What are the responsibilities and job description for the Superintendent position at Achievement First?
About Achievement First
Achievement First (AF) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that currently supports 41 public charter schools in New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Consistently rated as one of the top charter school networks in the country for almost 25 years, AF is committed to continuous improvement, programmatic evolution for enhanced student outcomes, and sustainable growth. The majority of AF students are Black and Latinx children from low-income families who will be the first in their families to graduate from college. AF currently employs more than 2,200 staff — 64% of whom identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color — who collectively educate nearly 15,000 students in Brooklyn and Queens, NY; New Haven, Bridgeport, and Hartford, CT; and Providence, RI.
The mission of Achievement First is to deliver on the promise of equal educational opportunity for all of America’s children. AF knows that every child—regardless of race, zip code, or economic status—deserves access to great schools. At AF, students realize their potential and develop the skills they need to graduate from high school, succeed in college, thrive in a competitive world, and serve as the next generation of leaders in their communities. At AF, students and staff embark on a shared journey to fulfill their incredible potential.
Your Impact
Achievement First is hiring a Superintendent to support the CEO in overseeing the network’s schools team in the 2025-2026 academic year. The Superintendent will lead AF’s Senior Instructional Team (SIT), managing the three Chiefs of Schools, the Chief Program Officer, and the Chief Academic Officer. Together, this team is responsible for the success of all 41 AF schools across all domains, including: educational equity; overall instructional practice and academic performance; student supports; culture and climate for all stakeholders; staff engagement, including talent management, development and career supports; partnerships with families and communities.
The Superintendent will be an instructional expert with a clear and transformative vision for academics who knows how to realize that vision at scale. This individual can effectively manage through other senior leaders to get work done, including supporting and leading change efforts as needed. This individual will also be able to clearly articulate their expectations and vision for academic excellence to all stakeholders, including school leaders, site-based and network staff, students and families. The ideal candidate will be comfortable recommending and standing behind tough calls in service of what is best for students.
PRIORITIES
A successful year in this role for the Superintendent will include:
In order to fulfill their responsibilities, the ideal Superintendent candidate will be/have:
Achievement First sets salaries are set through a lens of equity, and based on the requisite skills, education, and experience relevant to the role. The salary for this position is $295,000.00. In order to uphold our commitment to equity, Achievement First does not negotiate pay. Additionally, Achievement First offers to all regular, full-time employees a comprehensive benefits package that includes paid time off, medical, dental, vision, and life insurance, a 403(b) retirement benefit package with match, and paid Family Leave.
Achievement First is an equal opportunity employer and an organization that values diversity. People from all diverse backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply. Spanish language proficiency is a plus. You can learn more about diversity at Achievement First here: http://achievementfirst.org/about-us/diversity/
Achievement First (AF) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that currently supports 41 public charter schools in New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Consistently rated as one of the top charter school networks in the country for almost 25 years, AF is committed to continuous improvement, programmatic evolution for enhanced student outcomes, and sustainable growth. The majority of AF students are Black and Latinx children from low-income families who will be the first in their families to graduate from college. AF currently employs more than 2,200 staff — 64% of whom identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color — who collectively educate nearly 15,000 students in Brooklyn and Queens, NY; New Haven, Bridgeport, and Hartford, CT; and Providence, RI.
The mission of Achievement First is to deliver on the promise of equal educational opportunity for all of America’s children. AF knows that every child—regardless of race, zip code, or economic status—deserves access to great schools. At AF, students realize their potential and develop the skills they need to graduate from high school, succeed in college, thrive in a competitive world, and serve as the next generation of leaders in their communities. At AF, students and staff embark on a shared journey to fulfill their incredible potential.
Your Impact
Achievement First is hiring a Superintendent to support the CEO in overseeing the network’s schools team in the 2025-2026 academic year. The Superintendent will lead AF’s Senior Instructional Team (SIT), managing the three Chiefs of Schools, the Chief Program Officer, and the Chief Academic Officer. Together, this team is responsible for the success of all 41 AF schools across all domains, including: educational equity; overall instructional practice and academic performance; student supports; culture and climate for all stakeholders; staff engagement, including talent management, development and career supports; partnerships with families and communities.
The Superintendent will be an instructional expert with a clear and transformative vision for academics who knows how to realize that vision at scale. This individual can effectively manage through other senior leaders to get work done, including supporting and leading change efforts as needed. This individual will also be able to clearly articulate their expectations and vision for academic excellence to all stakeholders, including school leaders, site-based and network staff, students and families. The ideal candidate will be comfortable recommending and standing behind tough calls in service of what is best for students.
PRIORITIES
A successful year in this role for the Superintendent will include:
- Providing counsel to the CEO while managing, coaching and developing our SIT Leadership Team; serving as an integral member of the executive team.
- Supporting the SIT Leadership Team to lead schools that are safe, agile and provide supportive learning spaces for students and educators, including leveraging what we have learned from the past couple of years to strategically improve AF’s academic and social emotional support model and service delivery to students.
- Building and sustaining the team to run AF’s schools efficiently and effectively, balancing the management of daily school operations with the work of supporting the team to think strategically about the future.
- Cultivating a high performance culture amongst the SIT Leadership team and across the organization, working to identify and implement innovative and continuous improvement of processes and systems that support this team
- Regularly utilizing qualitative and quantitative data, including leveraging what we have learned over time, to strategically improve Achievement First’s academic and social emotional support model and service delivery to students
- Ensuring high quality ongoing implementation of our AF school model, tracking key data regarding school outputs, diagnose trends, and work with the SIT team to ensure AF consistently meets and exceeds its goals
In order to fulfill their responsibilities, the ideal Superintendent candidate will be/have:
- An accomplished leader with a minimum of 7-10 years of senior management experience in large K-12 public school organizations.
- Demonstrated commitment to Achievement First’s vision and mission.
- A track record of implementation of high quality instructional service delivery at scale, with a vision for academic excellence and understanding of how to execute that vision across all of AF’s schools.
- Demonstrated success in leading systems-wide turnaround and school design (strongly preferred).
- Culturally competent and a self-reflective leader who understands the effects of race, class, ethnicity, income, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, and other issues of difference in society and is able to lead direct conversations about them.
- A builder of authentic relationships with school leaders, site-based and network staff, senior leaders and other key stakeholders; able to engage with a variety of individuals while speaking in a clear and compelling manner about the organization’s goals and priorities.
- Comfort navigating uncertainty and effectively managing complex challenges as they occur; balances urgency with the ability to bring others along towards solutions.
- Experience serving on an executive leadership team and/or in a similar capacity reporting to a CEO or Superintendent.
Achievement First sets salaries are set through a lens of equity, and based on the requisite skills, education, and experience relevant to the role. The salary for this position is $295,000.00. In order to uphold our commitment to equity, Achievement First does not negotiate pay. Additionally, Achievement First offers to all regular, full-time employees a comprehensive benefits package that includes paid time off, medical, dental, vision, and life insurance, a 403(b) retirement benefit package with match, and paid Family Leave.
Achievement First is an equal opportunity employer and an organization that values diversity. People from all diverse backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply. Spanish language proficiency is a plus. You can learn more about diversity at Achievement First here: http://achievementfirst.org/about-us/diversity/
Salary : $295,000
