Associate Principal (Secondary) - INTERNAL ONLY, Salem Public Schools, Salem, MA [SY 2026-2027]

Associate Principal (Secondary) - INTERNAL ONLY, Salem Public Schools, Salem, MA [SY 2026-2027]

About Salem Public Schools, where belonging leads to opportunity.

Salem is a small, diverse city with a proud maritime and immigrant history. Salem Public Schools is an urban public school district enrolling nearly 4,000 students in 11 schools. Our vision is to ensure that all students will be locally engaged, globally connected, and fully prepared to thrive in a diverse and changing world. We hold dear our core values of belonging, equity, and opportunity in everything we do. We seek individuals who are passionate about urban education and understand the urgency of improving student achievement for all students, regardless of ability, economic status, gender/gender identity, language, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, or other backgrounds. We invite you to learn more about our strategic plan and core priorities on our website at https://salemk12.org/.

What You’ll Do:

The Associate Principal (Secondary) serves as a key instructional and operational leader within the school, working in close partnership with the Principal to ensure high-quality teaching and learning, a culture of belonging, and strong family and community partnerships. This role bridges the responsibilities of Assistant Principal and Principal by assuming schoolwide leadership for instructional improvement, assisting the Principal with staff supervision, equity-focused culture-building, and operational systems. The Associate Principal (Secondary) will build and manage critical systems for student support, academic excellence, positive school climate and safety and may be responsible for additional duties, sometimes after hours attending school activities or involving grant-funded and other school improvement initiatives. The Associate Principal is a full-time, full-year position who will be on-site more frequently (before and after school, as well as on some weekends, evenings, and vacations) to support the many transition activities.

A Salem Public School  Associate Principal (Secondary) Must:

• Put students first. Students are at the heart of our schools and we look to recruit and select leaders who make decisions in their best interest.

• Strengthen the culture of teaching and learning. The Associate Principal (Secondary) of an SPS  school will change ideas about how young children learn in the 21st century and will redefine expectations about what young people in America’s urban centers are capable of achieving.

• Demonstrate innovative and entrepreneurial thinking. The Salem Public Schools value robust approaches to teaching and learning, especially in urban areas where standard practices have not always served young people well. Modeling innovation in other sectors, the Associate Principal (Secondary) will use technology to advance improved teaching and learning practices and implement more robust assessments, support teachers and leaders as innovators, invest early in promising practices, and collect and use data to diagnose problems-of-practice and evaluate effectiveness of initiatives and to course-correct when necessary. 

• Engage families and the community as equal partners in the school improvement process. The SPS Associate Principal (Secondary) identifies deepening partnerships with parents, students, and the community as a key strategy for improving student learning outcomes. An effective leader is able to conduct this important work with the many diverse populations that we have represented in our district.  

• Receive high levels of support in demand for high levels of accountability. Because teachers and leaders are innovators, SPS realizes that they need high-touch, meaningful, and job-embedded support. This will be provided through the district’s new and innovative network model. In exchange, the district holds instructional staff accountable for student learning, their own professional development, and their contributions to the school learning community.

• Foster professional environments that value collaboration, data use, and continual improvement. Teachers must work together to collect and analyze data to sustain cycles of inquiry and improvement. Continual learning and data-driven decision-making are core to developing and supporting highly effective schools.

Major Duties and Responsibilities:

Schoolwide Leadership, Strategic Oversight, and Instructional Leadership

• Serves as acting principal when the principal is not in the building, making building-level decisions on instruction, safety, and operations

• Co-develop and implement a School Improvement Plan that sets the direction for school improvement efforts (for secondary includes focus areas such as graduation pathways, college readiness, and school culture)
• Collaborate with principal and other members of the school leadership team to ensure that all students leave school ready for the next level whether that is high school, higher education, or career pathways
• Leads and plans middle school to high school transition events - develops outreach materials, coordinates events, organizes Summer Bridge and establishes systems to ensure a smooth transition from 8th to 9th grade
• Oversees after school credit recovery as well as alternative scheduling and the community office
• Carefully monitors on-track indicators: credits earned, attendance, behavior trends, course failures, etc. for students who benefit from these services
• Coordinate standards-based data collection and interventions, reviewing priority standards and addressing reteaching needs across teams
• Analyze student achievement results to identify areas in greatest need of improvement and to inform school improvement efforts
• Work with the principal to ensure that the learning needs of all students__Special Education, Multilingual Learners, and General Education__are met
• Analyze other data such as attendance patterns, graduation projections, early warning indicators, and assessment data and communicates data trends to staff and department heads to improve instructional outcomes
• Effectively supervise the classroom teams, content-based coaches, reading specialists and other support staff
• Support and supervise the design of rigorous, standards-based instruction with measurable outcomes
• Institute immediate targeted interventions and monitor their effectiveness
• Conduct daily classroom observations to analyze instruction, supervise staff, and provide feedback to ensure continuous improvement in teaching and learning
• Engage in continuous learning and on-going professional development with principal cabinet
• Facilitates staff meetings to further support SPS’ commitment to anti-racism
• Lead and support PLCs, professional development, and coaching cycles

Management and Operations

• Oversees after school programming including daily supervision of staff member(s) facilitating detention
• Assists with supervision of operations related to athletics, fine arts, clubs, and extracurriculars
• Assist with the recruitment and retention of a diverse staff
• As a leadership team, align the use of people, money, and materials to the school's instructional priorities
• Assist with budget alignment to instructional priorities
• Help develop systems for optimal use of time by creating schedules/procedures that maximize instructional time and provide sufficient meeting time for all teams. Deflect activities that prevent staff from focusing on student learning during team time.
• Help with the management of school, facilities, and operations
• Comply with the state and federal laws, policies and collective bargaining agreements
• Assist with the supervision arrival, dismissal, lunch, recess, and emergency procedures
• Serve as acting principal as needed
• Prepare reports, handbooks and communications
• Support field trips, extracurriculars, and special events

Family and Community Engagement

• Strengthen teacher and staff capacity to cultivate and sustain meaningful partnerships with families of diverse backgrounds and with community members that support student achievement and student well being
• Work with the leadership team to establish two-way communication tools for parents in their respective languages
• Seek and develop strategic partnerships that will provide students with access to extracurricular and out of school time activities that add value and help drive academic success

• Attend, participate in and support PTO/parent advisory groups

• Along with the principal, represent the school with partner agencies, community organizations, and universities

School Culture

• Lead and oversees RISE meetings and RISK review to ensure fidelity to protocols and follow-up to ensure that student needs are met
• Oversees restorative practices, peer mediation, and interventions for repeated behavior issues.
• Promote a positive, inclusive, identity-affirming school climate
• Lead or co-lead schoolwide culture systems (ex: houses, recognition programs, restorative practices)
• Help to oversee attendance and student conduct systems focused on relationships and growth
• Ensure students and families receive needed supports
• Develops professional development for all staff focused on improving student culture, support and engagement.

• Maintain visibility and accessibility to students, staff, and families

Professional Culture

• Identify key levers that foster accelerated school improvement/turnaround
• Demonstrate high expectations for all students and staff and a commitment to providing the support required to attain them
• Demonstrate cultural competencies and antiracist leadership through behaviors and decision-making
• Establish a collegial environment that honors and encourages staff's continuous learning
• Assists with managing conflicts and foster consensus building
• Foster teacher leadership through delegation, shared leadership and decision-making

Job Requirements:

• Master's Degree Required
• Required Massachusetts teaching certification/licensure as a School Principal/Assistant Principal (5-12)
• Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) Endorsement (Required within 1-year of start date)
• Minimum of five (5) years of Teaching, Administrative or Assistant Principal experience (urban public school setting preferred)
• Demonstrates a high degree of energy and a genuine interest in students and their success
• Experience working in an urban public school or charter school setting preferred
• Strong desire to work within a turnaround, extended day, urban educational program
• Experience working with students & families of diverse ethnic backgrounds
• A comprehensive knowledge of curriculum, instruction & assessment as they relate to  instruction and pedagogy
• Proficiency with technology (blended learning, teacher/family communication suites (Parent Square), Google G-Suite Apps, etc.) desirable
• Bilingual candidates and candidates of color strongly encouraged to apply
• Current authorization to work in the United States

Work Year: This is a full-time, full-year position. Please click here to view the 2026-27 district and/or school calendars. 

Salary: Associate Principal (Elementary) salaries in the Salem Public Schools are determined by the Salem Administrators Association collective bargaining agreement. Salary information can be found in Appendix A. 

Benefits: The City of Salem offers Group Insurance Commission (GIC) benefits to all full-time employees. Click here for more information about our health benefits.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Salem Public School District is committed to maintaining a work and learning environment free from discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, pregnancy, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital/civil union status, ancestry, place of birth, age, citizenship status, veteran status, political affiliation, genetic information or disability, as defined and required by state and federal laws. Additionally, we prohibit retaliation against individuals who oppose such discrimination and harassment or who participate in an equal opportunity investigation.