Dean of Students (2025-2026 School Year)

POSITION: Dean of Students

GRADE LEVEL: Hiring for both middle school and high school positions

LOCATION: Hiring at multiple locations. You can view the current openings at this link. We encourage you to apply even if your preferred location is not listed.

SALARY: $72,000-$87,000 based on up to 10 years of aligned experience. We also offer a relocation stipend for anyone joining us from 75 miles or more from Denver!

STATUS: Full time year round, benefits eligible, exempt, in-person position (Denver, CO)

START: Summer 2025. You can view the current School Year Calendar here.

Key Roles & Responsibilities

The Dean of Students is the School Culture Leader on the campus. They coach and support students and staff members to ensure each member of the community is living our core values and committing to a strong community.

Leadership

• DSST Mission Driven: Demonstrate a sense of urgency about achievement for ALL students and preparing every student for four-year college.
• Pursue solutions with tenacity that maximize student achievement. Willing to do whatever it takes to get the work done right.
• Model professional maturity, maintain emotional constancy in stressful situations, bring out the best in others, seek solutions, and provide positive motivation.
• Mentor and coach staff members to drive towards student academic and personal growth
• Lead through adults to ensure school goals and network priorities are accomplished.
  
  
  

Culture

• Reinforce school culture centered on core values that deeply care for each student and staff member and hold each student and staff member to the highest level of accountability.
• Manage grade level leaders and their teams to support gradual release between grade levels.
• Collaborate with school staff to maximize the ability of the school to support students’ academic and socio-emotional development.
• Provide leadership to all staff and students in establishing a positive, structured, achievement-oriented, and fun school culture.
• Support a professional learning community in which teachers regularly collaborate to reflect on and refine curriculum and instruction at the school using achievement data, student work, and their own observations/experiences.
• Relate effectively with students and engage them in relationships, in one-on-one, small group and large group settings.
• Communicate with families with respect to student academic performance, student conduct, school programs, and school performance.
• Partner with and develop all staff to ensure strong culture both in school-wide systems and in each classroom.
• Manage and track progress on individualized behavior plans for students to ensure we are meeting the needs of all students in the community.
• Collaborate with both the special education and mental health teams.
  
  
  

Family and Community Engagement

• Maintain communication and relations with the families of the school, ensuring they are kept involved with and held accountable for their children’s academic and behavioral performance
• Communicate regularly with families regarding student performance and academic achievement
• Respond to family concerns promptly and effectively
  
  
  

Systems

• Implement and maintain systems that “sweat the small stuff,” maximize the programmatic goals of the school, and align to DSST systems.
• Develop solutions to complex problems that involve multiple stakeholders and steps.
• Manage with fiscal responsibility by developing a disciplined planning process that identifies the school’s highest priorities.
• Collect data (formally and informally) around school culture and the systems that support it in order to improve the systems and overall school culture.
• Manage the Morning Meeting System and other School-Wide Culture Celebrations
• Manage intervention systems for students
  
  
  

Additional Duties

• Build relationships with teachers and other members of the administration team in order to positively impact school culture and results.
• Recruit and hire school faculty
• Serve as a recruiter for new students; actively engage prospective families in an effort to draw more students to choose your school; be willing to take on additional tasks to support recruitment, as needed.
• Work to ensure DSST 8th graders transition to a DSST high school.
• Work with DSST Home Office to create network-wide standards, curriculum, and assessment documents.
• Work with DSST Home Office to support network-wide new teacher professional development; create school-specific new and returning teacher professional development
• Participate in the Culture Leadership Development Series
• If applicable, teach course(s) within the school
• If applicable, act as a student advisor for a group of students
• Position may encompass instructional coaching, culture leadership and support
  
  
  

Ideal Qualifications

• Teaching experience
• At least 3 years working with students in 6-12 grade schools and classrooms
• Proven commitment to and experience with serving students of color, students with disabilities, and/or multilingual students
  
  
  

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree OR enrollment in a DSST approved degree program working towards completion of a Bachelor’s degree. Please reach out to us if you have questions around this requirement
• An unwavering belief that all students can succeed in high school, reach their most ambitious post-secondary goals, and lead exemplary lives
• Desire to personally professionally grow in their practice of becoming an anti-racist educator
• Self-awareness, a regular practice of reflection, and a desire to continuously improve
  
  
  

Who We Are

At DSST Public Schools, we are proud to be the largest and highest-performing network of public charter schools in Denver and Aurora with 100% of our students having been accepted into college or post secondary programs since our inception in 2004. When you join DSST, you play a part in ensuring all 7,500 students at our 16 schools have access to a transformational and joyful education.

INTERVIEW EXPECTATIONS

For most of our positions, we hire on a rolling basis. Therefore, we recommend that you submit your application as soon as you are able! You can learn more about what to expect in our interview process here.

WHY JOIN DSST?

At DSST, we know that our people are the greatest asset we have in reaching our mission of eliminating educational inequity. We work hard to build a work culture that allows our staff to not only feel fulfilled by the work they do but also feel supported to live a joyful, healthy life. We want this work to be your life’s work. Check out why our teachers love working at DSST as well as our benefits website to learn how we deliver on our commitment to the human condition.

• Health and Supplemental Insurance: DSST staff have access to comprehensive medical benefits, including fertility benefits and a mental health counselor that is dedicated solely to DSST staff.
• Time Off: DSST Staff enjoy 11 weeks off per year paid PTO (from Day 1!)
• Professional Development: As a learning organization, DSST values both internal and external development opportunities for staff. See some examples below:
• DSST Back to School Development Series including New Staff Institute, New Educator Institute, New Leader Institute, Leader You, and Teaching & Learning Institute.
• Weekly 1:1 Coaching from a School Administrator at your campus.
• Clear internal career pathway opportunities such as our Apprentice Teachers, Emerging Leaders, and School Director in Training Programs. Read more here.
• And more!
  
  

DSST COMMUNITY REFERRAL PROGRAM

Not a best fit role for you but know someone else who would be a great fit? Refer them here and earn $500 if they are hired!

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY AND DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION

DSST Public Schools is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not exclude participation in, deny benefits to or discriminate on the basis of, race, color, religion, National origin, sex (including pregnancy and related conditions, sexual orientation, or gender identity), Age (40 and older), Disability, Genetic information (including employer requests for, or purchase, use, or disclosure of genetic tests, genetic services, or family medical history), retaliation for filing a charge, reasonably opposing discrimination, or participating in a discrimination lawsuit, investigation, or proceeding in admission or access to, or treatment or employment in its programs and activities.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear. This position is active and may require standing, walking, bending, kneeling, stooping, and crouching throughout the day. The employee must lift and/or move items up to 30 pounds. The employee must have sufficient hand, arm, and finger dexterity to operate a computer keyboard and other office equipment. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.