Principal

Overview

Ascend principals are the academic and culture leaders of our schools. They create school-wide visions, drive educational outcomes, and advance educational equity through the educators they lead. In short, they bring the Ascend mission to life. Our principals are passionate about developing their staff and rally their leaders and teams to achieve ambitious school goals. Through the intentional creation of vibrant school communities, principals inspire staff and students to engage in rigorous and purposeful learning. They succeed when those under their care succeed. They develop enduring and joyful relationships with students, teachers, parents, community members, and other network teammates, and they build and maintain a strong presence for their schools in the local communities.

The principal role is an ideal opportunity for a collaborative and flexible thinker eager for feedback and professional development to play a central leadership role in growing and shaping one of our high-performing public charter schools. As an Ascend principal, you will assume a critical leadership role within a broader network committed to ensuring our students have the knowledge, confidence, and character to succeed in college and beyond.

Why extraordinary teachers teach at Ascend

Ascend is the largest Brooklyn-based public charter school serving nearly 6,000 K-12 students in 17 schools. We exist to serve every student - to help them embody their inherent excellence by providing rich, joyful learning experiences that unlock a life of boundless choice.

Access to education is a social justice issue. As educators, we center justice and live out our commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism (DEIA) by ensuring that our students have the skills, tools, and confidence they need to thrive today and in the future. We are proud to have a workforce that mirrors the diversity seen in our students. Working at Ascend provides a community focused on developing an environment of support and belonging. Educators collaborate closely and encourage each other to achieve great outcomes.

Our schools honor, nurture, and challenge the whole child. Ascend fosters critical thinking skills and a love of learning through an inquiry-based learning approach, Responsive Classroom model, and anti-racist education. We are deeply committed to advancing educational equity for all of our students. Students at Ascend benefit from a rich and rigorous liberal arts curriculum that nurtures natural curiosity about the world and guides them to think critically and independently.

For more information on Ascend Public Charter Schools' model, approach, and core values, please visit our website.

Qualifications

Bachelor's degree, with advanced degree preferred

At least three years teaching experience with a proven track record of elevating student achievement

At least two years experience leading, managing, and coaching a team of adults and demonstrates ability to drive results through the supervision of others

A hunger for feedback and self-improvement

A high level of ownership over the overall outcomes of the scholars they lead

Ability to be a bold, tireless, and engaging change agent and culture creator

Self-awareness, demonstrating an accurate idea of one's own strengths and weaknesses and an ability to treat all members of the school's community with respect

Skilled in content, pedagogy, and data-driven instruction as evidenced by quantitative and qualitative data

Strong collaboration, interpersonal, and communication skills, including an ability to work effectively with people from diverse backgrounds and with diverse perspectives

Strong organizational, self-management, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to handle many responsibilities simultaneously

Alignment with the educational philosophy and core beliefs of Ascend Learning Compensation

Initial salary offers for this position range from $130,000 - $150,000. Salaries are determined using an equitable compensation scale that accounts for years of experience and levels of attained education.

Responsibilities

Curriculum and instruction

Develops school's ability to foster a culturally responsive classroom

Collaborates with curriculum and instruction team to plan and execute curriculum and instruction that fosters student growth, creativity, and agency through aligned culturally relevant materials and pedagogy

Leads a team of secondary leaders to strengthen teachers' knowledge of highest priority standards and inquiry-based instructional practices

Drives partnership with the student services coordinator and the special education team to ensure that all students, including those with exceptionalities, have the access and support needed to achieve School culture

Establishes and leads a culture that results in a love of learning, student agency, and full range of student learning and growth

Builds an engaged, diverse, and inclusive school community

Creates, leads, and maintains a culture that encourages team members to innovate in an effort to ensure equity gaps are eliminated and college and career readiness is a reality for all students Racial equity mindset

Creates and sustains a race equity culture, including skill building and leading self and others through awareness, growth, and development

Continuously strengthens personal and staff knowledge in academic standards and their DEIA considerations in conjunction with the curriculum team in order to promote effective instructional design

Cultivates a diverse, high-potential school leadership pipeline Strategic leadership

Works collaboratively and thinks flexibly to support and improve systems and decision-making processes that strengthens outcomes

Creates and strengthens a data-driven culture that relentlessly seeks continuous improvement

Creates, strengthens, and maintains academic and culture systems and procedures Effective teaming

Establishes, manages, and develops strong teams that collaborate, communicate, and work together for Ascend students and its community

Fosters and facilitates positive relationships and collaboration with network and school-based leaders to advance efforts that support achievement for all students and to advance Ascend's mission and goals

Observes and coaches instructional staff and leaders to drive pedagogical growth and student achievement

Plans and leads professional development that results in improved pedagogy and student achievement

Utilizes meaningful feedback from students, staff, families, and the community to strengthen school programs and practices

Creates and executes coaching plans and evaluations to ensure development of all staff Whole student focus

Establishes, fosters, and sustains a culture of academic success and social-emotional development through partnerships with students, staff, families, and the community

Creates and sustains a warm, welcoming, and inclusive environment for scholars, families, and staff

Creates and implements a vision that exhibits a deep belief in the potential of all students and leads to improvement for all learners

Engages families and the community in support of each child's learning and the school's learning goals Operational management

Creates and executes systems and processes to support the short- and long-term goals of the school and supervises the effective use of resources

Develops systems and structures to hire and retain diverse, highly-effective staff Technological fluency

Selects, uses, and coaches others in the use of effective technological tools to strengthen school results and student achievement

Leverages technology platforms to inform planning and decision-making in support of school goals and operations

Staff and reporting relationships

The principal reports to the managing director of schools and supervises all school staff members.

Diversity at Ascend

Ascend is committed to building a diverse and inclusive community, both through our hiring practices and our focus on creating a culture and environment where diverse perspectives, ideas, and identities are valued and integrated into our way of working and educating students. Ascend staff represent a wide diversity of racial, socio-economic, gender, religious, and national identities-opening a window to the entire Ascend community on the richness of humanity. We welcome all applicants who share our mission and vision to join us in our deeply consequential work.