SLMS: 2023-24 Principal (6-8)

Position:Principal (CWC LA Middle School, Silver Lake Campus)

Location:Los Angeles, California

FLSA Status:Exempt

Reports to:Head of Schools

Start date:July 1 (with potential opportunity to start earlier)

Organization Overview

The mission of Citizens of the World Los Angeles (CWC LA) is to provide a socio-economically, culturally, and racially diverse community of students in Los Angeles with an intellectually challenging, experiential learning environment that develops each student's confidence, potential, and individual responsibility as citizens of the world. CWC schools develop students' social and emotional skills to prepare them to become citizens of the world in an ever-changing future. We promote academic rigor through a constructivist, project-based learning approach, to support and develop children's natural intellectual curiosity. CWC LA enrolls a diverse student body that reflects the abundant diversity of the communities served by our schools.

Our core values are embraced by the entire community:

• Excellence: we demand lasting quality
  
• Diversity: we are better and stronger because of our differences
  
• Authenticity: we are our true selves in this work, and we are candid
  
• Community: we care deeply about people. We share and build partnerships. We celebrate, laugh, and seek joy, even in the tough times
  
• Change: we welcome the unknown, embracing the unexpected and new. We adapt to meet the ever-changing times. We find new ways.
  

CWC LA is in a rapid period of growth and change. Supported by the Charter School Growth Fund and other major national and local funders, CWC LA is in the early stages of a growth plan that would increase enrollment from 2,300 to nearly 5,000 students in the coming years. CWC LA operates five charters and seven campuses, with an eighth campus to open soon:

• CWC Hollywood (Transitional Kindergarten - 5th Grade, opened in 2010)
  
• CWC Silver Lake (Transitional Kindergarten - 8th Grade, opened in 2012) - includes separate elementary school and middle school campuses with different Principals
  
• CWC Mar Vista (Transitional Kindergarten - 8th Grade, opened in 2013) - includes separate elementary school and middle school campuses with different Principals
  
• CWC West Valley (Transitional Kindergarten - 3rd Grade and adding one grade level each year, opened in 2020)
  
• CWC East Valley (Transitional Kindergarten - 2nd Grade and adding one grade level each year, opened in 2021)
  
• A middle school in the San Fernando Valley is expected to open in the next few years
  

CWC LA has a Regional Support Office (RSO) that supports all CWC LA schools. We work with our network partners at Citizens of the World Charter Schools (CWCS), linking the schools in Los Angeles to CWC schools in other parts of the country.

Our core values are embraced by the entire community:

• Excellence:we demand lasting quality
  
• Diversity: we are better and stronger because of our differences
  
• Authenticity: we are our true selves in this work, and we are candid
  
• Community: we care deeply about people. We share and build partnerships. We celebrate, laugh, and seek joy, even in the tough times
  
• Change: we welcome the unknown, embracing the unexpected and new. We adapt to meet the ever-changing times. We find new ways.
  

Position Overview

A CWC LA middle school principal is a visionary instructional leader who will create an engaging, joyful, academically rigorous learning environment built on our fundamentals of academic excellence, community, and diversity. She/He/They will have a sophisticated understanding of and experience with a constructivist approach, developing strong social and emotional skills in students, building strong school communities, working with middle school-aged students, multiple intelligence theory, backward design, the creation of project-based curriculum, and building and/or working in diverse communities.

The principal will create and maintain a school culture that challenges and motivates our students, teachers, and families to achieve academic excellence, develop as people, embrace the rich diversity of the school community, and positively impact the communities in which they live. She/He/They will have a commitment to the educational philosophy of our school and organization, as described above.

CWC Silver Lake is a TK-8th grade charter school that has one principal for the TK-5th grade program and a second principal for the 6-8th grade program. The CWC Silver Lake principals collaborate closely together. The CWC Silver Lake 6-8th grade campus principal will also collaborate closely with the CWC Mar Vista 6-8th grade leadership team to refine and promote the CWC middle school model, as well as partner with elementary school principals in the CWC LA network.

Currently the CWC Silver Lake 6-8th grade program is split across two campuses, one private facility and one co-location with Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) at Virgil Middle School. We have secured financing for and commenced architectural design of a private facility that will be two blocks away from our CWC Silver Lake TK-5th grade school campus. Construction is set to begin this spring in anticipation of opening this brand new facility for the 2024-25 school year.

Responsibilities

Academics and Instruction

Guides instructional staff to improve teaching and learning by providing teacher support and designing professional development. Ensures that all students are learning and that there are no gaps in student achievement among subgroups.

• Guides the overarching philosophy of academics and instruction for CWC middle school.
  
• Designs professional development and provides instructional coaching to support teachers with standards-based grading, rubrics alignment both vertically and horizontally, and to support best practices in the classroom for teachers working with a diverse student body.
  
• Leads a team of department chairs for science, humanities, and math to build content-specific, evidence-based learning opportunities for teachers.
  
• Ensures the use of a wide array of assessments that, together, reflect the educational philosophy of CWC LA that its schools prepare students to excel on multiple measures, including standardized measures.
  
• Uses multiple sources of data and implement data cycles each trimester to develop a plan for the ongoing improvement of student achievement, including rostering for school day and after school academic interventions.
  
• Develops a master schedule that allows students to engage in core classes, electives, intervention, enrichment, and clubs.
  

Culture

Defines and builds a transformative school culture consistent with CWC LA's core values, operating norms, and principles. Ensures that the school's culture of achievement rests on a foundation of social emotional learning and leadership development of students and adults.

• Co-constructs staff learning experiences with the leadership team to develop staff capacity as leaders of SEL.
  
• Coaches deans across campuses to develop and maintain norms for student behavior and norms for staff response to middle school behaviors as they arise.
  
• Develops and maintains systems of student accountability to CWC's Graduate Dispositions;
  
• Coaches teachers and staff in restorative practices;
  
• Supports monthly community gatherings to celebrate and affirm students.
  

Staff

Recruits, hires, manages, and develops the school's leadership and instructional teams, as well as operational and support staff.

• Builds a culture of self-reflection, relentless self-improvement and adaptive leadership for all school staff.
  
• Recruits and hires mission aligned, qualified instructional and operational staff.
  
• Manages the staff performance review and compensation review processes.
  
• Maintains a focus on mission-aligned, student-focused decision making.
  
• Ensures ongoing design and implementation of staff professional development.
  

Community

Establishes and maintains strong relationships with teachers, students, parents, and community members.

• Ensures that all members of the school community are engaged and valued.
  
• Communicates the school's vision and goals in a way that ensures understanding and commitment from a racially, culturally, and socioeconomically diverse community of parents, students, faculty, staff, and board members.
  
• Oversees the development and implementation of varied forms of communication with families.
  
• Maintains positive relationships with LAUSD and other charter organizations, serving as an active leader in the Los Angeles charter community by learning from others and sharing CWC LA's best practices.
  

Enrollment and Facilities

Oversees increasing enrollment year-over-year as the middle school moves from two separate campuses into a new, permanent facility.

• Maintains relationships with two existing facilities, while supporting the vision and planning of the permanent facility.
  
• Plans for and executes a move into a new, permanent facility in August 2024 for the 2024-2025 school year.
  
• Builds strong community relationships in order to increase enrollment for the permanent facility.
  
• Works closely with the Outreach and Enrollment Coordinator to facilitate virtual tours, in-person visits across all campuses, outreach to our existing 5th grade classes (at CWC Silver Lake TK-5th Grade and CWC Hollywood TK-5th Grade), and outreach to community schools with graduating 5th grade students.
  
• Plans summer events for incoming 5th grade students and caregivers to maintain excitement for the upcoming school year.
  

Operations, Finance, and Compliance

Ensures compliant, effective, and efficient school-based operations that support an academically high-performing school environment.

• Manages and supports school operations staff.
  
• Reports on activities, organizational development progress, compliance requirements, and student achievement to the school's board, LAUSD, WASC accreditation, and other applicable state and federal reporting agencies.
  
• Works with the Executive Director to draft and monitor the school's budget and ensure daily financial and business activities are compliant with the school's fiscal policies.
  
• Ensures school alignment with organizational goals for diversity.
  
• Maintains proactive, clear communication with Prop 39 principal (Virgil Middle School) on co-located site.
  
• Maintains proactive, clear communication with the landlord on the current private facility.
  
• Develops, communicates, and delegates responsibilities for effective supervision plans for two campuses.
  

Staff and Reporting Relationships

The principal shall formally report to the Head of Schools. S/He/They will work closely with other stakeholders, including the school's governing board, LAUSD, and the other principals in the CWC LA network.

Skills/Traits

The principal must:

• Have an entrepreneurial spirit and be capable of managing many complex tasks with competing priorities.
  
• Possess strong leadership and team management skills.
  
• Possess strong interpersonal and communication skills.
  
• Be organized and self-managed, be able to handle many responsibilities simultaneously.
  
• Have excellent problem-solving skills.
  
• Be committed to building a community of collaboration with a diverse group of stakeholders.
  
• Be a self-aware leader who knows how to treat all members of the school's community with respect, appraises accurately his or her strengths and weaknesses, and is perceptive about how he or she is regarded.
  
• Be dependable and have excellent follow-through.
  
• Be aligned with the philosophy and mission of the school and organization.
  
• Maintain strong personal commitment to ongoing learning and growth.
  

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary Range: $110,000-$130,000
  
• Generous time off (7 annual sick days, 3 annual personal days, 20 annual accrued vacation days, winter holidays org-wide shutdown, spring break org-wide shutdown, plus ~15 additional holidays)
  
• California Teacher Retirement System (CalSTRS) employee and employer contributions
  
• 403b retirement plan (provided as an additional option to CalSTRS)
  
• Generous employer contributions toward healthcare premiums for employees and dependents
  
  • A variety of medical HMO and PPO plan options (Anthem, HealthNet, Kaiser, United Healthcare)
    
• $50,000 employer-paid life insurance policy
  
• Voluntary life, accident, and critical illness insurances
  
• Voluntary health and dependent care flex spending accounts (FSA)
  

Candidates must have:

• A clear record of elevating student achievement in an academically high-achieving classroom for at least three (3) years, with a strong understanding of CWC-aligned pedagogy that drives results or of exceptional leadership working with young people in urban communities.
• A bachelor's degree (Master's degree or PhD in education preferred but not required).
• A California teaching credential (or pathway to secure one prior to start date).
• Administrative credential (or commensurate experience) preferred but not required.
• Experience working in a mixed socio-economic school (SES) preferred.
• Experience with and knowledge about Common Core State Standards, project-based learning, workshop-based instruction and social emotional curriculum strongly desired.
• Fluency in Spanish, Korean, or other languages desired but not required.

COVID-19 Vaccination Policy

Vaccination is a vital tool to reduce the presence and severity of COVID-19 cases in the workplace and communities. Citizens of the World Los Angeles has adopted this policy on mandatory vaccination to safeguard the health of our employees from the hazard of COVID-19. All employees covered by this policy are required to be fully vaccinated as a term and condition of employment at Citizens of the World Los Angeles. CWC employees/ prospective employees may apply for medical or religious exemptions from this requirement. Exemptions are granted in very rare circumstances as CWC LA schools are co-located with traditional LAUSD schools, and on LAUSD sites, no employee can access campus without being vaccinated. We are required to follow LAUSD policy for those sites.

Employees will be considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the requisite number of doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. An employee will be considered partially vaccinated if they have received only one dose of a two-dose vaccine. Potential candidates for employment will be notified by CWC HR Dept. during onboarding on how to submit proper verification of COVID-19 vaccination prior to the start of employment.

CWC LA is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and, as an organization serving a diverse group of students, works to reflect this diversity in our staff as well.

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