Principal

Job Description:   Principal

Reports to:  Executive Director

FLSA Status:  Exempt

Main Purpose: East Wake Academy fulfills its mission of maintaining a safe, challenging and creative learning environment. This environment strives to develop character and self-esteem while equipping students with the skills needed for a rigorous curriculum and to thrive in a college preparatory atmosphere producing academic excellence. We are dedicated to instilling the values of academic citizenship by creating relationships with parents, businesses and civic partners. East Wake Academy is committed to building a strong foundation of learning while providing our students the competitive edge to win in tomorrow's world.

Core Accountabilities: Oversees the daily activities and operations within a school. Main duties include disciplining or advising students, approving Teachers' curriculums and ensuring the school environment is safe for all students and staff members.

Key Outputs/Results:

School Vision

• Collaboratively develops, articulates, implements, and stewards a shared vision of learning.
• Collects and uses data. Identifies or determines school goals, assesses organizational effectiveness, and implements plans to achieve school goals.
• Promotes continual and sustainable school improvement.
• Promotes the effective use of technology in establishing, implementing, evaluating, and improving a shared vision of learning.

School Culture

• Fosters the ideals outlined in the East Wake Academy mission in collaboration with school leaders, staff, students and families. MISSION: East Wake Academy will equip students from all backgrounds to succeed in the college and career of their choice by driving academic excellence, developing strong character, and instilling an entrepreneurial mindset.
• Maintains an environment built on safety, responsibility and respect. Commitment to conflict resolution and restitution practices ensures kindness, safety and respectfulness that guide community behavior.
• Sustains a school culture and instructional program conducive to student learning through collaboration, trust and a personalized learning environment with high expectations for students

School Management of Organization, Operation, and Resources

• Monitors and evaluates teacher instruction, school management and operational systems.
• Maintain a positive working relationship with academy authorizers, including attending required meetings and facilitating consistent communication.
• Efficiently utilizes personnel, fiscal and technological resources to manage school operations and ensures compliance with applicable regulatory standards and requirements. Coordinate the identification and procurement of resources for academic programs.
• Report to the Superintendent and the school’s Board of Directors relevant academic data, reports and information to effectively manage the school.
• Create and implement a professional development program to increase the knowledge, skills and practices needed to implement a high quality-learning model.
• Act as a role model by demonstrating leadership, management and instructional skills.
• Promotes school-based policies and procedures that protect the welfare and safety of students and staff within the school.
• Works collaboratively within shared leadership roles.
• Ensures teacher and organizational time focuses on supporting high-quality school instruction and student learning.
• Ensures effective hiring practices of qualified staff in appropriate certification areas. Fosters, develops, and supervises the instructional and leadership capacity of school staff.
• Promotes the most effective and appropriate technologies to support teaching and learning in a school environment.

School Collaboration with Faculty, Community Members, and Families

• Collaborates with faculty and community members by collecting and analyzing information pertinent to the improvement of the school’s educational environment.
• Represent the school and communicate the school’s vision to all stakeholders including the staff, students, parents, board, community members and school networking endeavors.
• Work with the parent organization to ensure that all stakeholders work together effectively to identify program needs and to create programs and policies to meet those needs.
• Mobilizes community resources by promoting an understanding, appreciation, and use of diverse cultural, social, and intellectual resources within the school community.
• Responds to community interests and needs by building and sustaining positive school relationships with families and caregivers.
• Responds to community interests and needs by building and sustaining productive school relationships with community partners.
• Promotes the effective use of technology in collaborating with faculty and community members, responding to diverse community interests and needs, and mobilizing community resources.

School Ethics, Integrity, Fairness, Practice

• Acts with integrity and fairness to ensure a school system of accountability for every student’s academic and social success.
• Models principles of self-awareness, reflective practice, transparency and ethical behavior as related to various roles within the school.
• Safeguards the values of democracy, equity and diversity within the school.
• Evaluates the potential ethical and legal consequences of decision-making in the school.
• Promotes social justice within the school to ensure that individual students need to inform all aspects of schooling.

Ensuring school success by understanding, responding to, advocating for student learning

• Advocates for students, families and caregivers.
• Oversees state and local assessment processes.
• Acts to influence local, district, state and national decisions affecting student learning in a school environment.
• Anticipates and assesses emerging trends and initiatives in order to adapt school-based leadership strategies.

Creates and evaluates a comprehensive, rigorous and coherent curricular and instructional school program

Essential Knowledge:

• Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of curriculum development and program evaluation, child growth and development, effective instructional strategies, classroom management, learning assessment, diagnosis and research related to learning.
• Prior experience as an elementary or middle school principal or administrator preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to provide strong instructional leadership.
• Ability to evaluate teacher performance and program effectiveness.
• Advanced knowledge and experience in curriculum and assessment.
• Commitment and skill in developing continued growth of all staff members.
• Visionary with excellent delegation, organizational and analytical skills.
• Knowledge and understanding of best practice and research proven instructional strategies.
• Strong, conceptual understanding of teacher effectiveness research.
• Demonstrated skill in monitoring and evaluating student growth and achievement.
• Knowledge and experience in administering state and federal programs preferred.
• Knowledge of federal, state and local Special Education laws and requirements.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills, written skills and computer skills.
• Ability to support and function in a highly collaborative administrative team environment.
• Ability to structure, implement and manage a wide range of school and business projects.

• Physical Requirements:
• Not attached