School Director
Job Description
Hired by: College of Teachers and Board of Trustees
Evaluated by: Board and College
Benefits: Full-time, benefited year round position working business hours
Goals & Objectives
· To provide leadership for the school’s shared vision and values
· To provide leadership for the school’s short- and long-term planning, including strategic planning
· To provide leadership for enrollment, development, and outreach to support the school’s financial health
· To act as the school’s spokesperson with internal and external communities
· To forge and sustain relationships with the school’s external partners, including feeder schools, donors, high schools and local community organizations; understand their needs; and communicate them to the College, Board, and Faculty
· To serve as the clear parent contact for school-wide matters or concerns
· To manage resolution of conflicts with a parent component and support organizational learning to prevent similar conflicts in the future
· To guide and assist resolution of professional development issues from a whole-school perspective
· To provide timely reporting to the College, Board and Faculty on whole-school initiatives and issues
· To generally support the institutional processes, systems, growth and learning essential to a healthy, thriving organization
Responsibilities
Responsibilities are assigned with the authority required.
Whole-School Overview/Parent Community Liaison
· Spokesperson for school/Public speaker
· Regular written communication with parents/school community via Bulletin, state-of-school letters, etc.
· Primary parent contact for school-wide matters or concerns (and secondary contact, when needed after initial contact with a teacher, for curriculum/teaching/classroom-related issues and grievances that have a parent component)
· Co-chair (with Finance and Administration Director) of the school’s Governance Council
· Support the College Chair in resolving faculty-related issues, as needed
· Set timeline for managing conflicts with a parent component; work in partnership with the other Governance Council co-chair to ensure timely resolution of issues; serve as school spokesperson with parents during conflict management
· Network with local anthroposophical community and develop anthroposophical activities at the school
Enrollment, Outreach & Development
· Work closely with Enrollment Committee and Admissions Director to develop and support a strategic plan for enrollment growth (feeder schools, program development etc.)
· Work closely with and support the school’s outreach function to develop a strategic plan for outreach; build awareness of our school in our local community; and forge relationships with external partners
· Work closely with Development Director and Development Committee to develop a strategic plan for development
· Forge and sustain relationships with internal and external communities and donors to support development
Teacher Professional Development
· Presence in classrooms, including observations to support teachers
· Occasional teaching in areas of special interest to maintain a connection with the classes and classroom environment
· Bring whole-school perspective to Professional Development Committee and assist and guide timely resolution of issues
Committee Membership/Liaison
· Co-chair of Governance Council
· Expectation that School Director is a member of the College of Teachers and is working out of anthroposophy
· Member of Professional Development Committee
· Available to bring whole-school perspective to other committees
· Support Parent Community Association (PCA) co-chairs and attend key PCA or portions of meetings (i.e., those relevant to strategic or whole-school perspectives)
· Attend all Board-related meetings, functions, and events
· Ex-officio member
· Work business hours over the summer
· With College, Governance Council, and Board, and in communication with the Parent Community Association, develop the plan for the coming school year, including identifying initiatives and priorities that support the health of the school and ongoing strategic manifestation of the school’s long-range plan and vision
Key Competencies for School Director Position
§ Passionate about Waldorf education
§ Excellent interpersonal and organizational skills
§ Excellent oral and written communication skills
§ Demonstrated leadership skills
§ Demonstrated capacity to plan strategically and support teams in implementing plans
§ Demonstrated capability for sound judgment and decision making
§ Demonstrated conflict resolution skills/experience
§ Training and experience as a Waldorf teacher
§ Proven ability to meet deadlines
Any of the following skills/experience are a plus: teacher mentoring; organizational development; human resources; marketing/public relations