2023 -2024 Assistant Head of School

Founded in 1961, Sandy Spring Friends School is a progressive, coed, academically-rigorous day and boarding school serving approximately 600 students from age three through 12th grade. The campus is located on 140 acres in the historic Sandy Spring area of Montgomery County, Maryland, and the School is approved by the Maryland State Board of Education and accredited by the Association of Independent Maryland Schools.

Our school’s culture, rooted in the idea that collaboration engenders achievement, can be traced to our Quaker heritage and abiding belief in the Quaker values of simplicity, equality, honesty, stewardship of the environment, and peaceful resolution of conflict.

2023 - 2024 Assistant Head of School, Full time, 12 months, Exempt

Summary: Reporting directly to the Head of School and a member of the Administrative Council, the Assistant Head of School is an educational leader, a chief strategist, and the School’s lead administrator when the Head of School is unavailable. The Assistant Head of School is responsible for cross-divisional and cross-departmental coordination to ensure the smooth, mission-aligned delivery of curriculum, program, and student and faculty support structures from PK3-12th grade. The Assistant Head of School has oversight of employee professional development and evaluation. The Assistant Head of School models Quaker values and Quaker processes as a key advisor to the Head of School and an important mentor for all faculty, staff, and administration. The Director of Learning Supports, Director of Health Center, Director of Counseling Services, Director of Technology, Director of Inquiry Guides, and the 6th-12th Grade Department Chairs report directly to the Assistant Head of School.

Responsibilities:

• Serves as Clerk of the Curriculum Committee to coordinate efforts among the division heads and department chairs to sustain a coherent, academically challenging, culturally competent and inclusive curriculum geared towards fulfilling the mission of the School and meeting the needs of SSFS students now and for the future

• Clerk the 6th-12th Grade Department Chairs group to ensure consistency, alignment, and clear articulation of curricular scope and sequence and policy and practices across divisions.

• Lead efforts, in conjunction with the three division heads, Director of Human Resources, Director of Institutional Equity, Justice, and Belonging, and the Head of School, to develop and maintain an effective system of faculty professional growth and evaluation. This includes oversight and coordination of the Folio program for all faculty and staff, in collaboration with any employee who manages direct reports

• Clerk the Academic Team of the Administrative Council, whose purpose is to share information and decision-making across constituents for the school’s academic plans and initiatives

• Lead efforts, in conjunction with the Professional Development Allocation Committee, composed of the three division heads, Director of Institutional Equity, Justice, and Belonging, Chief Financial Officer, and the Head of School, to develop and maintain an effective system of faculty and staff professional development. This includes oversight of the professional development budget and request process, coordinating in-service days, our weekly all-school employee meetings, and our pre-sessional and post-sessional meetings and trainings

• Clerk the planning and implementation of the SSFS Summer Professional Development Institute in August

• Clerk a Student Support Services Team composed of the Director of Learning Supports, Director of Counseling Services , and Director of Health Center

• Serve on School-wide committees related to academic, co-curricular, or student support programs, including the Division Heads Group and other standing or ad-hoc committees, as determined by the Head of School

• Attend all board meetings and serve as the administrative liaison to the board’s Diversity, Community, and Spiritual Life Committee

• Lead the School’s accreditation process for the Association of Independent Maryland Schools

• Participate in recruitment, interviewing, and selection of prospective employees

• In the absence of the Head of School, serve as the lead school administrator

• Special projects, work groups, task forces, and committees as assigned by the Head of School

Knowledge and Skill Set Requirements:

• At least 3 years of senior administrative experience leading teams of faculty, staff, and administrators

• Proven educational leader with a strong background in pedagogy, cultural competency, and culturally responsive teaching

• Strategic thinker and a personable community builder

• Visionary, student-centered, emotionally intelligent leader with strong leadership and management skills who embraces Quaker values, processes, and decision-making

• Strong, diplomatic communicator skilled in fostering partnerships, building trust and consensus within community, and understanding multiple perspectives

• Demonstrated commitment to and knowledge in concepts related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging

• Highly effective organizer and delegator who is collaborative and effective behind the scenes and as an out-front leader

• Skilled time and task manager with strong executive functioning skills and consistent follow-through

• Demonstrated classroom teaching experience

• Adept at understanding the independent school landscape locally, regionally, and nationally

Education:

• Bachelor's degree required

Please note that the School has a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy, which requires that all employees be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and provide proof of vaccination, including documentation of a booster shot given five months or more since you completed the final dose in the primary series.

Physical Requirements:

• Daily desk work including significant amounts of telephone and computer time; as part of daily routines, moving around a large campus with uneven pavement and managing stairs; frequent walking inside and outside as part of general job duties and responding to students and/or incidents.

• Ability to use a computer for extended periods of time for administrative tasks including but not limited to: composing, sending, reading emails; accessing internet-based materials and resources; reading, editing, and writing letters, reports, documentation; participation in online conferences, webinars, teleconferences.

  
  

Commitment to Diversity: Sandy Spring Friends School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or a person's status as a qualified candidate with a disability in administration of its educational program, admission policies, financial aid program, staff hiring, and other school-administered programs.