Hamilton County Collegiate High at Chattanooga State - Principal

NOTE: All current HCS employees interested in pursuing the Principal role must apply for the Aspiring Principal LEAD program. The application for the program is available on the internal iCims job board from March 31 - April 13, 2025.

Hamilton County Schools, located in Chattanooga, TN, is working to ensure that all students thrive and experience a future without limits.  We are committed to excellence for every student and are seeking outstanding leaders, teachers, support staff, and district employees who desire to make a difference in the lives of students. With nearly 75 schools, we are confident that you can find your place in Hamilton County. 

Learn more about working for Hamilton County Schools at careers.hcde.org and get to know us and our strategic plan, Opportunity 2030.

The purpose of this job is to provide effective instructional leadership and school operations.  Major responsibilities include instructional leadership, people centered management, organizational management, student development, facility maintenance and management, fiscal management activities, and developing effective community relations.

Instructional Leadership

Clear & Compelling Vision

• Collaboratively creates and communicates a clear, compelling vision of high academic achievement and growth 
• Establish a clear focus and inspire others  by gaining buy-in and commitment
• Serve as a change agent by actively challenging the status quo to eliminate opportunity and achievement gaps
• Inspire and lead new and challenging innovations for high achievement and growth

Instructional Leadership

• Build and maintain high expectations for continuous student growth and academic achievement with supportive accountability systems
• Sustain a data-driven vision by setting challenging goals with appropriate, relevant milestones for progress monitoring  
• Conduct classroom observations, identify effective instructional planning and delivery instruction  and provide actionable feedback that results in improved student learning 
• Build capacity of educators to provide all students a rigorous standards-based curriculum that is culturally responsive
• Ensure students master grade-level standards by aligning curriculum, instruction and assessments
• Build systems for professional learning communities and high quality common planning

People Centered Management

Balanced Leadership and Capacity Building

• Provides clear expectations for staff performance and communicates success and needed improvements regularly.  
• Create structures that systematically gather input and empower teachers as decision makers 
• Implement and monitor a rigorous evaluation system and use educator evaluation data to inform, assess, and adjust differentiated professional learning plans, performance improvement plans and goals
• Maintain a robust talent management system that displays effective recruitment, interview, and selection skills that lead to quality hiring decisions 
• Develop structures for mentoring used to induct, support, retain, grow and extend effective educators based on evidence of student and educator outcomes
• Empower teachers to use their collective strengths, skills and experiences to own and lead teams, trainings and innovative initiatives 

Family Involvement and Communities

• Include a diverse set of educators and stakeholders in school improvement planning and decision-making 
• Develop structures to actively involve families in the education of their children targeting academically focused engagement 
• Strategically utilize, align, and measure community resources and partners to equitably support the school’s mission, vision, and goals 
• Ensure that the school community communicates regularly with families regarding student progress and needs
• Partner with community allies to provide whole-child supports

Organizational and Systems Management

Culture of Care within a Purposeful Community

• Foster a safe, orderly, culturally responsive and equitable learning environment for all stakeholders 
• Communicate effectively with all stakeholders
• Resolve conflict positively and directly
• Embrace diverse points of view and foster an environment that is comfortable with dissent
• Develop structures to actively engage student, staff, parent, and community voice with a keen awareness to the voices that are often overlooked 
• Reflect regularly, accurately assesses personal strengths and growth areas, and seek feedback and professional development to improve

Management 

• Collaboratively create and monitor school action plans with an intentional focus on prioritizing marginalized students and subgroups
• Collect, analyze, and uses multiple forms of data to make decisions
• Identify problems, analyze root causes and develop effective resolution strategies 
• Systematically monitor and adjust progress toward established goals and facilitate procedures and practices leading to improvement by utilizing a continuous improvement process 
• Demonstrate the ability to prioritize appropriately
• Demonstrate the flexibility to adapt leadership behavior to the needs of the current situation
• Demonstrate an awareness implicit bias and the ways that bias hold systems of marginalization in place
• Establish, communicate, and enforce a set of standard operating procedures and routines that ensure school safety and are aligned with district, state and federal policy 
• Perform all budgetary responsibilities with accuracy, transparency, and in alignment with school action plans 
• Allocate resources equitably 

Equity & Ethics

• Articulate the value of diversity and equity within a purposeful community
• Communicate and operate from strong ideals and beliefs about schooling grounded in ethical decision-making
• Exhibit a commitment to equity and create a sense of urgency to close achievement gaps and prepare all students for college, career, and life 
• Embed cultural competence in all aspects of school instruction and practices 
• Leverage educator strengths to engage all students in meaningful, culturally aware, and relevant learning opportunities

Knowledge/Education/Experience:

• Master’s degree and current valid Tennessee administrative license are required. Successful classroom teaching experience and successful administrative experience are required.  

Skills/Qualifications:

• Demonstrate excellent verbal and written communication skills to deal effectively with students, educators, parents, and community members.  
• Demonstrate excellent planning, organizational, problem-solving, decision-making, and time management skills.