Director of Middle School Education

5th – 8th Instructional Leader - Principal

Christopher House closes the opportunity gap ‘with a continuum of schools through personalized learning and immersive family supports starting at birth. We operate accredited early learning, elementary, and out of school time programs grounded in research-based curricula and high-quality instruction.

OUR VALUES

Commitment to Excellence

Achievement & Perseverance

Respect & Compassion

Equity

OUR BELIEFS

Children and Families thrive when:

· Education begins at birth and continues throughout life, with parents as their children’s first teacher;

· Home environments nurture literacy, achievement, and children’s success;

· Parents have high standards and set high expectations for themselves, their children, and children’s schools;

· Professionally trained teachers know their students as individuals;

· Evaluations and program improvements are data driven;

· Parents and staff work together to continuously evaluate and improve programming;

· Education includes the development of creativity and perseverance and is multi-disciplinary in order to foster each child’s unique strengths and interests;

· Developing independent, creative, life-long researchers, education includes curriculum designed to help scholars develop socially and emotionally as well as cognitively;

· Diversity is celebrated and explored so that learners develop broad perspectives on life and learning;

· Parents and caregivers support their children financially and emotionally

Position Description: 5th – 8th Instructional Leader - Principal

Reports to: Director of Elementary Learning

Status: Exempt

POSITION OBJECTIVE

Leadership: Lead staff in continuous improvement in their instructional practices through intentional coaching, observations, and evaluations.

Management: Create a learning environment that enables all students to meet the school’s high academic expectations utilizing a distributed leadership model and intentional collaboration.

Collaboration: Work collaboratively with all departments within the agency to incorporate and deliver additional supports aligned with Christoper House’s mission and vision.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Under the direction of the Director of Elementary Education, performs any of the following duties:

· Observe and evaluate 5th – 8th teachers and staff using both coaching strategies and the Charlotte Danielson Framework for Teaching and Learning

· Conducts meetings ranging from school wide to grade and department level

· Provides professional development on a large and small scale to staff

· Collaborates with all departments across CHES and the agency on initiatives

· Assists in the development and implementation of the School Wide Goals (Continuous Improvement Working Plan)

· Participates in the development and monitoring of the school budget

· Provides individual and group guidance to students for personal problems, and educational and vocational objectives

· Takes or recommends disciplinary action for students or employees in violation of established discipline codes

· Meets with parents and guardians to review student progress or problems

· Responds to inquiries and complaints from students, parents and guardians, and the general public concerning school operating policies and procedures

· Manage the day-to-day operations of the school

Coaching and Supervision

· Supervises teachers and support staff at the elementary school

· Provides weekly coaching and feedback to direct reports

· Conducts quarterly observations and provides performance evaluation aligned with the Charlotte Danielson Framework for Teaching and Learning

· Demonstrates sensitivity to teachers’ individual differences and needs

· In collaboration with direct reports, develops yearly professional development goals and monitors progress of goals

· Establishes norms and availability to meet with direct reports and problem solve together

· Sets high expectations for time and attendance and holds staff accountable

Assessment Coordinator

• Coordinate all assessments conducted in the school including but not limited to: IAR, NWEA, PARCC, ISA, and grade level benchmarks
• Ensure all regulations are followed and that assessments are administered properly.
• Provide training and professional development sessions throughout the year to support student and teacher success

· Coordinates data collection and evaluation for all grade levels

· Reports out to president on assessment results

School Level Support

· Demonstrate ability to develop and articulate vision and goals of the program to stakeholders.

· Allocates times and resources effectively

· Serves as a member of the school disciplinary committee

· Ability to create and implement systems for program administration, including referral methods, data collection and storage

· Oversees data collection and progress monitoring at every tier of MTSS

· Ensures school wide alignment of benchmarks

· Support collaboration with after school programming and athletics

· Coordinate Professional Development

Distributed Leadership & Collaboration

· Partner with Christopher House Operations Department on the general operations of the school

· Plan and collaborate among all site managers (Early Childhood Site Director, K – 4th Instructional Leader, Office Manager, etc.) to ensure vertical alignment and shared vision of operations

· Consistent team meetings with agency managers to problem-solve concerns pertinent to the Stewart campus and personnel interactions

· Collaborate and partner with Operations Department to ensure school compliance tasks are addressed ahead of deadlines

Grant Management

· Support Director of Elementary Learning with Grant management through various ways.

· Coordinate and collaborate with other Christopher House departments when applicable

· Collect data and information as requested and needed for Grants

High School Transition Leader

· Organize, facilitate, and guide students and families through the high school admissions process beginning at 5th grade through 8th grade

· Create a vision and set goals for admissions process

· Coach, supervise, and train school counselor to execute on high school transition goals and initiatives

· Co-lead parent education events at every stage of the high school transition process

· Lead protocols for tracking students’ progress toward HS goals, publicly celebrating victories and developing intervention strategies as necessary

Diverse Learner Department and ELL Department

· Oversee Diverse Learner Department (DL) Compliance and ensure federal regulations and state guidelines are met

· Oversee English Language Department (ELL) Compliance and ensure federal regulations and state guidelines are met

· Assessment Coordination: Supervise all DL and ELL assessments conducted in the school. Train and supervise Diverse Learner Coordinator and ELL Coordinator on assessment procedures. Provide training and professional development sessions throughout the year to support student success on assessments for staff

· Manage Clinicians (OT, Speech, Nurse, School Psychologist etc.) to ensure compliance and all requirements and mandates are being met.

Main Office Management

In collaboration with Office Manager & K – 4th Grade Instructional Leader:

· Monitor all medical compliance in collaboration with nurse(s) to ensure compliance for CPS reports.

· Monitor STLS programming

· Ensure charter school network drives/folders (teacher and administrative) are organized and updated

· Monitor lottery process

· Manage CPS District Compliance and Audits

· Monitor ordering of supplies, renewing subscriptions, submitting PO’s, check requests and credit card forms to Fiscal Department

Other Responsibilities:

· Instructional Leaders may provide other duties as assigned. May be needed to teach courses, may organize, and conduct in-service teacher and career service training at the school, may accompany students on field trips; may sponsor clubs, activities, and athletics etc.

QUALIFICATIONS:

· Minimum of 7 years teaching in elementary and/or middle school.

· Experience working in an urban setting required

· Bilingual Spanish strongly preferred

· Experience as an assistant principal or school leader strongly desired but not required.

· Proven track record of leadership in a school through experience serving on committees, as grade level leads, department chairs, or Professional committees

· Thorough knowledge of the principles and practices of elementary and middle school education

· Thorough knowledge of the rules and regulations of charter school operations strongly preferred

· Proven ability to work successfully with teachers and staff of varying experience and skill levels and effectively communicate

· Alignment with and demonstration of Christopher House’s Core Values: Commitment to Excellence, Respect and Compassion, Achievement and Perseverance, and Equity

Education:

· Training and Experience Must possess a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in Education or Relevant Field. Master’s degree preferred.

· Certificate Requirement. Strongly prefer a valid Type 75 Educational Administrative Certificate issued by the Illinois State Board of Education

· Certificate Requirement: Must be certified to evaluate teachers using the Charlotte Danielson Framework for Teaching and Learning

Christopher House is an Equal Opportunity Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran's status, or, any other protected characteristic.

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Job Type: Full-time

Pay: From $110,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Professional development assistance
• Retirement plan
• Tuition reimbursement
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday

Experience:

• Teaching: 5 years (Required)

Language:

• Spanish (Preferred)

License/Certification:

• Principal's License (Preferred)

Ability to Commute:

• Chicago, IL 60639 (Required)

Work Location: In person

Salary : $110,000