2025-2026 High School Principal

Description

The Chicago High School for the Arts seeks a Principal in the Administrative department for the 2025 - 2026 school year.

Job Identification: 

Title: High School Principal

Department: Administration

Classification: Full-Time

General Summary: 

We are ChiArts. Chicago's first public arts high school. The Chicago High School for the Arts (ChiArts®) develops the next generation of diverse, artistically promising scholar-artists through intensive pre-professional training in the arts, combined with a comprehensive college preparatory curriculum. Over 2,500 hours of tuition-free, pre-professional arts training is provided to every scholar-artist from freshman year to graduation. Our alumni are pioneers – as scientists, educators, entrepreneurs, and change-makers, and from millions of plays on Spotify, to touring with a dance company, to published writing, to making art that challenges and entertains us on stage and screen, they are blazing new pathways.

Position Summary

The ChiArts Principal will lead as a creator, innovator, collaborator, motivator, and builder of confidence and trust; embodying the vision, disposition, and skills to work together with staff to foster a school culture of excellence, ensure educator effectiveness and cultivate collaborative objectives between the Arts and Academics. ChiArts’ Principal will galvanize staff under dynamic leadership goals, foster a robust professional learning community, and contribute to the build-out of school-wide strategic initiatives.

Strategic leadership

• Works collaboratively and flexibly to support and improve systems and decision-making processes that strengthen outcomes.
• Creates, strengthens, and maintains academic and cultural systems and procedures.
• Works collaboratively to improve academic and cultural systems and procedures that need improvement across stakeholders.
• Advances the vision, mission, and values of the school in concert with the Executive Director, Artistic Director, and School Board of Directors.

Data-Informed leadership

• Reviews student learning data from a whole-school perspective from Star 360, ACCESS, and previous College Board assessments to inform follow-up and response to student learning needs.
• Ensures teachers use multiple sources of student learning data during common planning, classroom observations, and observation debriefings, and holds teachers accountable for knowing how their students are progressing.
• Facilitates regular meetings with the grade level and department leads and ILT to build a data-informed culture that seeks continuous improvement.
• Collaborates with MTSS coordinator on the implementation and roll out of MTSS program
• Holds teachers accountable for knowing how their students are progressing
• Ensures teachers are using multiple sources of student learning data during common planning, classroom observations, and observation debriefings
• Creates and strengthens a data-informed culture that relentlessly seeks continuous improvement

Instructional Program

• Oversees the instructional program of the school, ensuring its development, delivery, assessment, and college readiness standards across grades.
• Regularly reviews the effectiveness of instructional strategies, and works to implement or improve current professional development practices
• Collaborates with the case manager, ELPT, and MTSS coordinator to ensure they have the necessary support and guidance for our DL, ML, and high-needs students.
• Manages academic financial, operational, and personnel resources to support optimal instruction.
• Responsible for the overall instructional program of the school, its development, delivery, assessment, and college readiness standards across grades

Scholar-Artist Behavioral Expectations

• Implements structures to teach and reinforce behaviors in collaboration with the Dean of Students.
• Develops the school’s capacity to respond to student’s behavioral and social-emotional needs in developmentally appropriate ways.
• Monitors data to ensure that no child is invisible and that every student has access to supports within and beyond the school.

Effective Teaming

• Establishes, manages, and develops strong teams that collaborate, communicate, and work together for ChiArts students and its community
• Builds systems for distributed leadership through which members of the instructional leadership team manages specific initiatives and grade-level teams or departments
• Develops a clear plan for adult learning across the school that aligns areas for whole-school improvement, teacher team areas of focus, and individual development priorities

Equity-Centered Leadership

• Possesses experience working directly with staff and students from diverse racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and LGTBQ communities, as well as, the understanding the need for equitable practices in all classrooms and spaces

Parent/Community Engagement

• Puts structures and processes in place to consistently partner with stakeholders, including staff, families, and students, to inform and adjust strategies.

Personal Leadership

• Demonstrates personal resolve and maintains core confidence and belief in self and the school even in the face of adversity.
• Continuously reflects on performance, seeks feedback, and actively pursues opportunities to improve personal leadership and the school.
• Inspires a schoolwide sense of positivism and possibility.

Reporting Relationship

• The ChiArts Principal reports to the Executive Director and supervises academic and student support school staff members.
• Responsible for employees including the school’s Assistant Principal, Counselors, Case Manager, and Dean of Students. Supports the Artistic Director and Director of Operations.

Other Duties

• Complete other duties/projects as assigned

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• Master’s Degree, completion of a principal program, and valid state principal license
• Minimum 4 years’ experience successfully leading academics in a high school setting (charter or district); previous secondary teaching experience also preferred
• Strong communicator, written and verbal - including presentations, grant reporting, and staff communication
• Previous experience interfacing with School Board of Directors and other stakeholders; such as union, parents, staff, community partners
• Strong compliance management that aligns and complies with Chicago Public Schools requirements
• Technology fluent with deep knowledge of student management systems, Google Suite, Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), and technology that enhances learning
• Expertise positively navigating in a union setting, a collective bargaining agreement to inform decisions, and a key player during negotiation years
• Results-driven, data-informed, and "can do" mentality 
• Self-reflective about the work and leadership approach
• Excellent interpersonal, human relations, and conflict management skills
• Excellent planning, goal-setting, problem-solving, and decision-making skills
• Ability to facilitate and lead change initiatives and embrace innovation
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment, demonstrating strong prioritization, organization, and follow-up.

Working Conditions:

Job Hazards: This position requires a fingerprint and background check conducted by Chicago Public Schools. 

Travel Requirements: This position does not require travel as part of the job responsibilities however travel may be required to attend professional development/conferences. 

Salary and Benefits:

Full-Time position.

Salary Range: $145K -$164K --pay will be commensurate with experience and qualifications.

Application Process

Qualified applicants should apply online at www.chiarts.org and upload the following documents:

1. Cover Letter
2. Resume  
3. Contact Information for 3-5 Professional References; do not include letters of recommendation.

Applicants who do not follow the submission directions will not be considered.  Please be aware that every item listed on a resume is subject to verification, and that any offer of employment is contingent on a successful background check. 

ChiArts has a commitment to diversity, inclusion, and cultural competency. Our aim is to maintain an inclusive, respectful, and equitable workplace in order to most effectively achieve our mission and secure the best possible outcomes for our students.

Please visit www.chiarts.org for more information.

Salary : $145,000 - $164,000