A member of the Nexus family treatment programs, Nexus-Onarga Family Healing is located approximately 90 miles south of Chicago and only a few miles off of I-57 on a historic site in Onarga, IL. Nexus Onarga provides boys ages 10 to 20 years old a structured, homelike environment where they can safely address their unhealthy sexual behaviors and their emotional and behavioral issues.

At Nexus, we believe in changing the course of a child’s life by stabilizing families and strengthening mental health through trauma-informed care. We are a large nonprofit within the human services, mental health, and behavioral health sectors. Nexus is a growing, innovative organization focused on transforming our level of impact through a heightened focus on family expertise, healing complex trauma, and supporting high-stress youth and families.

In an Assistant Principal role, you would have the opportunity to lead a team of Educators at our onsite therapeutic Grand Prairie School in order to achieve and maintain a high-quality, therapeutic learning and treatment environment.

Required Education and Licensure:

• Bachelor’s degree with a Professional Educator License or School Support Personnel License 
• Master's Degree with School Leadership or Director of Special Education Endorsement
• Minimum of 2 years special education experience 
• LBS1 Endorsement OR willing to obtain within 1 year of employment 
• First Aid/CPR/Infection Control/Blood Bourne Pathogen/TCI certification required.
• Valid driver’s license required. Must meet state regulating agency and Home Office driving requirements

Nice to Have:

• 1 year of supervisory experience

Work Schedule & Salary:

• Schedule:
  • Monday-Friday 7a-3:30p
• Salary:
  • Salaried Position
  • Starting at $75,000-$80,000 annually 

Primary responsibilities:

 Develop & Maintain the Academic Program

• In collaboration with School Principal, ensures the development and implementation of school curriculum that is current, outcomes- based, content and quality oriented, with a process for continual improvement.
• Ensures all local and state accreditation requirements are maintained within established guidelines.
• Assists with monitoring the Individual Educational Plans (IEPs) process and serves as the administrative representative at IEP meetings in the Principal’s absence.
• Communicates with resident’s home school districts regarding the client’s placement and related issues.

Teaching Assistant & Behavioral Specialist Leadership & Oversight

• Participates in the interview and selection process for faculty and education staff and conduct thorough reference checks to satisfy Nexus’ requirements of staff positions that will be direct reports (teaching assistants, behavior specialist, etc.).
• Provides leadership and direction to all teaching assistants and behavior specialists; leads, coaches and develops employees, while setting clearly defined performance expectations and meaningful performance feedback.
• Builds strong teams through the use of effective leadership and team-building components including communicating a clear mission to the team, outlining common goals and promoting shared accountability.
• Actively monitors and evaluates the effectiveness of staff performance, as well as behavior management of students in the classroom setting.
• Provides performance management for assigned staff on an ongoing basis and conduct formal performance evaluations that are timely, constructive, and effective; with the Human Resources Department regarding performance evaluations and disciplinary needs. 
• Conducts and facilitates faculty meetings in the absence of the Principal.

Academic Programming Support

• Maintains the tracking system for school documentation requirements and deadlines for school reports (i.e., point sheets, incident reports, progress reports); ensures data and information is accurate and up to date.
• Schedules IEP meetings with all appropriate external and internal parties and participates as required; engages in additional school meetings as required, including quarterly staffing meetings.
• Develops and maintains trust, rapport and credibility with students, parents, guardians, home school districts, social service agencies to support the development of youth.
• Oversees the scheduling of outings, field trips and monthly incentives, and reviews the educational relevancy of the outing with the Principal prior to approvals.
• Assists in the development of the school schedule and maintains a master schedule of all class times, along with meeting times and other events to ensure time conflicts are kept to a minimum (i.e., IEP meetings, case conferences, retreats, school assemblies, field trips)
• Serves as ‘back-up’ to Principal in their absence; provides assistance to the principal in assessment and development of school curriculum on an ongoing basis.
• Ensures appropriate staffing of all classrooms and provide backup support where required to ensure adequate coverage to meet school standards.

Therapeutic Treatment & Learning Environment

• Participates in quarterly meetings with Quality Improvement staff to assess data/outcomes.
• Ensures compliance with established safety and health codes and procedures for both faculty and students; identifies safety and risk management issues that impact the therapeutic school environment, recommends solutions, and implements changes where approved/appropriate.
• Ensures appropriate boundaries are maintained in all staff/student interactions and that physical interventions are conducted appropriately and within training parameters. 
• Demonstrates an acceptance and respectfulness toward diversity concerning commonalities and differences such as: gender, race, age, culture, ethnicity, class, religion, sexual preference, disability, and gender identity. 

Educational Policy, Procedure & Compliance

• Serves as an educational liaison as assigned with internal academy departments and external agencies and contacts.
• Provides crisis intervention and applies de-escalation techniques when appropriate while maintaining appropriate boundaries and relationships with students.
• Remains current on the latest accepted teaching techniques and be able to tailor teacher feedback to meet the needs of the emotionally and behaviorally challenged students within an educational and/or residential setting.
• Attends and participates in staff meetings and training sessions as required by Nexus; attends relevant conferences for continued education. Understands and supports the Nexus philosophy and treatment modalities.
• Ensures confidentiality regarding students in compliance with all licensing agencies, company policy, COA and HIPAA guidelines.
• Remains current on all company policies, assigned trainings and/or certification requirements; exhibits a high degree of ethical conduct, discretion and confidentiality while exemplifying professional behavior.
• Exhibit clear, professional, respectful and effective communication when interfacing with residents, staff, families and external contacts and share knowledge, information and resources appropriately.
• Assist with off-campus activities when needed and other duties as assigned.

Work Environment:

• May be required to assist staff in proper restraining of clients.
• Must be able to lift up to 50 pounds unassisted and up to 100 pounds with assistance.
• Must be able to stand and walk for extended periods of time (2-4 hours).
• Must be able to walk, sit, stand, twist, bend, and stretch in a manner conducive to the execution of daily activities within the residential program.
• This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as desktop and/or laptop computers, photocopiers, and smartphones.

Nexus’ Comprehensive Benefits Include: 

• Five weeks paid time off (PTO) in the first year of employment
• Multiple options for health insurance coverage
• No-cost life insurance
• Short/long-term disability insurance
• 401k match
• NEW – Talkspace Therapy Benefit for the whole family
• NEW – Hinge Health Benefit for the whole family
• NEW – Carrot Fertility Benefit
• Tuition assistance and training opportunities
• Advancement pathways and internal promotion
• And much more!

At Nexus Family Healing, our voices and actions are focused on recognizing, affirming and respecting people of every race, ethnic background, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, gender expression and faith.

Our ICARE Values:

• Innovation: Leading the way and implementing creative, cutting-edge ideas and approaches
• Compassion: Listening, honoring differences, and showing respect, kindness, empathy care, and concern
• Agility: Exhibiting flexibility and adapting quickly
• Responsiveness: Being quick, positive, and accurate
• Excellence: Demonstrating quality results that surpass ordinary standards

APPLY TODAY TO BE CONTACTED BY OUR RECRUITING TEAM!When you work at Nexus, you have the opportunity to change lives — including your own!

Keywords: "Principal", "Assistant Principal", "Dean of Students", "School Coordinator", "School Principal", "Coordinator of Student Support Services", "Director of Education", "Associate Dean of Students", "Dean of Student Success", "School Case Manager", "School Administrator"