[2025 - 26] KIPP Change Academy Elementary School Principal (Grades K-5)

Role Overview: The Principal’s primary job is to drive academic and character outcomes for students. We expect our Principals to focus the majority of their time on instructional leadership, specifically all of the activities involved in leading and developing teachers to improve their instruction and drive student achievement.   JOB SUMMARY:Reporting to and supervised by the Head of Schools, the Principal will lead all instructional activities and programming with the goal of setting a clear school vision that is ambitious and rigorous, while driving student achievement and instructional leadership. KEY RESPONSIBILITIESInstructional LeadershipSet ambitious school-wide vision and goals, aligned with KIPP NC, that lead students on a path to and through college, career, and beyond.Build own and school staff’s knowledge and expertise in effective instructional design and academic standardsDevelop teachers’ conceptual understanding of what students must know and be able to do and what instructional methods drive student masteryDevelop knowledge of how standards map to curricula and assessmentsDevelop teachers to provide rigorous and high quality instructionLead analysis of and develop teachers’ ability to analyze student data to identify strategies that will move students toward mastery. Document all feedback and observations within the state-wide tracking system.Regularly observe and coach instructional leaders to ensure they are providing high-impact, actionable and bite-sized feedback to teachers on a weekly basis.Ensure teachers can collaborate, analyze their practice and their student data, and adjust instruction in content teams.Lead whole-school professional development workshops that drive highest-impact improvements in teacher practice.Manage and develop a strong school leadership team (including Assistant Principals, Deans of Culture & Instruction, and Director of School Operations) that supports teachers and staff to provide strong student outcomes.Manage PeopleOversee, lead, and communicate the vision of Liberation that informs the school’s culture, goals, and behavior managementDevelop leadership team members by teaching and insisting that they are true owners of the work and coaching and designing stretch activitiesModel expectations for leaders, teachers, and students on school-wide practices for a positive learning culturePursue challenging professional goals each yearReceive and implement constructive feedback to develop your skills Problem solve around school-wide issues to best support your Team and FamilyHold team members accountable to the behavior management systems and school expectationsBuild systems, structures, and relationships to develop and retain diverse, highly-effective staffCreate an effective, collaborative team of people jointly responsible for the attainment of school goals and committed to achieving excellence.Hold direct reports accountable to performance expectations and follow through with school protocols and proceduresPartner with the People Operations Team to manage human resource concerns at school sitePartner with the Talent Acquisition Team to recruit, select, hire, and manage the performance of all staffContinually monitor progress on all measures of school and staff performanceThe following are managed by the Director of Operations (DoO) but supported by the Principal:Manage the school budget, attending monthly meetings with the Finance Team to ensure the books are balanced.Supervise student recruitment throughout the year to ensure that student enrollment targets are met or exceeded for the school.Build RelationshipsBuild effective relationships among teachers, parents, and the community to improve student performanceExhibit a high degree of professionalism in all elements of this position, while serving as a contributing member of the school team and a dedicated role model for other employees.Respond to requests from the Regional Support Team in a timely manner, working with the regional team to ensure compliance of all KIPP North Carolina Public Schools policies and proceduresParticipate in KIPP North Carolina Public Schools Community actively by attending Principal Community of Practice meetings, engaging in discussion, and sharing best practices.Attend regular one-on-ones with their Head of Schools (manager)Lead liberatory work in your school by creating a safe, inclusive culture for staff and families, critically examining school practices to dismantle white supremacy's effects/legacies, facilitating school-wide PD on liberatory practices, and working with the Regional Support staff to further KIPP NC’s mission to be a liberatory organization.Competencies:  The exceptional candidate will excel in the following competencies: Student Focus: Belief that all students, regardless of background, have the ability to go to and through college, career and beyond; demonstrated commitment to the school’s unique communityInstructional Leadership: Adept at data analysis; ability to extract meaningful insights across school-wide data.Instructional Leadership: Expertise in what the school-wide academic standards and state assessments require of students’ knowledge and skills to demonstrate mastery; able to translate student mastery requirements into instructional plans and strategiesInstructional Leadership: Deep understanding of appropriate application and differentiation of high-leverage instructional strategies based on comprehension of child development and pedagogy.Instructional Leadership: Command of instructional design and the benefits and tradeoffs of school design decisions in driving student achievement.Liberatory Approach to Leadership: Tackles equity within the school through an awareness of racist institutional systems that impact both themselves and students and is working to disrupt those systems.Growth Mindset: Direction Setting: Ability to set direction across an entire school and motivate others to action.Performance Management: Demonstrated student achievement results from teachers and leaders that they manage and coach.Talent Development: Demonstrated success in developing leadership capacity in others.Cultural Competence: Demonstrated ability to create inclusive environments that celebrate and support a diversity of backgrounds and perspectives.Achievement Orientation: Demonstrated resilience and focus on student outcomes.