City Garden Montessori School (CGMS) is seeking a principal of our Elementary and Adolescent Education Center (EAEC) to lead our 1st-8th grade building for the 2024-25 school year and beyond.

We are seeking an exceptional leader of adults strongly aligned with the Montessori philosophy. An EAEC principal will be grounded in anti-bias education and antiracist values and is excited to lead a charter public school that is reimagining education through these lenses. The EAEC principal should be deeply committed to both whole-child education and academic rigor and will have proven success and outcomes in meeting children’s needs holistically and achieving high academic outcomes for children of all backgrounds. We are seeking a leader who is excited to engage deeply with students, guides (teachers), staff, and families as partners, who loves to learn, who is open to giving and receiving constructive feedback, and who will always place children at the center of decisions and actions.

CITY GARDEN MONTESSORI SCHOOL - Charter founded in 2008

CGMS was founded in 1995 as a Montessori preschool. In the mid-2000s, as a response to the educational inequity that exists in St. Louis, preschool parents worked with the founders to open a charter public elementary school.

In 2021, CGMS expanded its preschool and kindergarten program and in 2022, CGMS opened its new Elementary and Adolescent Center (EAEC), housing lower elementary (1st-3rd grade), upper elementary (4th-6th grade) and junior high (7th-8th grade) students. CGMS now serves 581 students in preschool through eighth grade across two buildings (207 students at the Early Childhood Education Center and 374 students at the EAEC). CGMS will continue to grow over the next three years until the school reaches 700 students, with 500 of these students housed at the EAEC.

We achieve our mission by combining the Montessori Theory of Development, rigorous state standards and an Anti-Bias, Antiracism (ABAR) framework in an intentionally diverse school setting. You can read CGMS’s strategic framework here.

MISSION AND VALUES
CGMS’s mission is to redefine education by developing the whole child in an excellent, inclusive, Montessori school; to reimagine community by creating spaces and systems that help to restore our collective humanity; and to reinvigorate our world by creating a culture in which individuals and communities thrive without disparities or barriers to success.

CGMS’ Core Values are Academic Rigor, Inclusive Excellence, Connection through Community, and Racial Equity and Social Justice.

BEING A LEADER AT CITY GARDEN MONTESSORI SCHOOL

City Garden Montessori School seeks passionate educators who have proven to be ambitious self-starters and operate with both empathy and accountability. Working at CGMS is ideal for a leader with deep passion for learning, who takes the work seriously but not themselves, who has a commitment to achieving ambitious outcomes while honoring the whole person, and who is eager to participate in a collaborative environment that is striving to redefine education through our unique school model. A successful leader at CGMS will both seek and provide regular feedback, guidance and support and will nurture a culture of commitment and constant learning.

The EAEC principal will provide leadership to motivate, prepare, and coordinate staff to strive for excellent performance in order to provide the best possible opportunities for student growth and development, both educationally and personally. The EAEC principal serves as the educational leader of CGMS’ elementary and adolescent building, responsible for managing the policies, regulations, and procedures to ensure that all students are supervised in a safe, joyful, orderly environment that meets the curricula and mission of the school. It is the charge of the EAEC principal to ensure that all students achieve their personal best and are prepared for a future in which they are fully equipped to fulfill their unique purpose. Further, the EAEC principal is charged with managing the day-to-day operations of the school through a distributive leadership approach of the EAEC administrative team.

All members of CGMS’ leadership team are responsible for setting vision in a collaborative environment, planning to implement this vision, supporting the needs of the school holistically, and collaboratively leading the school towards yearly and long-term outcomes. CGMS leaders are committed to building strong foundations as a team and developing processes and systems that support the success of all stakeholders. They embrace a growth mindset for themselves and encourage and develop it with staff, students, and parents.

QUALIFICATIONS (for the complete list, please consult the job description):

• A passionate belief in City Garden Montessori School’s mission, values, and educational model
• At least 8 years of experience in education (K-8)
• At least 3 years of successful educational leadership experience with exceptional results (school leadership and principal certification preferred)
• Familiarity with Montessori education
• Experience managing multiple stakeholders simultaneously (ex: students, staff, parents/caregivers, leadership team, board of directors)
• Experience coaching teachers (strongly preferred)

TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT

• Aligned to the “12-month employee” calendar (July 1st through June 30th)
• Benefits:
• Paid Time Off/Vacation: 21 days of PTO/year Winter Break, Spring Break, and Holidays as outlined in the school calendar
• Health, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance; option to add dependents
• School admissions preference and free before and aftercare for children of employees
• Retirement
• Enrolled in the PSRSSTL pension system
• Salary/Pay
• Compensation is commensurate with experience ($95,000-$110,000)
• Reports to the CEO

To apply, please visit https://citygardenmontessori.applytojob.com/apply
Please submit the following materials as part of your application:

• Updated resume
• Transcripts* (unofficial are acceptable until hired)
• Certification*
• Answer all questions thoroughly

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $95,000.00 - $110,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

School type:

• Charter school
• Montessori
• Public school

Work Location: In person