About Alma

Alma del Mar is a K-8 charter school whose mission is to put every one of our scholars on the path to college and to challenge them to be service-minded leaders. We do this by immersing our scholars in a highly demanding, highly supportive environment where they receive a content–rich education. As an Expeditionary Learning school, Alma brings to life a three dimensional vision of student achievement that includes mastery of knowledge and skills, character, and high-quality student work.

We’re located in New Bedford, Massachusetts a beautiful coastal city known for its history as the heart of the whaling industry and as a central hub of the abolitionist movement.

Alma gets results for kids. Alma scholars not only outperform their district peers on MCAS, they often outperform their peers in the surrounding suburbs. In some areas, our scholar achievement now matches some of the highest performing schools in the Commonwealth. We have been nationally recognized for our work with English Language Learners.

The Dean of Culture Role

The Dean of Culture will be responsible for ensuring that Alma del Mar maintains a safe, joyful and orderly environment where learning takes center stage. The Dean of Culture is on the school leadership team. They also manage other members of the school culture team.

At Alma we believe that talent is the most important lever driving student success. We know that we can best serve our scholars by helping you to meet your long-term professional growth and career goals.

Team Leadership

The Dean of Culture manages and coaches their culture team including, behavior interventionists and fellows, toward high performance. This includes conducting weekly observations and one on one meetings, coaching on targeted areas and evaluating performance, and leading culture team meetings.

School-Wide Leadership

• Set and take responsibility for culture goals and initiatives for the school
• Work with the leadership team to plan and facilitate high quality training for Alma faculty
• Plan and lead school-wide culture routines and events and ensure that Alma scholars are developing as service-minded leaders

Core Responsibilities

• Train teachers school-wide on effective behavior management and culture-building practices
• Oversee school-wide student discipline system
• Coordinate afterschool detention, in-school suspensions and any discipline issues that go beyond the classroom
• Lead family engagement efforts and conduct parent conferences as needed
• Track and analyze non-academic student data
• Work with outside agencies and community partners to connect our scholars with the additional non-academic resources they need
• Work as a member of the School Leadership Team to solve pressing tactical and strategic issues

Who We’re Looking For

We seek outstanding leaders with the following qualifications:

• At least three years of working in a successful K-12 charter school or district school, in a school culture or teaching role, with increasing levels of responsibility, is required.
• Outstanding classroom management expertise and experience effectively coaching teachers in this area
• Prior experience as a K-12 classroom teacher highly preferred
• Experience managing or supervising others is required
• Experience and expertise in facilitating difficult conversations with students, families and teachers
• Experience serving in a predominantly low-income community

In addition, the ideal candidate has the following competencies:

• Effective Communication & Leadership Presence: Communicates clearly verbally and in written form and is able to serve as a “front-of-the-room” leader with student and staff.
• Systems Thinking:
• Detail Orientation & Accuracy: Maintains high standards of precision and reliability
• Relationship-Building & Constructive Collaboration: Develops trust-based partnerships and collaborates effectively with staff, students, and families.
• Show me the Outcomes: Filters every decision through the lens of potential impact on the school and our scholars
• High Demand, High Support: Sets a high bar for self, colleagues and scholars. When not meeting those high expectations, analyzes data to determine why and seeks the specific support needed for the scholar or staff member.
• Oxygen Mask: Builds the kind of personal habits that support physical and mental health in order to be able to maintain consistently strong work and be a reliable colleague.
• Crew: Believes that working with a diverse crew --with a range of perspectives, backgrounds and communication styles– makes us stronger. Seeks to uncover and address personal biases and structural inequities.
• It's Your Ship: Takes collective responsibility for the success of the school.
• Challenge, Challenge: Sees difficult problems as opportunities to increase capacity and grow skills. Seeks out, and improves through, feedback.

Please include specific data in your resume demonstrating the success of your students and the adults you have coached.

What You Can Expect

• A comprehensive benefits package including:
  
  • Paid sick, personal, and vacation days, as well as paid holidays and school winter break
  • Medical, dental, and vision insurance with PPO and HMO options
  • Paid parental leave and short term disability available
  • Multiple retirement options, including a 403(b) with matching
• Weekly meetings with a manager who supports you, this position reports to the school Principal
• The opportunity to have meaningful impact across a school
• The autonomy to make decisions and do what is best to support the staff and students you work with every day
• Friendly, supportive, #almazing colleagues

Compensation: Salary will be competitive and commensurate with experience. Starting salary is $85,000 to $95,000, depending on previous experience. Multilingual candidates are compensated higher.

This is an academic year position starting around July 15, 2026. School hours are 8:20-4:00 for staff.

Alma del Mar is an equal opportunity employer and an organization that values diversity. People from all diverse backgrounds and identities are strongly encouraged to apply. Spanish language proficiency is a plus.

Salary : $85,000 - $95,000