Mission Prep, Executive Director

ORGANIZATION

Mission Preparatory School (Mission Prep) is a single-site public charter school located in San Francisco that serves nearly 500 students in grades K-8, centered on a core belief that all children can achieve at the highest levels regardless of background or circumstance. The school is designed to enable students to become self-motivated, competent, and lifelong learners armed with the knowledge, skills, and strength of character needed to succeed in college and become leaders in their communities. With an uncompromising commitment to upholding the highest academic and behavioral expectations for all children, Mission Prep is designed specifically to address the learning needs of an underserved student population. Through an intensive focus on literacy and the implementation of strategic academic support structures, the school ensures mastery of essential skills and content knowledge, accelerates student achievement, supports student acceptance to top high schools, and lays the foundation for every child to excel in and graduate from college.

In its first decade, Mission Prep has established itself as one of the leading single-site charter schools in the region and the country. With results that regularly surpass the most well-funded charter networks, Mission Prep has received recognition for being within the top public schools in the Bay Area. We are looking for a visionary leader to build on that success and forge the next decade of exceptional education and innovation, and exponentially expand our impact. For more information, please visit www.missionpreparatory.org.

OPPORTUNITY

The Mission Prep community is seeking an experienced leader and strong culture builder to continue the school’s record of academic excellence and cultivate a deep sense of belonging for all stakeholders. Now that the school has graduated its first 8th grade class, this individual will work with the board and whole school community to develop and execute against a vision for Mission Prep’s next ten years of impact. This Executive Director will: lead the vision and implementation of Mission Prep’s rigorous K-8 instructional program; find, retain and develop high-quality faculty and staff; manage up to the board to ensure their effective governance and stewardship of the school; build strong relationships with other leaders, faculty, staff, families and students; and support all members of this diverse community with cultural competence and an emphasis on equity and inclusion.

The ideal candidate will be an experienced school leader who has a track record of ensuring high academic performance for their students in a school serving a diverse group of students and families. They will be skilled at forming and maintaining relationships with a broad range of individuals and across areas of difference like cultural background, linguistic heritage, race, class, socio-economic status and family structure. They will be able to balance the urgency of problem solving in the moment with the need to establish enduring systems so the school can run efficiently over the long-term. They will be an exceptional people manager who inspires those who work for them, helping identify their areas of growth and opportunities to support them in their professional development. And they will be able to work with the board to chart the future path for the organization, including the consideration of different pathways to growth and expansion.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Executive Director will be responsible for the following:

• Working with other stakeholders to develop the vision for the academic program as reflected in the school’s mission, including collaborating with the Board of Directors to formalize this vision and ensure it has adequate resources and support;
• Leading community initiatives to continue building a sense of equity and inclusion within the school while maintaining a strong sense of community among staff, parents and students;
• Maintaining the school’s highly rigorous academic program and work with other administrators and faculty to set instructional goals and priorities (and metrics for their measurement);
• Developing and maintaining strong relationships with all school stakeholders (students, faculty/staff, parents, board members), ensuring transparent lines of communication at all times and addressing issues and concerns in a timely and constructive manner;
• Ensuring that all teachers and staff have constructive relationships with the administrative team, that everyone understands who their supervisor is and is receiving regular feedback, support, and evaluation of their progress and areas for development;
• Building student support systems that provide adequate services to meet students’ academic and social emotional needs and those related to school safety, including developing and staffing these functions appropriately and measuring results to ensure their effectiveness;
• Overseeing the front and back office staff to ensure that all operations issues, including finance, facilities, human resources, student record-keeping, and compliance, are managed efficiently and professionally.

QUALIFICATIONS

In order to meet their responsibilities, the ideal Executive Director candidate will be:

• A proven leader with experience in the education sector and with knowledge of best practices in K-8 schools serving diverse student populations;
• A seasoned professional and experienced manager who knows how to recruit, coach, and develop teachers and staff at all levels;
• An exceptional relationship builder who can quickly gain the confidence of the board, parents, faculty/staff, and students;
• A passionate advocate for all students and families who has a commitment to building a strong culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion at Mission Prep;
• Experienced in school finance and decision-making around resource allocation for a student-serving organization (background working with public school budgeting preferred);
• Comfort serving as the liaison between the school and public agencies, including interacting with the San Francisco Unified School District as Mission Prep’s authorizer;
• Knowledgeable about the academic and social emotional needs of students, especially those of different racial, linguistic, cultural and socio-economic backgrounds;
• Able to ensure the financial health and sustainability of Mission Prep’s programs through developing strong partnerships with internal and external stakeholders, raising public and private dollars as needed;
• Dynamic and versatile, able to engage a variety of stakeholders in dialogue and speak in a clear, compelling and authentic manner both about the school’s goals and priorities and the leader’s decision-making process and plans towards meeting them;
• Proficiency in the Spanish language preferred;
• Bachelor’s degree required; CA administrator credential preferred.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

Mission Preparatory School offers a competitive compensation and benefits package. More details can be provided by request.

TO APPLY

Please submit a resume online at bit.ly/34mMoH2. For additional questions about this position or to speak with someone about your interest, please contact Serena Moy at smoy@edgilityconsulting.com or at 510.575.9635.

Mission Preparatory School is an equal opportunity employer and an organization that values diversity. Recruiting staff to create an inclusive organization is a priority, and we encourage applicants from all backgrounds. Candidates are evaluated solely on their qualifications to perform the work required.