Middle School Principal
Who We Are:
School in the Square (S2) is a fast-growing charter school currently serving elementary and middle school students, with plans to serve families from Pre-K - 12 with the opening of a high school with 9th grade in Fall, 2023. S2 engages, educates and empowers its students to respond mindfully and creatively to life’s opportunities and challenges. Drawing its name from the concept of the public square or “la placita”, our mantra is “Relationships First”. S2 is where communities come together to solve problems and celebrate successes. Here, students, families and educators are seen, heard, and inspired. S2 students build the academic foundations, social-emotional intelligence, and the leadership skills necessary to excel in college and professional life. Our community is grounded in principles of justice, equity, diversity and inclusivity (JEDI), enacting a culturally responsive and sustaining lens to our pedagogical practice and consistently examining the ways we can continue to walk firmly in the pursuit of social justice and against injustice of any kind. We take seriously our obligation as an anchor institution in our community. We understand that our students’ ability to learn is directly impacted by their access to basic needs. Through our Family Support Program, we support over 200 families every month with bimonthly food pantries and other essential services, including internet hotspots and rent relief.
Our Middle School:
Our middle school is our founding location. It expands on S2’s vision of our dual language elementary school (Dos Amigos) and prepares students for our rigorous high school experience. All of our schools are culturally responsive, have a rigorous academic program with adequate scaffolding and support for all students to be successful, and have a focus on students developing their voices and sense of agency that they will use to forge their own futures and help their communities. Student Inquiry is at the heart of the culturally responsive curriculum, in which students will see themselves reflected while serving as well as a window to a wider world.
Our Middle School Principal:
School in the Square Charter School is seeking a dynamic, experienced, and transformative Middle School Principal to bridge our elementary and high school programs. The Middle School Principal, reporting directly to the Head of Schools, will partner with stakeholders from across our community to bring S2’s vision for quality schools to life on a daily basis. This instrumental leader will be responsible for the performance, management, and operations of the Middle School community under the guidance and leadership of our Executive Director and Head of Schools.
Responsibilities of the Middle School Principal:
The Principal will drive rigorous instruction and create a culture of academic ownership by:
- Ensuring that high quality curriculum and pedagogy is implemented across discipline, content areas and tutorial settings. Ensuring welcoming inclusion of diverse learner populations;
- Overseeing use of daily, weekly and monthly assessment systems throughout the school aligned to state standards and designed to accelerate student outcomes and foster their passion for learning. Working with students, families, and staff to utilize the information to improve learning and teaching;
- Coordinating instructional, assessment, curricular, culture support with the Head of Schools;
- Developing and implementing an effective high school strategy that enlists students, families, and staff in a common effort for student college and career readiness.
- Supporting S2’s commitment to fostering strong relationships with students, families, and staff to ensure collective investment in student success.
The Principal will empower and develop teachers and leaders by:
- Ensuring that systems are implemented effectively to develop, support, coach and supervise teachers in a way that builds teacher knowledge, inspires and enlists them, and holds them accountable for student learning;
- Leading, facilitating, and developing mid-level leaders to facilitate robust school-based professional development that helps staff master the fundamentals of classroom management, backward-design planning relationship-building, communication with students and families, data-driven action planning, and implementation of schoolwide cultural, academic, operational, and extracurricular systems and initiatives; and
- Creating a culture where all staff give and receive feedback fluidly – both positive and constructive – as part of daily practice.
The Principal will lead the school’s continued excellence by:
- Supporting the Executive Director in increasing student enrollment to grow our community
- Ensuring the implementation of effective youth culture systems that build off strengths-based leadership development research and enlist staff and students to establishing an effective and caring culture in the school;
- Establishing effective and regular ongoing systems of communication with teachers, students and parents/guardians/families within the Middle School. Collaborate with the Chief Programs & Engagement Officer in communication with the greater Washington Heights/Inwood community. Supporting the Executive Director in communication to the Board and State Education Department; this includes the following:
- All members of the school community are fully engaged and can bring their whole selves to the school
- A warm, caring, and strengths-based culture is built, deeply committed to student learning and success, that values openness, hard work, and achievement
- Ongoing work on diversity, equity and inclusion for staff, students, and families;
- Demonstrating commitment to personal and professional continued growth as is being fostered among the staff.
Who You Are:
- Experienced as a full-time effective, impactful middle school administrator with a minimum of three years of school leadership with demonstrated success improving student outcomes
- Skilled in current teaching methods and educational pedagogy, with knowledge of co-teaching strategies and differentiation to meet individual student needs
- A strategic, solutions-focused thinker with strong communication and planning skills
- A strong relationship builder, you get personal fulfillment by teaching, coaching and collaborating with students and colleagues
- Adept at studying data in order to drive instructional practices
- Able to lead restorative practices, a strong believer in anti-racist education, culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogy, trauma-informed practices
- A graduate of a M.A., Ed.M or Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and/or Educational Administration, preferred
- Certified as a New York State School Administrator, preferred
- Biliterate in Spanish, preferred
What You Can Expect From Us:
At S2 we take as much care of our staff as we do of our students. S2 is committed to supporting our leaders by helping them build sustainable, rewarding careers that center on each educator’s passions and multi-disciplinary interests. All of our faculty and staff are valued professionals and we are proud to provide extended planning time, team-building and collaboration, comfortable and friendly working conditions, and more to ensure our team members all have the tools they need to succeed.
School in the Square understands specific groups are subject to marginalization. We believe these powerful groups should be centered in our community and are highly encouraged to apply. We are an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer.
Compensation & Benefits
At S2 we take as much care of our teachers and staff as we do of our students. S2 is committed to supporting our staff by helping them build sustainable, rewarding careers that center on each educator’s passions and multi-disciplinary interests. All of our faculty and staff are valued professionals, and we are proud to provide extended planning time, team-building and collaboration, comfortable and friendly working conditions, and more to ensure our team members all have the tools they need to succeed.
The salary range for this role is $160,000 - $210,000; individual salaries are set based on years of experience, education level, and certifications obtained. S2 also has opportunities for supplemental compensation, an excellent benefits package with a 401(k) with a 6% organizational match, longevity bonus, generous paid time off, access to a federal student loan debt reduction program, and a friendly work environment.
School in the Square provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, amnesty, or status as a covered veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws. School in the Square complies with applicable state and local laws governing non-discrimination in employment. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including, but not limited to, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.
