GSRP Director

FLSA STATUS: Exempt

REPORTS TO: Chief Academic Officer

CALENDAR: 12 month

ABOUT US

The Cornerstone Schools have been serving students and families in Detroit for more than thirty years

with a steadfast commitment to opportunity, excellence, and community. We are building schools where

young people are not only prepared academically, but are also equipped to live with integrity, resilience,

and joy. To do this, we seek team members who bring both skill and spirit to their work: creative problem-

solvers, collaborative partners, and centered souls who act with intention, steadiness, and heart.

Our mission is to seek for ourselves and our students to live a Complete Life, a virtuous life, a life of

excellence, in the unfolding of the American Promise. As Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. taught us, such a

life is of length (“to live for a purpose born”), breadth (“to be a person for others”), and height (“to know

God”).

We have six schools around the city of Detroit: Jefferson-Douglass Academy, Washington-Parks

Academy, Madison-Carver Academy, Adams-Young Elementary, Adams-Young Middle School, and

Lincoln-King High School.

We invite those who feel called to this work to join us in shaping lives and communities for the better.

ROLE OVERVIEW

The GSRP Director provides leadership, oversight, and support for Cornerstone’s Great Start Readiness

Program across four Detroit-area sites, supervising Lead Teachers, Associate Teachers, and other GSRP

staff in close partnership with school Principals. The Director ensures that every GSRP classroom is safe,

warm, developmentally appropriate, fully compliant, and aligned with Cornerstone’s mission and

expectations for excellence. Moving comfortably between big-picture systems and daily classroom

realities, the Director works closely with Principals, teaching teams, families, Wayne RESA/ISD partners,

Early Childhood Specialists, MiLEAP child care licensing, and Cornerstone leadership to ensure the

program operates with fidelity, care, and consistency.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Program Leadership & Multi-Site Oversight: Lead a strong, consistent GSRP program across all four

sites.

• Provide daily and long-range leadership for Cornerstone’s GSRP programming
• Establish clear expectations for program quality, classroom routines, staff responsibilities, family

communication, and compliance

• Conduct regular site visits to observe classrooms, support staff, monitor operations, and address

needs proactively

• Partner with Principals to ensure GSRP is well integrated into each school community while

maintaining preschool-specific standards

• Build consistent systems across sites for schedules, classroom environments, documentation,

ordering, communication, and problem-solving

• Serve as the primary internal leader for GSRP implementation and continuous improvement

Compliance, Licensing & Quality Assurance: Ensure all GSRP sites meet state, ISD, licensing, and

Cornerstone requirements.

• Ensure compliance with all GSRP, MiLEAP child care licensing, health and safety, Wayne

RESA/ISD, and Cornerstone requirements

• Monitor adult-child ratios, class size, approved child-use spaces, staff credentialing, required

training, background checks, supervision practices, and classroom safety

• Maintain readiness for licensing visits, GSRP monitoring, program evaluation, and other

compliance reviews

• Ensure child files, staff files, attendance records, family engagement documentation, incident

reports, and other required records are accurate and current

• Coordinate timely responses to licensing concerns, monitoring findings, corrective action items, or

site-level compliance issues

• Maintain and update GSRP handbooks, policies, procedures, calendars, and operational

guidance as needed

• Ensure all staff understand and consistently follow required procedures for supervision, health,

safety, confidentiality, documentation, and child protection

Instructional Quality & Staff Development: Support excellent early childhood teaching and learning.

• Ensure implementation of a high-quality, developmentally appropriate preschool program across

all sites

• Support fidelity to the approved curriculum, child assessment system, classroom routines, and

GSRP quality expectations

• Coach Lead Teachers and Associate Teachers through classroom observations, feedback

conversations, modeling, and follow-up support

• Review lesson planning, classroom environments, assessment practices, and daily routines to

ensure strong implementation

• Coordinate professional learning, onboarding, staff meetings, and coaching cycles for GSRP staff
• Partner with Early Childhood Specialists and other instructional leaders to strengthen classroom

quality

• Promote warm adult-child interactions, consistent routines, inclusive practices, and a classroom

culture where children feel safe, known, and loved

Staffing & Team Leadership: Build and sustain strong GSRP teams.

• Partner with Human Resources and Principals to recruit, hire, onboard, and retain qualified GSRP

staff

• Ensure Lead Teachers, Associate Teachers, substitutes, volunteers, and support staff meet all

applicable credentialing, training, and background check requirements

• Monitor staffing patterns to ensure appropriate coverage, continuity, and supervision across all

sites

• Support staff schedules, planning time, professional learning time, family engagement time, and

substitute coverage

• Provide regular feedback to staff and contribute to performance evaluation, coaching plans, and

improvement conversations

• Build a positive, mission-aligned team culture marked by professionalism, collaboration, reliability,

and care

• Resolve staff concerns, family concerns, and site-level challenges with steadiness and sound

judgment

Enrollment, Family Partnerships & Community Engagement: Help families access and experience a

trusted preschool program.

• Coordinate GSRP recruitment, enrollment, eligibility documentation, application completion,

waitlist management, and placement across the four sites

• Work with enrollment staff and school teams to ensure families receive timely, accurate, and

welcoming communication

• Support family orientation, home visits, conferences, family engagement activities, and parent

communication systems

• Ensure family partnership requirements are completed, documented, and meaningful
• Help families understand the GSRP program, daily routines, attendance expectations, support

services, and kindergarten transition process

• Connect families with needed health, developmental, nutrition, behavioral, or social supports

through school teams and community partners

• Represent Cornerstone’s GSRP program with warmth, professionalism, and responsiveness in

the Detroit community

Data, Reporting & Operations: Keep the program organized, accurate, and prepared.

• Maintain systems for tracking enrollment, attendance, staffing, credentials, child assessment,

family engagement, professional learning, and compliance documentation

• Submit required reports, updates, and documentation to internal leaders and external partners on

time

• Monitor program supplies, classroom materials, equipment, furniture, meal and snack

coordination, and facility needs

• Partner with operations, facilities, food service, transportation, and finance teams to ensure each

site is ready for children every day

• Support budget planning, purchasing, inventory, and responsible stewardship of GSRP resources
• Use data and site observations to identify trends, solve problems, and improve program quality
• Prepare regular updates for Cornerstone leadership on program status, strengths, risks, and

needs

Mission Alignment: Lead GSRP as an expression of Cornerstone’s deepest commitments.

• Model the Complete Life through presence, humility, excellence, service, and care
• Treat children, families, and staff with dignity, patience, and respect
• Make decisions that protect children, support families, strengthen staff, and uphold Cornerstone’s

mission

• Communicate clearly and professionally with school leaders, staff, families, partners, and state or

ISD representatives

• Align all work with the mission, vision, and values of Cornerstone Education Group, gracefully

handling other duties as assigned.

MINIMUM JOB QUALIFICATIONS

Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education, Child Development, Education, Educational Leadership,

or a closely related field required; Master’s degree preferred. The successful candidate must meet, or be

eligible to meet, Michigan Child Care Center Program Director qualifications for the applicable licensed

program setting, including required child care administration coursework, CEUs, or an approved

administrative credential. MiLEAP guidance requires child care center program directors to hold at least 2

semester hours or 3.0 CEUs in child care administration, or an approved administrative credential, and

identifies accepted education pathways in early childhood education, child development, and related

endorsements. A minimum of five years of successful experience in early childhood education, preschool,

GSRP, Head Start, licensed child care, or a comparable early learning setting is required; at least two

years of supervisory, coaching, compliance, or program leadership experience is strongly preferred. Prior

experience with GSRP, Wayne RESA/ISD monitoring, MiLEAP child care licensing, Great Start to Quality,

child assessment systems, and multi-site program operations is strongly preferred. The candidate must

demonstrate strong knowledge of developmentally appropriate practice, preschool classroom quality,

early childhood curriculum, family engagement, staff coaching, licensing requirements, child safety, and

program documentation, and must be able to travel regularly among four Detroit-area sites and pass all

required background checks, fingerprinting, health and safety trainings, and other employment or

licensing requirements. Preferred qualifications include a valid Michigan teaching certificate with ZA, ZS,

Birth-K, or PK-3 endorsement; prior GSRP Lead Teacher or Program Director experience; experience

leading across multiple sites; and demonstrated success building systems that help teachers and young

children thrive.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

• We offer a competitive compensation and benefits package commensurate with experience and

subject to plan eligibility

This job description is intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by an employee in this position

and the qualifications needed. The job description should not be construed as an exhaustive list of all duties that may be performed

by a person so classified and should not be taken as a comprehensive list of all qualifications that may be required. Cornerstone

Education Group is an equal-opportunity employer.

We offer a competitive compensation and benefits package commensurate with experience and

subject to plan eligibility