Senior Vice President of Schools - Bright Star Schools

Position Title:            Senior Vice President of Schools

Reports to:                 Lead Executive Officer/ CEO

Status:                        Exempt, Full-Time, 12-month

Who We Are:

Bright Star Schools is a free, publicly funded and open enrollment non-profit organization with nine public charters in urban Los Angeles. Across all of our Bright Star sites, over 90% of our students are eligible for free and reduced lunch.

Our mission is to provide holistic, inclusive support for all students to achieve academic excellence and grow their unique talents so that they find joy in higher education, career, and life. Bright Star students will become leaders who act with integrity and champion equity to enrich our communities and the world. The framework to our success is our core operating principles, which are Integridad, Ubuntu, Kohyang (고향), and Growth.

Our educators join a family that is passionate and committed to developing all students to become well-rounded citizens. We offer small class sizes, comprehensive coordinator support, and numerous collaboration opportunities across the organization and within school sites. We strongly believe in listening to all stakeholders’ voices, and we work to increase teaching practice and effectiveness through our data-driven and feedback-derived professional development. 

Role Summary

We are seeking a strategic, practice-driven, and hands-on Senior Vice President of Schools to oversee principal and school performance, drive academic excellence, and scale our impact across the network. The Senior Vice President of Schools (SVPS) will join the CEO’s Sr. Leadership team and be responsible for driving instructional quality and student outcomes across all Bright Star Schools. The SVP of Schools will directly manage and coach 8-10 Principals and lead the design and execution of rigorous, inclusive instructional programs aligned with the BSS strategic plan and each school’s goals.

Reporting to the CEO, the Senior Vice President of Schools will ensure that schools have the systems, structures, and fidelity of practice needed to monitor progress, gather evidence of impact, and continuously improve research-based best practices. They will work in close partnership with the Chief Instructional Officer to build the leadership capacity of all Principals, create systems of growth and accountability, and hold system-wide standards of excellence.

Beyond school performance, the SVP of Schools plays a critical role in building leadership capacity across the network by developing principals, assistant principals, and aspiring leaders in alignment with Bright Star’s annual priorities and the broader vision of the senior leadership team.

What You’ll Do:

Build a Vision for Strong School Leadership

• In service of Bright Star’s mission and student experience, ensure the consistent execution and stewardship of the research-based Bright Star Leadership Model to advance instructional excellence and equitable outcomes for all students.
• Partner closely with the Chief Instructional Officer (CIO) and members of the School Support Team (ILT: Instructional Leadership Team, BOLT, Culture, Operations, Inclusive Education) to design and implement a robust, network-wide leadership coaching and development system.
• Ensure leadership practices, expectations, and support are aligned to Bright Star’s strategic plan, annual priorities, and long-term vision.
• Create strong learning, communication, and feedback structures that promote collaboration, leadership growth, and high-quality implementation across schools.

Team Management, Coaching & Development

• Directly supervise, coach, and evaluate 8-10 Principals and Assistant Principals, building leadership capacity and ensuring alignment to Bright Star priorities, instructional goals, and accountability structures.
• Develop and implement a network-wide leadership framework (rubric, onboarding, coaching, and progress monitoring) to support goal setting, performance tracking, and continuous improvement.
• Design and deliver differentiated, data-informed tiers of support for school leaders, including targeted turnaround support for underperforming schools.
• Partner with HR and Talent to strengthen principal development, evaluation, succession planning, and leadership pipeline pathways.

Communities of Practice & Professional Learning

• Design and oversee year-long learning sequences for Principal and Assistant Principal Communities of Practice.
• Develop and deliver targeted professional development aligned to Bright Star’s instructional vision, leadership competencies, and strategic priorities.
• Plan for and facilitate school-level Data Talks at least twice annually to support principals in holistic data analysis and instructional decision-making.
• In collaboration with the CIO and ILT, implement a consistent cadence of network-wide instructional rounds and support instructional and leadership practices across grade spans and school clusters.

Oversight & Management of Compliance

• Build school leader capacity in compliance, accountability, charter renewal, and oversight processes, partnering with relevant School Support Team members.
• Review and approve Master Schedules to ensure instructional priorities, student needs, and Bright Star’s vision are fully operationalized.
• Lead and support principals through charter oversight and renewal processes by coordinating effective cross-functional support.
• Ensure effective implementation of Inclusive Education, Culture, Operations, Data, and Instructional practices at the school level, aligned to organizational guardrails and expectations.

Communication, Systems Building & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Collaborate with Chiefs, SVPs, and VPs to ensure systems, processes, and expectations are aligned to support principals as instructional leaders.
• Gather and integrate feedback from HR, Operations, Family Engagement, and other departments to inform principal coaching and development.
• Partner with the CIO and VP of Data to design and refine School Data Dashboards that support instructional leadership and decision-making.
• Serve as a thought partner to departments rolling out initiatives to schools, ensuring clarity, feasibility, and alignment.

Performance Outcomes

• Success in this role is defined by measurable impact, including:
• Increased student proficiency in literacy and math.
• Reduction in chronic absenteeism across supervised schools.
• Improved student belonging and culture survey results.
• Strong principal retention and leadership pipeline development.
• Effective implementation of instructional guardrails and master scheduling expectations.
• Improved cross-campus alignment and execution of network priorities.

What You’ll Bring:

• Bachelor’s Degree, Master’s Degree preferred.
• At least five years as a successful school principal.
• Tier 2 Administrative Credential.
• Experience across at least two school levels (e.g., middle school and high school).
• Proven track record of success in driving student achievement.
• Embodies Bright Star Core Values in all aspects of their work.
• Desired (but not required) in order of importance: Fluency in a second language, Spanish strongly preferred

What We Offer:

Salary: $162,000 - $202,000

Start Date: July 1, 2026

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Benefits: Health, dental, vision, STRS retirement matching, life insurance, optional 403b plan, Paid Time Off, and holidays.

Please note:

Effective January 1, 2025: Under Education Code section 44939.5, you must provide a complete list of all prior employment with any school district, county office of education, charter school, or state special school, including part-time and substitute roles. You can provide your complete prior employment history within the work experience section of the application. Failure to disclose this information may be considered dishonesty in the hiring process or during employment. 

Bright Star Schools is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, pregnancy, or veteran status.