal-setting process with principals to ensure that academic and culture goals are ambitious, aligned with vision of Company and rigorous for all students;
• Pursue equity in all policy and program decisions, considering how the schools and program at Company will continue to become more anti-racist;
• Develop and promote systems for creating socially-just, responsive, and restorative schools, with emphasis on racially, culturally and linguistically diverse students;
• Monitor and ensure systems, structures, and environments support the needs of diverse learners and the SEL needs of students that results in growth
• Alignment, Professional Development, and Compliance
• Develop and lead professional development opportunities for principals that increases leadership skills, performance, and organizational leadership;
• Collaborate with organizational departments (academics, operations, programs) and develops professional development;
• Develop and coach principals to be strong leaders of school site leadership teams (deans, teacher leaders, SOMS, and Expanded Learning coordinators)
• Ensure full compliance with state and federal guidelines in support for students and schools;
• Implement and/or design systems driven structures in support of school success and principal development;
• Collaborate intensively and strategically with organizational leaders in order to align support to schools and prioritization of student and teacher experience
• Additional Duties:
• Alongside the managing directors, co-design and oversee special projects and initiatives related to principal, dean, and teacher development structures
• Assist with school expansion, growth, and development structures
Reports to:
• Chief Executive Officer
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
• Deep passion and commitment to equity and action oriented belief in our mission to support all of our scholars to and through college
• Demonstrated success in leading large number of students and adults towards academic success, in the K-8 setting
• Demonstrated ability to lead and manage a highly-effective team
• Demonstrated success in working with network staff members and organizational departments
• Demonstrated success as a highly relational leader collaborating and problem solving with parents Solves problems strategically while weighing the advantages and disadvantages of each approach with a network-wide lens
• Influences others to produce high quality work in the effort to increase student outcomes and culture
• Ability to manage multiple projects and prioritize effectively
• Strong communication and collaboration skills
• Lead through a culture of care, relationships, and support with all stakeholders
• Ability to transition quickly from individual, detail oriented projects to collaborative, people-oriented conversations
Minimum Requirements:
• Bachelor’s degree required, master’s degree in education required, educational leadership, organizational leadership, curriculum and instruction, or other relevant degree preferred
• A minimum of seven years of professional experience with specific experience in school leadership, curriculum development, or program leadership with a strong preference for previous principal experience
• Project and change management experience at scale