Background

Public Prep is a network of single-gender K-8 schools and co-ed PreK rooted in the belief that all scholars can and will achieve exemplary academic results. In addition to rigorous, joyful and engaging academics, Public Prep emphasizes social-emotional learning as critical to supporting the whole child. Strong learning partnerships between families and staff are key to living out our core value of community and building the collaborative structures needed to ensure that our scholars are loved and supported both at school and at home. Each school has a deeply committed leadership team and staff that strives to work collaboratively to build a warm, joyful, and rigorous culture. 

Public Prep is committed to investing in our adult learning culture. As a team member at Public Prep, you can anticipate a learning environment where the best interest of scholars, their growth, and success is at the center of everything we do. As such, we tailor adult development opportunities to ensure that high expectations, the embodiment of a growth mindset, displays of humility, and data-informed decision-making is evident in our work. Our professional development takes place within coaching cycles, ongoing observation and feedback, and targeted professional development opportunities within the network and from outside providers.

For more information about Public Prep, please visit our website. 

Primary Function & Position Overview

The Summer School Principal (SSP) serves as the educational leader and administrator of the Public Prep summer school program; responsible for the planning, organizing, implementation and evaluation of all aspects of the program. The SSP is the leader of a program where the learning and achievement of all is the ultimate priority, while simultaneously ensuring that the program is safe, joyful, and responsive. The SSP is responsible for managing the summer school staff and aligning the school’s instructional vision to the network priorities and vision and supporting all staff members to meet the vision. 

At Public Prep, we believe that the people in front of our scholars each day are the key determinants of their ultimate success. We believe that trajectory-changing teachers are not born - they are coached and developed by strong leaders deeply dedicated to their success. Equal parts instructional visionary, strategic mastermind, data-driven decision-maker, people developer, and community builder, the SSP stands at the nexus of the highest-leverage unit of change in a child’s life: the school.

Who You Are

Our ideal candidate for a SSP has an unwavering belief that our scholars can achieve at an exceptionally high level. Beyond that, they are:

Deeply committed to serving our kids. You have elected to work with historically underserved scholars, and do this work because you believe that all scholars, regardless of background, are capable of excellence - and that it’s on us as adults to get our kids there. You can speak knowledgeably about our mission, and demonstrate a commitment to our educational model. You understand that the challenges faced by scholars in New York City are unique and specific, and you’re excited to work within the communities we serve. 

A proven leader, and a driver of results. You've demonstrated the ability to drive results in the pursuit of an ambitious vision and strategy, and you combine your exceptional strategic, analytical, and critical-thinking skills with your use of data to drive decision-making to achieve ambitious outcomes. You’ve got a background in instructional excellence, and leadership, and have both achieved your own impressive results in the classroom and have moved other teachers and leaders to do the same. You are committed to implementing an arts integration project-based learning model that engages the Lavinia ELA and Math curriculum. 

A people developer. You’ve led, directly managed, and coached teams and individuals to achieve strong results for scholars. You love and actively seek opportunities to develop others through ongoing coaching, clear expectations and accountability, strong inspirational and motivational skills, high leverage feedback, and targeted professional development.

...and a people leader. Let’s be real - managing people is hard. You’ve coached, directly managed, and demonstrably moved the effectiveness of other adults before taking this job. You build relationships across lines of difference, authentically inspire and motivate others to buy into your vision, navigate challenging conversations with finesse, make tough calls, communicate effectively in all formats, give and receive feedback fluidly, and model/hold a high bar for adult excellence and exuberance.

A masterful executor. You appreciate the big picture, but you know it's all in the details. Your organizational systems ensure you get things done. You prioritize your time and fervently plan to maximize the time each day you spend moving adult practice. You do the things you say you’ll do, and you communicate when you won’t. You delegate when needed, set deadlines, and hold others accountable to get across important finish lines.

An A Communicator. You’ve got a knack for speaking and writing clearly, succinctly and persuasively. You think about time, place, and format to share a message that will resonate to accomplish your goals.

A gritty problem-solver. You keep it cool when facing challenges, approach problems with viable solutions, and know when you need to roll up your sleeves to support your team.

Summer Boost Program Leader (SSP) will drive rigorous instruction and create a culture of academic ownership by:

• Providing leadership for the summer school program by effectively managing academic goals and arts integration processes.
• Planning, organizing, implementing and evaluating the summer school program;
• Ensuring that scholar achievement results for all demographics (GenEd, SpEd, ELL, etc.) meet or exceed targets across academic assessment tools in Summer School;
• Working alongside the home office teams to drive teacher improvement by creating and implementing systems, structures, and opportunities that support and develop teachers to implement rigorous, College and Career-Ready standards and lead to high scholar achievement and growth; and
• Building strong relationships with families, scholars, and staff to ensure collective investment in summer instructional priorities, initiatives, and expectations.

• Training individual teacher’s instructional practice and, subsequently, scholars’ academic achievement, through high-leverage active coaching and consistent observation and feedback cycles;
• Planning and executing strategies of supportive supervision that is differentiated and proactive (including, but not limited to, classroom observations, intellectual preparation meetings, modeling scholar data debriefs, etc.);
• Owning all aspects of leading, inspiring, managing, and developing a staff of dynamic, driven, and diverse individuals;
• Directly coaching and managing school-based Summer School staff and ensure alignment across the team’s work scopes to reach goals; and
• Creating a culture where all staff give and receive feedback fluidly – both positive and constructive – as part of daily practice.

• Partnering with the Home Office team to develop a strong strategic plan and vision for the summer school program;
• Overseeing the recruitment, cultivation, and coaching of all staff as well as supporting a broader strategic talent management structure that addresses all stakeholders and roles;
• Overseeing the recruitment, retention, and attendance of all scholars attending the Summer School program to ensure attendance and enrollment targets are met. 
• Nurturing a warm, safe, and rigorous learning environment characterized by experimentation, collaboration, investment and cultivation of all individuals in their roles;
• Leading the school team to build deep relationships with families and scholars;
• Effectively managing resources by creating, maintaining, and supporting systems that align to the network vision and priorities and ensure a strong learning-focused environment; and 
• Ensuring compliance of the school with the full scope of federal and state regulatory requirements.

• A Bachelor’s degree and M.A., Ed.M. or Master’s degree in Education Leadership, Teaching or relevant content area.
• A minimum of three (3) years of demonstrated success in a leadership capacity at an elementary or secondary public or charter school managing or driving the performance of teams.
• A minimum of three (3) years of demonstrated success in teaching and/or counseling, preferably in a high-performing, urban school setting with a record of exceptional classroom management and results. 
• Embodies a consistent approachable, encouraging, and cooperative demeanor to effectively inspire, coach, develop, and retain educators across a diverse continuum.
• Fluency in Spanish, preferred

• Attend bi-weekly program preparation meetings from May 3, 2024-June 21, 2024.
• One 90 minute staff orientation meeting TBD in May.
• One 90 minuteFamily Orientation Zoom Meeting TBD in May.

• Alignment and Professional Development: June 17-June 28, 2024 8am-4pm 
• Program: July 8-August 5, 2024 Monday-Friday, 7am-3pm

• Post Program Assessment and Grant Deliverables: August 6-August 16, 20248am-4pm