Middle School Principal - Berrien Springs-Oronoko Township Fire Department : Job Details

BENTON HARBOR AREA SCHOOLSJOB DESCRIPTIONJOB TITLE: Middle School Principal SUPERVISOR: Director of Academics LOCATION: Fair Plain Middle School JOB SUMMARY: The role of the Middle School Principal is to manage school operations and provide strong instructional leadership to our teachers and staff members. The ideal candidate will be active in the community and make themselves available for parent consultations, taking parent suggestions and discussing the educational needs of individual students. Our Principal will also be responsible for arranging major and minor building maintenance programs, while ensuring that every teacher has the resources they need to meet the state's curriculum requirements. Our Principal must have demonstrated evidence of school/program transformation or turnaround and be highly adept in strategic thinking and planning. Finally, our Principal serves as the school's CEO and educational leader responsible for the development, implementation, supervision, and evaluation of a comprehensive program of educational and student services. The principal will administer the program in accordance with board policies, statutory requirements, administrative rules and regulations, and consistent with collective bargaining agreements and will serve as an advocate for the staff, school, and school community as appropriate. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master's degree in education, or a related field
• Valid Michigan School Administrator Certificate
• Three (3) years of experience as a building principal, including an instructional leadership role
• Three (3) years of classroom teaching experience
• Extensive knowledge of curriculum & instruction
• Administrative, budgeting, planning, and leadership skills
• Ability to organize, interpret, and present conceptual models to users in a manner appropriate to users' skill sets and needs
• Demonstrated independent critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills
• Ability to successfully communicate at all levels of the organization
• Demonstrated experience working collaboratively with senior-level decision-makers
• Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills, with demonstrated experience giving presentations to a variety of audiences
• Strong attention to detail and accuracy, excellent organizational skills with the ability to prioritize, coordinate, and simultaneously maintain multiple projects with a high level of quality and productivity
• Demonstrated experience with tools used for evaluating, developing, and implementing ideas and concepts
• Ability to think strategically and execute tactically and tactfully
• Proficient computer skills in all Microsoft Office suites, as well as multiple platforms relevant to education, i.e. PowerSchool, Illuminate
• Strong communication skills.
• Proven ability to meet the challenges of an urban school district
• Proven ability to meet the challenges of an urban, multi-racial, multi-ethnic school district.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Ph.D or Ed.D. in Supervision and Instruction or related field.
• Five (5) successful years of teaching experience
• Five (5) years of experience as a building principal, including an instructional leadership role

JOB FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Creating a school culture that promotes the ongoing improvement of learning and teaching for students and staff: Develops and sustains focus on a shared mission and clear vision for improvement of learning and teaching.
• Engages stakeholders in the essential conversations for ongoing improvement. Facilitates collaborative processes with stakeholders leading toward continuous improvement. Creates opportunities for shared leadership within the school.
• Providing for school safety: Effectively engages the entire community to develop a more nuanced/expanded understanding of what it means to be safe. Provides for the physical, intellectual, and emotional safety for effective teaching and learning to take place.
• Leads the development, implementation, and evaluation of a data-driven plan for increasing student achievement, including the use of multiple student data elements, and assists staff in using data to guide, modify, and improve classroom teaching and learning.
• Assisting instructional staff with the alignment of curriculum, instruction, and assessment with state and local district learning goals.
• Provides leadership that ensures fidelity to the prescribed curricula that are in alignment with state and local district learning goals.
• Ensures alignment and implementation of best instructional practices to state and district learning goals
• Monitoring, assisting, and evaluating effective instruction and assessment practices: An effective leader is knowledgeable about and deeply involved in the design and implementation of the instructional program; and prioritizes effective teaching by visiting classrooms regularly and working with teachers on instructional issues.
• Develops a working knowledge and ability to lead district initiatives.
• Participates in professional development regarding district initiatives.
• Monitors instruction and assessment practices ensuring alignment with the School Improvement Plan.
• Assists staff in developing required student growth plans and identifying valid, reliable sources of evidence for effectiveness.
• Assists staff in implementing effective instruction and assessment practices.
• Reliably and validly evaluates staff in effective instruction and assessment practices.
• Managing both staff and fiscal resources to support student achievement and legal responsibilities: Manages human and fiscal resources in transparent ways such that the capacity of the school community to make complicated decisions grows.
• The management of hiring, assignments, evaluations, ongoing professional development, and the fulfillment of legal responsibilities is required. Decisions are made about resources that result in improved teaching and learning.
• Partnering with the school community to promote student learning: Understands the greater community and works to establish a genuine partnership model between home and school. Aligns school and community efforts and values as a work in progress that must be nurtured, sustained, and monitored, and can influence others to adopt the same understanding. Community engagement decisions are made that result in improved teaching and learning.
• Demonstrating commitment to closing the achievement gap: Uses evidence to support student improvement. Identifies barriers to achievement and knows how to close resulting gaps. Demonstrates a commitment to close the achievement gap. Provides evidence of growth in student learning.
• Leadership and Governance:
• Consistently demonstrates high moral, ethical, and professional standards of performance and personal integrity, which includes addressing problems and issues in an open, honest, and timely manner. Ensures proper conduct which goes beyond the practice of avoiding what is wrong and instead focusing on choosing to do what is right. Serves as a champion for the school and the district, avoiding actual or perceived behavior personally or among the staff which may cast a negative impression on the school, the District, or the Board.
• Models and promotes trust, enthusiasm, rapport, respect, and openness among faculty, staff, students, and members of the community. Celebrates successes and recognizes the achievements of others.
• Creates a professional environment by assuring that personal and staff interactions with others in the school, community, and board are conducted with utmost respect and professionalism.
• Honors the ideas of others even when in disagreement with those ideas. Works collaboratively to resolve disagreements and seek mutually respectful solutions.
• Actively participates in meetings, workshops, and conferences that involve decisions affecting the district and/or the school. Advocates for the school's needs by providing input to the decision-making process of the district. Respects, supports, and implements decisions once made, and acts to ensure that staff is equally supportive.
• Participates in school academic, athletic, and co-curricular activities to supervise and advocate for the school.
• Required to follow board policies; stay abreast of updates/changes.
• Perform other duties assigned by the Superintendent or designee.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Commitment to Equity: Passionate about closing the achievement gap and ensuring that every child, regardless of background or circumstance, receives an excellent education
• Leadership: Coaches, mentors, and challenges others to excel despite obstacles and challenging situations.
• Focus on Data-Driven Results: Relentlessly pursues the improvement of central office performance and school leadership, instruction, and operations, and is driven by a desire to produce quantifiable student achievement gains.
• Innovative Problem-Solving: Approaches work with a sense of possibility and sees challenges as opportunities for creative problem solving; takes initiative to explore issues and find potential innovative solutions.
• Adaptability: Excels in constantly changing environments and adapts flexibly in shifting projects or priorities to meet the needs of a dynamic transformation effort; comfortable with ambiguity and non-routine situations.
• Teamwork: Increases the effectiveness of surrounding teams through collaboration, constant learning, and supporting others; sensitive to diversity in all its forms; respects and is committed to learning from others.
• Communication and Customer Service Skills: Communicates clearly and compellingly with diverse stakeholders in both oral and written forms; anticipates and responds to customer needs in a high-quality and courteous manner.

TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT: This is a 211-day contract position. Salary Range: $92,500 - $103,500 Salary based on education and experience pursuant to the Benton Harbor Area School Board policies and collective bargaining agreement for any position that falls under collective bargaining. EVALUATION: The performance of this job will be evaluated by the Director of Academics and/or Superintendent FUNDING SOURCE: If this position is funded using Title dollars, federal regulations do not allow a promise of employment beyond the current year of allocated funds. If this position is funded using state program dollars, the district is not obligated to fund the position beyond the current year's allocation. This position, at any time, maybe dissolved based on funding availability and data collected from a comprehensive needs assessment. Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, walk, sit, talk, and hear. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, and depth perception. The information contained in this job description is for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (A.D.A.) and is not an exhaustive list of the duties performed for this position. Additional duties are performed by the individual currently holding this position and additional duties may be assigned. Job descriptions are not intended as and do not create employment contracts Benton Harbor Area Schools provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination based on 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. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER