Head of Upper School

Overview

In New Bedford, MA, only one in twenty students makes it to college. Alma del Mar Charter School aims to change this.

Alma del Mar Charter School puts students on a college trajectory and challenges them to be service-minded leaders. Alma Scholars engage in rigorous academics and do meaningful work. They master academic fundamentals, take ownership of their learning and think boldly.

We currently serve 160 students in grades K-3. During the 2013-2014 school year, we will serve 200 students in grades K-4.

We believe that all of our students can achieve at high levels and we support them in doing the hard work necessary for success. We also believe that as our students develop an ethic of service, they will be inspired to do their best work in school and beyond.

The Head of Upper School Role

This is an incredible opportunity for current or aspiring school leader to take on a significant instructional leadership role that will grow with our school. You will learn the fundamentals of effectively managing adults and coaching teachers to high performance. As Alma expands to the middle school years, you will play a critical role in designing and implementing our middle school model.

As a teacher, you experienced the excitement of leading your students to achieve beyond what they thought they were capable of. As our Head of Upper School, you will experience the exhilaration of leading great teachers to even better performance and impacting the lives of hundreds of scholars.

The Head of the Upper School reports to the Executive Director and works closely with the Head of Lower School and the Director of Operations to manage, support and develop the Alma teaching team. In the 2013-14 school year, the Head of Upper School will be responsible for managing the 3^rd and 4^th Grade teaching teams, in addition to Co-Curricular Teachers and Special Education Interventionists.

Core Responsibilities

• Manage a group of 8-10 teachers, including teachers who are new to the profession. This includes weekly classroom observation, performance management and coaching.
• Plan and implement school wide professional development sessions
• Work as part of the School Leadership Team to advance school improvement.
• Work with the School Leadership Team to design and launch Alma del Mar's middle school program for the 2014-15 school year.
• Lead school wide assemblies, building a sense of community and reinforcing our Five Commitments: Service, Integrity, Quality, Accountability and Persistence.
• Support implementation of school wide discipline policy
• Support our focus on data driven instruction, including designing and implementing quarterly interim assessments and working with teachers and teacher teams to use data to inform instruction.
• Build positive relationships with families based on trust and high expectations for all scholars.

What We Are Looking For

• At least three years teaching experience, preferably serving students from low-income backgrounds
• Proven ability to lead all students to high achievement
• Experience coaching and managing adults
• Experience designing, implementing and revising standards-based curricula
• Experience using student data to make instructional decisions
• A commitment to creating a highly demanding AND highly supportive school culture
• A high level of personal organization and accountability
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• A sense of humor
• Bilingual preferred but not required (Spanish, Portuguese or Cape Verdean Creole)