SY 26-27 Principal

Job Title: Principal

Department: Admin

Application Deadline: Until filled

Expected Start Date of Position: July 1, 2026

Reports to: Executive Director

Compensation: Salary starts at $105,000-150,000 and will be commensurate with degree and years of experience

FLSA Status: Exempt

About Breakthrough Montessori Public Charter School

Breakthrough Montessori Public Charter School's mission is to provide diverse families of Washington DC a public Montessori education designed to enable children to develop within themselves the power to shape their lives and the world around them. Our vision is for students to have the competence and courage to individually excel, and collectively build a just society.

Breakthrough Montessori Public Charter School was founded in early 2016 in Washington, DC and currently serves 385 students from PreK3 through grade 6. Our student body reflects the diversity of Washington, DC, representing a wide range of racial, cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Located in the Takoma neighborhood—just two blocks from the Metro—we are a community-centered, walkable, and welcoming school that serves as a safe anchor for families. At Breakthrough Montessori PCS, we believe in the unbounded potential of all children; students of all races, classes, genders, sexual orientations, abilities, and backgrounds deserve a personalized education. Our school is grounded in an institutional commitment to development, support, community, and sustainability. We support human development through a strict application of the time-tested Montessori instructional model. We provide support through early learning, support, and intervention, enabling us to quickly and effectively address learning challenges. We build community through an intensive approach to family engagement. Finally, we seek sustainability by investing in staff to build a thriving school.

Breakthrough Montessori PCS is committed to equity in all areas of our school's work. Therefore, we are a supportive environment that seeks to employ a diverse staff reflective of all genders, races, ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, and backgrounds.

Breakthrough Montessori PCS is a coaching school; all team members receive and give coaching to support professional growth.

Position Summary:

The next Principal will join Breakthrough Montessori at an exciting moment in the school’s history. As the school celebrates its 10-year anniversary and completes a charter review by the Public Charter School Review Board, the Principal will strengthen the academic team to ensure compliance with the Office of State Superintendent of Education’s (OSSE) standards in literacy and math.

While grounded in Montessori practice, this role requires a leader experienced in the complexities of public education—someone who can integrate Montessori philosophy with standards-aligned instruction, structured literacy, and collaborative labor environments. In addition to leading curriculum development and enhancement, the Principal will oversee a talented team of educators, working within a unionized environment. As a key member of the school’s leadership team, the Principal reports directly to the Executive Director and supervises the academic leadership team, teachers, instructional assistants, instructional support staff, and the aftercare coordinator.

The Principal is responsible for overseeing all instructional areas, ensuring that Breakthrough Montessori’s mission is fully supported, upheld, and achieved.

The ideal Principal candidate is:

• An experienced public school educator, with a deep understanding of the Common Core State Standards, ability to support students through standardized testing, and a commitment to a strong multi-tiered support system (MTSS) and special education program.
• An experienced Montessori educator with a deep understanding of child-centered, inquiry-based learning in both the public sector and Montessori classroom
• A strong and effective instructional leader with a track record of improving student outcomes
• Flexible and adaptive, able to lead effectively through change and evolving organizational needs
• Agile in problem-solving and decision-making, responding thoughtfully to complex and dynamic school environments
• A highly collaborative leader who builds trust, fosters teamwork, and partners effectively with staff across all levels of the organization
• Deeply committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

Academic Leadership

• Lead and monitor high-fidelity Montessori implementation across all classrooms in primary, lower, and upper elementary levels
• Ensure development, alignment, and integration with public school requirements including dyslexia awareness and evidence-based instructional practice, particularly in literacy.
• Oversee the implementation of math instruction aligned to the Common Core State Standards.
• Promote and sustain a staff culture that embraces equity, collaboration, data-informed practice, and continuous improvement through goal setting and review.
• Build an data-informed instructional culture by implementing reviewing data from i-Ready, DIBELS, DC CAPE, and attendance quarterly.
• Promote consistent discipline in accordance with school policy and procedures.
• Determine school schedules, including staffing plans and substitute coverage.
• Oversee and support the extended day curriculum (before and aftercare)

Professional Development and People Management

• Collaborate with the school leadership team to design and implement a comprehensive, equity-focused talent acquisition and retention plan.
• Conduct the performance evaluation of all instructional staff, including assistant principals and guides.
• Supervise and collaborate with Assistant Principals, SPED Leader, and Director of Operations to create staff professional development calendar and culture.
• Coach members of the academic leadership team.
• Leverage school climate and culture data to promote and sustain high staff morale.

School Culture & Student Experiences

• Oversee implementation of schoolwide behavior systems, restorative practices, and social-emotional learning.
• Collaborate with school operations to strengthen attendance, student belonging, and communication with families.
• Ensure equitable access to materials and learning structures for students with disabilities, multilingual learners, and students receiving interventions.
• Strengthen upper elementary program to increase readiness for middle school programs.

Family Engagement

• Collaborate with school leadership to create and implement a family engagement calendar.
• Develop positive relationships with families and the School Home Association.
• Address academic needs/concerns raised by families.
• Communicate with families about discipline issues.
• Participate in school events, including open houses, orientation meetings, family education events, and school wide activities.

Equity and Inclusion

• Lead the development and implementation of antiracist, anti-bias curriculum and pedagogy in all classrooms.
• Plan professional development for all Breakthrough staff that builds their individual and team capacity to identify and interrupt systemic oppression.

Student Support

• Collaborate with the Special Education team to ensure the quality of special education and 504 plans inside the classrooms are met with fidelity and compliance.
• Meet with assistant principals regularly to ensure that the Multi-tiered Support System (MTSS) is organized and properly documented, and implemented with fidelity.

Finance

• Work with the Director of Operations and the Executive Director to establish an annual budget for programming and materials.
• Work with the Director of Operations to manage the departmental budget.

Compliance and Accountability

• Oversee and schedule student screeners, assessments and standardized testing through direct facilitation and management of the academic leadership team.
• Maintain record-keeping systems for student academic, social-emotional, behavioral and attendance data.

Required Competencies and Qualifications:

• Have a firm commitment to upholding the school’s mission and anti-bias/anti-racist pedagogy.
• Commitment to upholding the confidentiality of students and parents
• Proven ability to work as a member of a diverse team of educators
• Ability to work with students of various abilities
• Commitment to continuous improvement and learning through professional development
• Commitment to following the lead of Montessori practices.
• Deeply committed to public Montessori education
• Extremely knowledgeable of the Montessori philosophy, scope and sequence, and instructional method for students in pre-kindergarten through grade 6
• Committed to accountability for student growth and school performance
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Strong commitment to collaboration
• Strong commitment to equity and antiracism work with Breakthrough students, staff and community

Education and Experience:

• Experience working with diverse populations of students, parents, and families.
• Master’s degree (education or related field preferred)
• Montessori credential from either AMI or AMS
• Demonstrated successful Montessori teaching experience (public Montessori experience preferred)
• Demonstrated successful Montessori leadership experience (public Montessori experience preferred)
• Demonstrated experience with diversity, equity and inclusion work in schools
• Demonstrated experience making data-informed decisions that support student growth, staff development, and family engagement

Benefits:

We provide employees with a robust leave policy that includes:

• Paid personal time off
• Paid family leave (in addition to DC paid family leave)
• Paid bereavement leave
• Paid leave for the observation of a religious holiday

Breakthrough invests heavily in the professional development (PD) of our faculty through:

• A weekly early release schedule with professional development and collaborative planning time from 1:30-4:30 pm every Monday;
• An individual professional development budget of $250/year to pursue additional PD opportunities;
• Conference participation and
• A Continuing Education grant application program that provides grantees up to $20,000 to complete Montessori teacher training, an advanced degree or other license.

Other benefits include:

• Health, dental, vision
• Retirement (Vanguard Retirement)
• AFLAC

Working Conditions:

The working environment characteristics described represent those employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. The position involves sitting, bending, standing, pushing, and reaching with both hands/ arms as necessary and may require some lifting up to 40lbs. In addition to the routine use of standard office equipment. The above statements describe the general nature and level of work being performed by the employee assigned to this position. This document is not an exhaustive list of all duties, activities, and responsibilities associated with this position, as duties, responsibilities, and activities may change, or Breakthrough Montessori PCS may assign new ones at any time. Breakthrough Montessori PCS reserves the right to amend and change responsibilities to meet business and organizational needs.

For information on Breakthrough Montessori PCS, including employee benefits and our company culture, visit our website at www.breakthroughmontessori.org.

Breakthrough Montessori PCS is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.