Elementary Principal

Principal - Job Description

The Leadership School prepares students to be in the driver's seat of their own learning and to navigate the path toward the lives they imagine for themselves. We are the first and only public charter school in St. Louis County, paving the way for educational choice and opportunity for all families in the St. Louis area. We opened our doors in 2022 and serve K-5 students in the Normandy area. We are building our team of hardworking, results-oriented educators who embody our mission: to grow our students' leadership capacity through engagement in academically rigorous, culturally relevant, and relationship-oriented environment.

Make your voice heard as we create the blueprint for educational excellence in the St. Louis area. Our team begins each year with 3 weeks of professional development in the summer and then dedicates themselves throughout the year to growth. We believe our students deserve an excellent staff, and we know that excellence is the result of planning, practice, feedback, iteration, and a commitment to continuous growth.

School Principal

As the Principal of TLS, you will play a pivotal role in enhancing the overall quality of student culture, instruction, and daily operations. We are looking for a leader who is a systems leader and people manager who coaches teachers and leads team members to achieve ambitious goals, with a targeted focus on improving student outcomes. Our principal will be entrusted with advancing the mission of the school through their leadership. As the leader of staff culture, you will ensure that the schools' practices promote a supportive and sustainable environment that is committed to the continuous development of each staff member. Our principal will manage the Director of Culture, Director of Operations and Directors of Instruction and will report to the Executive Director or Chief Academic Officer.

Key Responsibilities

Instructional Leadership:

Responsible for driving academic performance as measured by formative and summative assessments for both proficiency and growth and supporting Instructional Directors with implementation of key systems related to this vision
• Build, coach and progress monitor instructional systems in pursuit of positive student outcomes and improvement of the quality of teaching and learning within the school by coaching teachers, monitoring curriculum implementation, analyzing student data daily and weekly, and providing targeted support to ensure all students achieve high academic standards
• Direct the development and execution of academic programs, ensuring alignment with our mission. Lead in curriculum adoption and assessment practices.
• Conduct daily observations and execute feedback meetings for teacher and instructional leader development, supporting the implementation of action steps.
• Provide real-time feedback during instruction and contribute to teacher reviews.
• Plan and deliver high-quality professional development focused on TLS' curricular systems, instructional and data systems and key pedagogical practices
• Manage organization-wide curriculum and assessment work, including lesson planning, assessment revisions, collaborative scoring, and network analysis.
• Facilitate assessment cycles, ensuring scheduling, quality assurance of materials, and preparation of teachers and students.

Organizational Leadership:

Responsible for coaching and developing directors as a senior building leader aligned with the school's mission, vision, and values
• Collaborate with senior leadership to implement a school-wide strategic academic plan
• Utilize data-driven systems and strategies to monitor and evaluate student progress and data on a consistent basis.
• Develop and maintain a high-achieving academic environment
• Supervises and evaluates the performance of all academic staff members.
• Oversee training and evaluation of instructional staff, ensuring professional growth and alignment with our academic objectives.

Whole School Culture:

Responsible for ensuring that the schools' practices promote a supportive and sustainable environment that is committed to the continuous development of each staff member and student
• Model The Leadership School's vision for continuous student and staff development
• Foster a culture of growth, support and collaboration among all staff
• Build, teach and progress monitor school-wide systems, procedures, and cultural expectations
• Communicate regularly and proactively with staff, students and families
• Establish and maintain structures for grade-level teams to ensure they work effectively and cohesively
• Build relationships and strong communication with students and families across the school; ensure an inclusive school environment that respects the culture of students served.

School Operations:
• Build and maintain strong systems for school operations to ensure the campus is safe, welcoming and efficiently run
• Collaborate with the operation team leaders to ensure the team is united in messaging and communications.
• Represent the school at events and programs during evenings and/or weekends as necessary.
• Work with the operations team to coordinate and manage coverage of all instructional classroom periods in case of absences.
• Manage aspects of school-wide operational routines such as arrival, dismissal, breakfast, lunch and recess
• Assist in the recruitment, hiring and retention of school-based staff

Key Competencies and Qualifications
• Ability to thrive in a start-up environment
• Flexible, adaptable and urgent for the sake of students, families and staff
• Consistently model high expectations for all staff and students
• Ability to hold individuals accountable and create systems of accountability for long term sustainability
• Deep understanding of rigorous, green-rated English and Math curriculum
• Deep understanding of Missouri state standards for learning
• Deep understanding and prioritization of observation feedback, weekly data meetings, and intellectual preparation or planning meetings
• Experience designing and delivering high quality instructional professional development
• Bachelor's degree required, master's degree in educational leadership highly preferred
• At least 3+ years of educational leadership experience
• Experience in a start-up setting preferred
• Track record of success as a teacher and instructional leader
• Willingness to commit to this role for at least 3 years

What We Offer
• Salary Range: $100,000 - $130,000 commensurate with experience
• Comprehensive benefits and Missouri's PSRS/PEERS membership
• Leaders who meet their yearly performance goals will receive a salary stipend of up to 8% of their annual salary
• Work-free wellness days and professional development days throughout the year
• Mentorship and coaching from high-quality capacity builders throughout the country
• Opportunities to participate in high-quality professional development experiences
• Advancement opportunities as we grow from K-5 to K-8