Posted: April 13, 2010

FirstLine Schools
School Director/Principal

The mission of FirstLine Schools is to create and inspire great public schools in New Orleans. We do this by directly operating non-selective public schools and by developing training programs for teachers and school leaders across New Orleans.
Our schools prepare students for higher education and fulfilling careers by:

• Ensuring high achievement for all students.
• Providing a rich variety of educational experiences to nurture students’ social and emotional development, love of learning, and aspiration to achieve their educational and career goals.
• Developing the skillfulness of our staff and creating sustainable working conditions that facilitate their success.

FirstLine Schools takes the charge of closing the achievement gap seriously. We support, develop and hold accountable our students, staff and administration for high student academic achievement and transformative programming.

Position Summary:
The School Director/Principal will be responsible for supporting, developing, and managing the performance of the Middle School and Elementary School Principals, teachers, and other school-based personnel to ensure that his/her FirstLine School becomes a high-performing public school.

Responsibilities:

• Recruitment, selection, development, and retention of amazing teachers
• Creation and sustainability of a school culture of high academic and behavioral expectations
• Management of the school schedule, routines, and transitions with all staff to ensure a smooth and efficient school day where students and staff know what to expect every day and academic instructional time is maximized.
• Provide frequent informal observation, coaching and feedback to Principals and teachers to improve their instructional practice. Provide formal evaluation and professional development planning for Principals and all teachers.
• Plan and implement regular professional development sessions for all staff, in collaboration with the network’s Chief Academic Officer (CAO), Director of Teacher Development, and other network specialists in the areas of instructional methodology, curriculum development, student motivation and behavior management, school culture, diversity issues, and other relevant topics.
• Work with the Director of Teacher Development and Data Director to track and analyze data to support and grow student achievement, ensuring that every student shows dramatic student achievement gains.
• Manage the performance of school leaders demonstrated by coaching and leading professional development for school leaders, assisting with development of retention and compensation practices
• Supporting Principals to achieve your vision and goals through: Identifying needs and advocating for and supporting the development and implementation of curriculum, tools, practices, and systems; identifying, coordinating, and consulting with specialist expertise, identifying and allocating resources

• Oversee the School Operations Manager to ensure smooth day-to-day operations of the school

• Build parent and community partnerships

Position reports to
Chief Academic Officer

Compensation
$80,000-$90,000
Comprehensive benefits
Position Requirements

Education & Experience
• Believe deeply in the mission and values of FirstLine Schools.
• Minimum of 3 years of teaching experience
• Minimum of 2 years in a leadership or coaching position preferred
• Demonstrated success working with students in an urban, open admissions school
• A BA or BS, MA or MEd preferred

To Apply
Applicants for the School Director/ Principal position must submit the following:
• A resume that is sufficiently specific so as to allow us to ascertain your career progression and accomplishments.
• Five references of which three must be professional supervisors. Please include email addresses, phone numbers and professional titles.
• A statement of purpose including the attached topics.
Please note that applicants who submit incomplete applications will not be notified.
Please submit all information to: Natasha Baker, Chief Academic Officer nbaker@firstlineschools.org and Elizabeth Ostberg, Director of Talent Management eostberg@firstlineschools.org

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT / DISCIPLINE (Pick ONE of the three questions) – 2 page maximum, double spaced and Times New Roman 12-font
• Children don't fail, teachers fail. How do you respond to this statement?
• All students should go to college. How do you respond to this statement?
• At FirstLine Schools, students wear uniforms and are explicitly taught to walk in silent lines, track a speaker with eye contact, and raise their hands before speaking in class. There is also a high degree of supervision throughout the day, and “small” behavioral infractions are addressed swiftly and strictly. Why would we think this structure is important or necessary? Does this structure mesh with your own style and philosophy?

PROFESSIONAL VALUES (Pick TWO of the five questions) – 2 page maximum, double spaced and Times New Roman 12-font
• How do you solicit and receive feedback? Give an example of feedback you've received and how you used it to become a better professional or person.
• How do you handle a disagreement with a teacher or administrator/manager? (for example: another teacher is allowing behaviors in the class before that you don't like or a manager sets a policy that you disagree with, etc.) Give a concrete example from your professional life of how you have handled such a situation.
• At FirstLine Schools, we work hard and do whatever it takes to ensure every student succeeds. School Directors typically have workdays that run 10-12 hours. Are you willing to work this hard? Why?
• What do you want to learn in your next position? How do you want to grow professionally?
• Describe a situation where you had to work with a team to accomplish a challenging task. What role did you play in the team? Describe how you contributed to the team and the specific outcomes the team was able to accomplish.
• Give an example of a difficult situation that negatively impacted (or threatened to negatively impact) you personally or professionally. What were the circumstances? How did you respond? What was the outcome?

LEADERSHIP (Pick TWO of the four questions) – 2 page maximum, double spaced and Times New Roman 12-font

• In most organizations, there are different levels of performance among staff. How would you motivate your top performers? How would you get better performance from your low performing staff members?
• What makes a great leader?
• What are your strengths as a leader? What are your areas for growth?
• A school instructional or operational leader only has a limited amount of time during a week. How would you prioritize your time? What would you make sure you do no matter what else happens?

SPECIFIC SITUATIONS – (Pick TWO of the four questions) – 2 page maximum, double spaced and Times New Roman 12-font

• Your school has adopted the policy that all school staff (teachers and non-teachers) should implement a specific discipline policy requiring students to walk silently in line. You notice that two staff members repeatedly monitor students lines and allow students to talk freely. How would you handle this situation?
• You are doing your daily rounds. Down the hall, you hear a teacher yelling at a class of students, screaming, “Sit down NOW! I’m tired of dealing with all of you!” How would you handle this situation?
• You observe a teacher clearly struggle in class. One thing you notice is that the teacher is not following the curriculum. When you mention this, the teacher says, “The curriculum doesn’t meet the developmental needs of my students” and seems reluctant to change. How would you handle this situation?
• You are analyzing the data for 8th grade math scores. You notice that the grade did not do as well as last year. Upon further inspection, you realize that three of the teachers had very good student achievement growth, but one teacher’s students actually went down over the course of the year. How would you handle this situation?