2026-27 Assistant Principal Student Services (K-8)

About Breakthrough Public Schools

Breakthrough Public Schools is a high-performing charter network serving scholars across five campuses in Cleveland. We operate as a unified system grounded in a shared academic vision and the Arc of the Year — our framework for adult development and instructional excellence that progresses from strong classroom environments to rigorous instruction, high-quality feedback, and culminating academic growth.

At Breakthrough, we believe great schools are built by great adults. 

• The Assistant Principal of Student Services (APSS) is a senior member of the School Leadership Team and serves as the primary manager of teachers within their caseload while also owning the quality of educational experience for students receiving special education services.
• The APSS is directly responsible for ensuring the Breakthrough Unified School Model is executed with excellence for all learners — including those with exceptionalities.
• The APSS reports directly to the Principal.

Scope of Work: Instructional Leader & Owner of Student Services Excellence

The Assistant Principal of Student Services achieves results through teachers and service providers.

 The APSS improves student outcomes by:

• Developing teacher instructional skill
• Ensuring fidelity to curriculum and grading expectations
• Driving high-quality lesson internalization
• Using Real-Time Coaching to raise the bar for adult practice
• Ensuring students with special needs receive rigorous, compliant, and aligned services
• Holding teachers and intervention staff accountable to measurable student mastery

The APSS is:

• Manager of Teachers and Service Providers – accountable for teacher performance and growth
• Owner of Classroom Quality – responsible for instructional execution under their supervision
• Guardian of Compliance & Rigor for Students with Special Needs - Ensures students with special needs (IEPs, 504s) receive fully compliant services while maintaining access to rigorous, grade-level instruction that drives measurable academic growth.
• Curriculum & Grading Guardian – ensuring fidelity to approved materials, scope and sequence, and Breakthrough Grading Guidelines
• Lead Real-Time Coach – using immediate feedback to shift adult practice
• Model of Excellence – ready at any time to demonstrate the instructional bar
• Collaborative School Leader – partnering across leadership functions to ensure coherence in the student experience
• Exemplar Feedback Receiver – modeling growth by adjusting practice immediately when coached

The APSS reports directly to the Principal and serves as a key member of the School Leadership Team.

Core Responsibilities

1. Student Outcomes, Curriculum Fidelity, and Breakthrough Unified Model Execution

The APSS is responsible for student mastery within their teacher caseload and owns the quality of instruction in those classrooms.

They achieve this by ensuring teachers:

• Implement Breakthrough-approved curriculum with strict fidelity
• Follow the established scope and sequence
• Apply Breakthrough Grading Guidelines consistently and accurately
• Engage in high-quality lesson internalization prior to instruction
• Deliver instruction aligned to grade-level standards and the Breakthrough Teacher Rubric

The APSS monitors execution through:

• Frequent classroom observation
• Student work analysis
• Assessment data review
• Lesson internalization checks
• Grading audits aligned to network guidelines

Deviation from curriculum, scope and sequence, grading guidelines, or instructional expectations is addressed immediately.

As a member of the School Leadership Team, the APSS collaborates with the Principal, Network Directors, and other leaders to ensure curriculum, culture, grading, intervention, and instructional systems operate cohesively.

2. Real-Time Coaching (RTC) as the Primary Lever

Real-Time Coaching aligned to the Breakthrough Teacher Rubric and Arc of the Year (AOTY)  is the APSS’s primary mechanism for improving teacher practice and student outcomes.

To achieve this, the APSS:

• Defines the rubric bar clearly
• Calibrates consistently with the Principal
• Aligns with other leaders on quality expectations
• Coaches teachers toward rubric mastery using Breakthrough’s coaching model
• Uses observable classroom evidence to measure growth

This includes:

• In-the-moment instructional feedback
• Immediate corrections to instructional moves
• Resetting rigor when it slips
• Reinforcing alignment to lesson objectives
• Providing specific, actionable next steps
• Following up to ensure implementation

The APSS must be:

• Comfortable interrupting and/or stepping into instruction when necessary
• Skilled at identifying misalignment to rigor or standards
• Ready to model high-quality instructional moves across content areas
• Prepared to practice techniques with teachers until mastery is achieved

Coaching frequency and intensity are determined by evidence of student outcomes — not tenure or teacher self-perception.

If students are not mastering standards, coaching deepens.

The APSS collaborates to identify schoolwide instructional trends and align coaching priorities to broader school goals.

Further, as a member of the School Leadership Team, the APSS collaborates to ensure instructional expectations align with culture systems, student supports, intervention structures, and family communication — ensuring every aspect of the student experience reflects the Breakthrough Unified Model and coaching their teachers to uphold the model consistently.

3. Special Education & Student Services Leadership

The APSS owns the quality, rigor, and compliance of the educational experience for students with special needs.

This includes responsibility for:

• Ensuring IEPs and 504 Plans are implemented with fidelity across classrooms and settings, including delivery of required service minutes, accommodations, and modifications.
• Maintaining full compliance with state and federal regulations through accurate, timely documentation, reporting, service logs, and monitoring systems that prevent compliance risk.
• Overseeing student placement, grouping, and Least Restrictive Environment alignment to ensure access to high-quality Tier 1 instruction and inclusive classroom experiences.
• Strategically scheduling Intervention Specialists and service providers to maximize mandated service delivery while minimizing loss of core instruction time.
• Monitoring academic progress of students receiving services through regular data reviews and progress monitoring cycles.
• Ensuring accommodations, modifications, and intervention structures maintain grade-level rigor and accelerate learning rather than lower expectations.
• Partnering with families regarding student progress, services, and supports in a clear and proactive manner

The APSS ensures students with special needs:

• Access grade-level curriculum
• Receive high-quality instruction aligned to standards
• Experience inclusion settings that maintain rigor
• Demonstrate measurable academic growth
• Compliance alone is insufficient.
• Rigor and growth are required.

The APSS partners closely with Assistant Principals of Instruction to ensure coherence between instructional expectations and specialized supports.

4. Feedback Culture & Personal Growth

The APSS is both a coach and a learner. They receive functional role support from Breakthrough’s Student Services team.

APSSs receive frequent real-time coaching from:

• The Principal
• Managing Directors of Schools and/or Head of Schools
• Strategic instructional partners
  

They are expected to:

• Receive feedback non-defensively
• Adjust practice immediately
• Demonstrate visible growth in their coaching craft
• Seek calibration to strengthen impact
  

APSSs model what it looks like to receive feedback, refine practice, and raise the bar for themselves.

What Success Looks Like

A successful Breakthrough Assistant Principal of Student Services:

• Achieves measurable student growth through teacher development
• Ensures full fidelity to approved curriculum, scope and sequence, and grading guidelines
• Guarantees high-quality lesson internalization prior to instruction
• Uses frequent Real-Time Coaching to improve adult practice
• Models instructional excellence confidently
• Resets the bar immediately when rigor slips
• Collaborates effectively as a senior member of the School Leadership Team
• Receives and applies feedback to strengthen their coaching
  
  

Most importantly:

Student mastery improves because teacher preparation improves, instructional execution improves, and leadership across the school is aligned and coherent.

Skills & Qualifications

• 3 years of successful teaching experience required, preferably in an urban setting, with demonstrated student growth
• Strong knowledge of special education law and compliance (IDEA, 504, LRE)
• Experience implementing and monitoring IEPs and 504 Plans with fidelity
• Proven ability to analyze student data and drive academic progress for students receiving services
• Deep understanding of inclusive practices, accommodations, and intervention models that maintain grade-level rigor
• Experience coaching and developing teachers or service providers preferred
• Ability to give clear, direct, and actionable feedback
• Strong organizational skills to manage compliance, documentation, and service delivery systems
• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s in Special Education or Educational Leadership preferred
• Valid Ohio teaching license required; Intervention Specialist license strongly preferred
• Valid Ohio Principal Licensure preferred, inclusive of non-traditional Licensure Pathways  

Why Breakthrough

At Breakthrough Public Schools, leadership is not a title — it is a mindset.

We believe transformative schools are built by leaders who embody a clear set of mindsets that shape every decision, every interaction, and every outcome.

Our Assistant Principals of Student Services lead with the following mindsets:

We Do Our Job.

• We take full ownership of results.
• We do not blame circumstances, systems, or people — we improve them.
• We ensure the work gets done at a high level because students are counting on us.

We Hold High Expectations.

• We believe all students can achieve at the highest levels.
• We define excellence clearly and refuse to lower the bar.
• We intervene quickly when performance slips — in ourselves and in others.

 Kid Needs > Adult Needs.

• We make decisions based on what is best for students, even when it is hard.
• We prioritize long-term student success over short-term adult comfort.

We Communicate Openly and Honestly.

• We give direct, actionable feedback.
• We say what needs to be said in service of growth.
• We seek clarity and alignment rather than comfort.

 We Remain Committed.

• We persist through challenge.
• We do not waver when the work is difficult.
• We understand that consistency — not intensity — drives transformation.

We Center Joy.

• We believe rigor and joy coexist.
• We create environments where adults and students feel purpose, belonging, and pride.
• We celebrate growth and progress along the way.

Breakthrough operates as a unified system across five campuses, grounded in a shared school model and a clear Arc of the Year for adult and instructional excellence.

We are seeking Assistant Principals of Instruction who are relentless about outcomes, courageous in coaching adults, and unwavering in their commitment to students.

If you are energized by building strong teams, setting a clear bar, and driving meaningful academic growth for children — you will find your work here matters deeply.

ANY PERSON WHO KNOWINGLY MAKES A FALSE STATEMENT IS GUILTY OF FALISIFCATION UNDER SECTION 2921.13 OF THE REVISED CODE, WHICH IS A MISDEMEANOR OF THE FIRST DEGREE

DISCLAIMER: 

The information outlined in this job description indicates the general nature and type of work performed by employees within this classification.  It is not intended to provide a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities or competencies required of employees within this classification.

 Benefits:

Compensation packages are competitive and commensurate with experience. Breakthrough Schools offer a comprehensive benefit package that includes medical, dental and vision, life and disability coverage. Employees also participate in the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio (STRS) or the School Employees Retirement System of Ohio (SERS).

Breakthrough Public Schools is an equal opportunity employer and will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or national origin.

Salary : $75,000 - $85,000