What are the responsibilities and job description for the Superintendent of Schools position at Westport Community Schools?
Superintendent of Schools
Westport, MA
We encourage applications to be submitted by March 17th for full consideration.
Position Summary
The Superintendent provides overall management and leadership in the Westport Community Schools, according to the district’s mission, vision, and school committee policies. The Superintendent provides leadership in the development and assessment of the instructional programs of the school district to ensure the best possible educational programs and services to enhance the quality of education for all students.
Key Duties and Responsibilities:
Educational and Instructional Leadership
* Promotes learning and growth of all students;
* Cultivates a shared vision that makes teaching and learning the central focus of schooling
* Models for all school personnel the use of data to make well-informed decisions;
* Provides for, and engages stakeholders in the visioning and strategic planning for educational programming, and facility and resource utilization;
* Communicates effectively with the School Committee, staff, students, and the community about educational trends, curriculum needs, assessment
and use of data, and instructional programs;
* Ensures that administrators and teachers use a variety of methods and assessments to measure student learning, growth and understanding, and
communicates student progress to parents/guardians;
* Provides for the development, implementation, and assessment of educational programs consistent with federal and state standards;
* Recommends to the School Committee the timely revision and adoption of courses of study, curricula, and instructional materials;
* Promotes the appropriate utilization, and maintenance and upgrade of technology throughout the district;
* Establishes and supports a strong leadership team and builds the leadership capacity within the district.
Communication/Public Relations
* Provides the School Committee ample and timely reports and information in order for them to make well-informed decisions;
* Effectively communicates the vision and mission of the school district to all stakeholders;
* Establishes and maintains a program of public relations to keep the public informed of the accomplishments, activities and needs of the schools and the district;
* Communicates with and understand the needs and perspectives of various community groups;
* Attends or delegates a representative to attend the meetings of municipal agencies at which matters pertaining to the district appear on the agenda or are expected to be raised.
Personnel/Staffing
* Implements the Massachusetts educator evaluation system as defined in Westport for licensed educators and has overview responsibility for the
effective and timely supervision and evaluation of all staff;
* Fosters an environment that encourages continuous learning, improvement, and a positive school culture on the part of district staff;
* Implements a cohesive human resources approach to recruitment, hiring, induction, development and growth of all staff;
* Ensures that a well-developed hiring process is utilized that complies with applicable state and federal laws and focuses on the most qualified
teachers, administrators, and extracurricular personnel;
* Participates, as deemed appropriate by the School Committee, in negotiations with recognized employee bargaining units;
* Responds appropriately to employee grievances and problems in accordance with applicable School Committee policies, collective bargaining
agreements, and/or state/Federal laws and regulations;
* Ensures the development and implementation of an effective professional development program for all employees.
Financial Management
* Demonstrates the ability to perform effective financial forecasting and long and short-term financial planning;
* Supervises the preparation, presentation, management and implementation of the annual budget that supports the district vision, mission and goals,
and recommends it for approval to the Committee;
* Ensures financial procedures and accounts are maintained in accordance with best practice business standards as well as all relevant federal, state
and local laws and regulations, and that audits are performed on an annual, or as required, basis;
* Apprises the School Committee of the status of expenditures and receipts on a regular basis;
* Supervises all revolving accounts and the submission and implementation of grants.
Operational and Facilities Management
* Makes administrative decisions necessary for the safe, effective and efficient operations of the schools; acts on own discretion when emergency
action is necessary in matters not covered by School Committee policy and reports such emergency action to the School Committee promptly;
* Supervises and ensures compliance with all laws, regulations, School Committee policies, bargaining unit agreements and ethical guidelines;
* Advises the School Committee when he/she identifies the need to add, modify, or delete a policy; *
* Develops and implements short and long-term maintenance plans for school building and grounds, delegating particular duties as the
Superintendent deems appropriate;
* Forecasts enrollment, demographic and facility use trends and implications; and communicates these to the School Committee and other
stakeholders;
* Develops and implements guidelines and procedures governing the use and care of school facilities and property.
