Principal in Residence

Principal in Residence
Organizational Overview
For 25 years, KIPP DC has partnered with students, families, and the community to create joyful, academically excellent schools across the nation's capital. Today, our network of 22 schools educate more than 7,500 students in grades PreK3-12, supported by 1,500 dedicated teachers, leaders, and staff.

Our work is grounded in five pillars–Academic Excellence, Joy & Sense of Belonging, Highly Effective Teachers and Leaders, Safe, Structured, and Nurturing Learning Environments, and Commitment to College Readiness–which ensure every student is equipped with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to pursue success in college, careers, and beyond. Our schools combine high expectations with joyful, affirming environments that nurture academic success and personal growth for students and staff alike.

As part of the national KIPP network, we share best practices and innovations while maintaining deep roots in Washington, D.C. Together, we strive toward a future without limits for our students, alumni, and community.

Program and Role Overview

The KIPP DC Principal in Residence (PIR) program is a two-year, regionally-operated residency to prepare aspiring principals in the adaptive, technical, and managerial skills to lead a KIPP DC school.  Principals in Residence are full-time members of their residency school leadership teams and will have daily opportunities to practice the skills and competencies required to lead high-performing schools. Ideally, PIRs will spend two years participating in this intensive and supportive development program, but this will also depend on vacancies, needs and readiness.

The PIR's role mirrors that of a vice principal for the majority of the development program, namely:  leading both instruction and school culture as the leaders of subsets of teachers and students in either specific grade levels and/or departments.  Towards the end of their time as a PIR, the role mirrors more of a school leader, with clear responsibilities fully owned by the PIR at the school-level. 

In addition to their school-based performance goals, PIRs are actively developing the leadership skills and competencies outlined in the PIR Core Skills. They actively seek growth through participation in high-quality, meaningful formal and informal professional development, invaluable on the job training, transformative coaching, and cohort-based learning experiences with leaders across KIPP DC.

The PIR role is an exempt role, and reports to their school leader.

Key Responsibilities Vision & GoalsSupport development of School Leader's school-wide vision and takes an active role in investing and mobilizing teachers to achieve the collective goals of the school; owns the implementation of select school priorities in support of the school-wide visionWith guidance from the School Leader, leads the planning and goal setting for the grades/departments that he/she coaches and ensures alignment with school-wide goalsSet, communicate, and execute a vision for a school-wide initiative/priority that addresses an inequityConnect team/s' vision, goals and actions to KIPP DC's goal of becoming an anti-racist organization Plan & PrioritizePrioritize and manage own time to accomplish short and long-term goals or prioritiesDemonstrate strong judgment and data-based, timely decision-makingAct decisively to overcome barriers and make difficult choices with the long‐term and short‐term impact in mind School CultureSet a vision of excellence for student and staff culture, along with the School Leader, and executes on plans to uphold itBuild positive, affirming and joyful student culture across teamsBuild an inclusive grade-level/department or school-wide environment for special populationsManage parts of the daily school operations (e.g. arrival/dismissal, lunch/recess) Act as the first Leadership Team contact on student intervention and family communication; determines appropriate next steps and follow ups Plan for and predictably respond to student behavior that doesn't meet school culture expectations. Coach, support and follow up with teachers in service of empowering them to do the sameMaintain calm and poise in unpredictable, potentially stressful, situations with students Instructional LeadershipEstablish & communicate experiential and academic goals for studentsDemonstrate strong student achievement results across classrooms that they coachUnderstands curriculum, pedagogical practices, standards, lesson plans, unit plans, assessments & each one's purpose for multiple grade levels or departmentsCollaborate with other coaches and leaders to support teachers in instructing and assessing and connects teachers with relevant resources to improve their content knowledge and instructionParticipate in ongoing learning to build knowledge outside of own content area expertiseLead data-driven instruction by analyzing homeroom specific and grade/department level data and developing and executing plans to address gaps and by helping teachers do the same thing for their classesLead a culture where general educators, special educators and other team members collaborate to meet the needs of unique learners TalentBuilds trusting, strong relationships with teachers and school staff as the foundation for development and management workCapture sharp, meaningful evidence during observationsGround feedback and next steps for teachers in student impact and data Identifies high-leverage coaching focuses ground in student impact, transferability, context and teacher matchDevelop, rely on, and refine systems that result in the effective coaching of all teacherIdentify an academic gap across a grade level or department and develop and execute a plan that results in improved student experiences and outcomesActively and regularly communicate with principal about progress, strengths, areas of growth, and potential trajectories of individual team membersUnderstand and practice fair and legal employment practices Operations ManagementTake the lead on staff facing, school based systems (i.e. testing, school schedule, arrival, dismissal, etc.)Support the leadership team in executing school operational systems such as arrival and dismissal, mealtimes and attendance.  Qualifications

KIPP DC is looking for PIR candidates who are committed to KIPP DC's mission that all students can learn and achieve at high levels, have a strong instructional background, a commitment to creating identity-affirming learning experiences, and are looking to develop the leadership skills necessary to lead great schools. Specifically, candidates should have:

Bachelor's degree Minimum of five years combined of lead teaching and school-level leadership experience (with a minimum of one year of school-level leadership experience in addition to the current school year) Demonstrated academic resultsDemonstrated leadership, management and coaching experience One year of experience as a vice principal or equivalent role (preferred) Experience teaching core subjects (ELA, Math, Science, Social Studies, Special Education) (preferred experience, not required)Unquestioned integrity and commitment to KIPP DC's mission and to advancing its anti-racist ambition through their work with staff, students, alumni, and familiesCompetenciesStudent Focus: Builds strong relationships and holds high expectations for students, holds students' best interests in mind, keeps owns commitments to students and makes sure others do the same and builds a culture of respect for all studentsResults Driven:  Communicates that delivering excellent outcomes, in student experience and academics, is a guiding priority, sets challenging goals for self and others, takes initiative to go above and beyond to to achieve results, follows through on commitments, demonstrates resilience and flexibility Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving: Demonstrates strong judgment and data-based, timely decision-making, gathers information from multiple sources, sorts out complexity, anticipates problems, values and encourages creative and innovative ideas, thinks expansively and avoids either/or thinkingSelf-Awareness: Demonstrates understanding of own identity, privilege and power, understands strengths and weaknesses and the impact on others' perceptions, seeks feedback and self-development, proactively asks for and willingly accepts assistance from others in a variety of rolesEquitable Practices: Believes that equity is something that can constantly drive one's approach, rather than a lens that can be used sometimes, defines and communicates beliefs around racial and educational equity and leans into conversations about this, creates an inclusive environment that promotes a genuine sense of belonging for school community members across lines of differenceImpact and Influence: Is as clear on the purpose of actions as action themselves; effectively and reliably communicates "the why" to many stakeholders, adapts leadership style to influence others, takes the lead when there's a need; demonstrates growth mindset and learns from mistakes when they inevitably happenEmpowering Others: Actively listen to other school community members; seeks to understand others' views and needs, intentionally builds trust within and across teams of people to promote collaboration and opportunities for shared ownership, consistently demonstrates respect and appreciation for others by empathizing, valuing their time and contributions, and being available and responsive to their needsCompensation and Benefits
KIPP DC offers an extremely competitive compensation and benefits package:When it comes to compensation, at KIPP DC we strive for clarity, equity, and to be highly competitive. We look at compensation benchmarks in schools across DC. Principal in Residences are on the Vice Principal salary scale. Vice principal salaries start at $113,827 and increase with years of experience. Please see the salary scale here. Vice principals can earn up to $5,000 in renewal add-ons to their base salary each year they return to KIPP DC. KIPP DC offers a robust benefits package including medical, dental, vision, various voluntary benefits, and employer paid benefits such as short term disability, long term disability, life insurance, and a membership to One Medical. KIPP DC also offers a 403(b) retirement account with employer contributions and match, vesting after three years.

Equal Employment Opportunity Employer

KIPP DC Public Schools does not discriminate against, or tolerate discrimination against, employees or applicants for employment on any legally-recognized basis or protected class including, but not limited to, actual or perceived race, color, national origin, immigration status (except as necessary to comply with federal, DC, state, or local law), religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, lactation and related medical conditions), age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, sexual orientation, gender (including gender identity or expression), marital status (including domestic partnership status), genetic information, political affiliation, pregnancy, family responsibilities, personal appearance, veteran status, uniform service member status, status of being unemployed, status of victim a survivor of domestic violence, sexual offense or stalking, matriculation or any other protected class under federal, state, DC, or local law.

Click here or here to review KIPP DC's non-discrimination policy and KIPP DC's Title IX Coordinator's contact information.

Please Note: If you encounter difficulties submitting your application or fail to receive a confirmation email after applying, kindly reach out to Danica Cunningham at Please include your name, resume, and specify the role you are applying for in your email. We appreciate your understanding and apologize for any inconvenience caused.

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