Middle School Principal Job Description

Location: Bronx, NY

Our mission at The Mott Haven Academy Charter School is to empower children in a supportive educational environment while addressing and reducing the barriers to academic success through the integration of family support services with a rigorous, college-preparatory academic program.

We believe all children can learn, regardless of the challenges they face outside school. At Haven Academy—the nation’s first school designed specifically for children navigating the foster care or child welfare systems—we bring that commitment to life by combining trauma-informed instruction, rigorous academics, and social-emotional curricula to support all our students.

The Middle School Principal embodies the mission of the school and articulates the mission and vision for all aspects of the middle school’s program. The Principal is the academic and instructional leader and fosters a safe and learning-driven school culture. This includes focusing on significantly improving student achievement, building a positive school climate that supports the whole student, leveraging research and data to drive initiatives and instruction, and building and supporting a high performing staff to achieve the school’s vision and goals. The Principal will collaborate with staff, students, parents, community members and stakeholders to implement strong educational programs, systems, tools and other resources to accelerate student achievement.

The ideal leader is someone who has demonstrated the ability to actively engage staff and community stakeholders through a culture of innovation, while strategically developing the competencies of everyone within the broader school ecosystem. The Principal will be expected to establish a high-quality, high-expectations academic center with a focus on personalized instruction, professional support for teachers, and school-wide practices that lead to measurable results. The successful candidate will bring a combination of proven skills in a school leadership role coupled with the entrepreneurial disposition essential for leading a highly innovative, academically rigorous urban school.

OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES: HONESTY. ACHIEVEMENT. VALUE COMMUNITY. EMPATHY. NEVER GIVE UP.

Curriculum and Instruction

• Upholds the academic and instructional standards of the school, in alignment with requirements
• Supervises the creation of curricula, class schedules, assessments, graduation requirements, and all aspects of the school’s academic program
• Optimizes the physical learning environment and technology in all instructional areas
• Ensures that the core curricula are implemented to effectively meet the needs of students

Instructional Leadership

• Leads and inspires professionalism, collegiality, and ethical conduct in the team
• Leads regularly scheduled data, curriculum and social emotional team meetings
• Provides for the professional development of the team, supporting teachers in developing competence through modeling, observing, providing feedback, and supporting teacher reflection
• Models effective instructional practices in staff meetings, professional development sessions and team meetings
• Works with teachers and instructional staff in establishing positive classroom climates
• Supports teachers in establishing effective classroom management systems and developing students’ positive social behaviors
• Reviews teacher lesson plans for quality ensuring standards alignment, rigor, differentiation, etc.

Social Emotional Learning and Trauma Sensitive Model

• Designs, implements and adjusts innovative school programming to teach social emotional skills to children
• Commits to using EMPATHY as a core tenant to school programming, decision making and professional development
• Keeps current on new research about the interplay between education, trauma and social emotional learning
• Plans data initiatives to collect and analyze growth in social emotional domains

School Culture

• Promotes a safe, supportive, and healthy student and adult culture in and out of school that evidences high expectations
• Optimizes all-school gatherings including assemblies, sporting events, performances, etc.
• Administers the school’s restorative practices and logical consequences discipline policies and standards of conduct
• Provides for character education and ethical teachings in keeping with the mission of the school
• Supervises the school’s support systems, such as counseling, academic support, before- and after-school programs, high school placement, health and wellness, etc.
• Reports student progress to parents on a timely and helpful basis

Business and Operations

• Understands and supervises the business functions of the middle school, including budgeting, monitoring and reporting on purchasing and expenses
• Oversees the school safety programs including building security, emergency procedures, transportation regulations, lockdown and fire evacuation drills, etc.
• Oversees all employment and human relations matters, such as job assignments, job orientation, performance evaluation, retentions and dismissals, personnel records, employee handbooks, etc.
• Maintains and updates student information, in the areas of academics, personal contact info, health and emergency info, and parental permission, using State Required database and school database
• Oversees the maintenance and cleaning of the buildings, grounds, and middle school operations including vehicles, grounds, etc.

Additional qualifications for this position

• Extremely high expectations for students and teachers
• Experience with children in a similar demographic group in an educational setting and ability to work with a diverse group of children
• Ability to see and communicate the big picture in an inspiring way to students and colleagues
• Success in driving outcomes in an urban or low-income environment and success leading adults
• Empowering, respectful, and open management style with excellent listening and coaching skills
• Experience and ease dealing with issues of race, social justice, and economic security, and diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Flexibility and sense of humor
• Demonstrated ability to evaluate student strengths and growth areas
• Demonstrated willingness to be held accountable for student results and continuous improvement
• Demonstrated calm under pressure
• Strong organizational, time management, and computer skills
• Spanish speaking, preferred
• Administrative certificate, preferred

All Haven Academy employees will have: a commitment to the School’s Mission, a track record of success in their field, agreement with the academic goals and philosophy of the School, experience cultivating parental involvement in education, a commitment to accountability, a clear understanding of and commitment to charter schools as schools of choice for public school families, and a commitment to excellence in all respects. Compensation package will be competitive and commensurate with experience.

Mott Haven Academy Charter School is an equal opportunity employer. Haven Academy does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, disability, age, religion, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin. Candidates with experience and a commitment to serving urban areas are strongly encouraged to apply.