[2025-26] Principal - Knoxville Preparatory

Position Overview

At Prep Public Schools, we believe Principals are system leaders and people managers who coach and develop teachers and lead team members at their school to achieve ambitious goals with students. Principals focus on excellence and continuous improvement, and they expect and foster these values in staff and students. Principals lead their school to ensure Prep’s mission becomes a reality.

Key Responsibilities

1. School Culture Leadership
   You will establish and uphold a clear vision for a positive, structured, and brotherhood-oriented school culture. By implementing effective schoolwide systems, you will ensure that teachers foster strong relationships with students, create efficient classroom routines, reinforce positive behaviors, and address misbehavior consistently. You will provide coaching and professional development for teachers and mentor other leaders to support this work across the campus.
2. Instructional Leadership
   You will implement systems that ensure all teachers effectively internalize their curriculum, deliver high-quality instruction, and use data to make informed instructional decisions. You will develop instructional leaders to sustain a strong coaching culture, ensuring continuous improvement in teaching and student learning outcomes.
3. Operational Leadership
   You will oversee school operations to maintain a safe, organized, and welcoming campus. You will support the campus Operations Manager in achieving enrollment, daily attendance, and chronic absenteeism goals. Additionally, you will ensure campus Operations Manager is an effective systems leader and people manager, enabling them to drive strong operational performance.
4. Family Engagement
   You will oversee systems to foster strong relationships with families, ensuring effective communication about student progress and school events. By engaging families as partners in their child’s education, you will create a collaborative and supportive school community. You will create a culture where families are active partners in their child’s engagement. You will coach other leaders to maintain high levels of family involvement. You will manage and support the Dean of Students in maintaining strong relationships with families, ensuring consistent communication regarding student behavior, attendance, and overall well-being. You will coach and develop the Dean of Students to implement family engagement initiatives, reinforce school culture expectations, and strengthen partnerships between the school and home.
5. Staff Culture & Talent Management
   In partnership with the Chief Talent Officer, you will oversee hiring, retention, and promotion decisions while fostering a strong, mission-driven staff culture. Through structured coaching and accountability systems, you will ensure that all staff receive ongoing professional development and are held to high performance expectations. You will also mentor other leaders to support and develop their teams effectively.
6. Budget & Resource Management
   You will strategically manage the campus budget to support school priorities and goals. Working alongside the Chief Financial Officer and Operations Manager, you will ensure the school’s budget is managed effectively throughout the year. Additionally, you will support the Operations Manager, Assistant Principal, and Principal-in-Residence in leading their teams to meet financial objectives.
7. Compliance & Policy Adherence
   You will ensure that the campus and all staff comply with applicable state of Tennessee laws and policies including, but not limited to, special education, English language learners, 504, etc.. You will complete all required annual compliance trainings and establish systems to maintain adherence to regulatory requirements. Additionally, you will mentor other leaders to sustain these compliance standards across the school.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s degree from an accredited four-year educational institution required; master’s degree preferred.
• Certifications: Must hold an Instructional Leader License – A (ILL-A), Instructional Leadership License (ILL), or Instructional Leadership License – Professional (ILL-P).
• Experience: At least three years of experience in education required, with preference for candidates who have three or more years of instructional leadership and classroom teaching experience.

Performance Goals

You will lead your team to achieve the following ambitious targets:

• Academic Excellence: The Prep campus will earn an A-rating on Tennessee’s school letter grade accountability by the end of the school year.
• Student Persistence: At least 90% of students will return for the following school year.
• Attendance: The Prep campus will maintain a 97.5% average daily attendance rate and meet the chronic absenteeism annual measurable objective, set by the state of Tennessee.
• Staff Retention: At least 80% of full-time staff will return the next school year.
• Enrollment (for growing campuses): The school will meet or exceed its enrollment target set by the Chief Operating Officer.
• Matriculation (for schools with seniors): 100% of graduates will enroll in college, a post-secondary career & technical education program, enlist in the military, or qualify for a medical or faith-based exemption.

Compensation & Benefits

Prep Public Schools offers competitive salary and benefits, competitive retirement plans through Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System (TCRS), including a hybrid 401K and pension plan. TCRS has been ranked in the top five best funded state pension plans by the Pew Charitable Trust.