Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS) is one of Minnesota’s largest school districts with more than 37,000 students. Highly trained and deeply dedicated staff, cutting-edge academic programs, and strong community support are among the district’s hallmarks. Our student population is diverse, with students who speak more than 125 languages and dialects.
Our Vision: Imagine every student inspired, challenged, and cared for by exceptional educators. Imagine your family welcomed, respected and valued by exceptional schools. Imagine our community united, strengthened, and prepared for an exceptional future. Saint Paul Public Schools: Where imagination meets destination.
Our Mission: To provide a premier education for all.
The Human Resource Department will review your qualifications and may contact you for an interview.
Position Summary: The principal serves as instructional leader of the school and leads school staff, students, and school communities in creating an environment that supports an outstanding education for all students. The ideal leader will:
Be focused on results and have proven success in increasing student achievement and adult performance;
Influence and motivate others to reach their potential;
Be solution-oriented and creative problem solvers with experience in data analysis and creating and managing systems;
Set high expectations and communicate them to a variety of stakeholders;
Understand, communicate and effectively interact with people across cultures;
Continually reflect and seek feedback to improve their practice;
Have demonstrated perseverance in their career and education;
Thrive in a fast-paced, change-oriented environment; and
Possess strong pedagogical skills and be highly effective at coaching other adults.
Reporting Relationship
Report to an Assistant Superintendent.
This posting will close at the end of the day on Friday, Januay 10, 2020.
The essential functions include, but are not limited to, the following fundamental duties:
Strategic Leadership
Create a culturally competent environment at the school where diversity is valued and all students and adults thrive and achieve at the highest levels by developing staff through related training; providing support for diverse groups in the school; initiating direct conversations about culture and diversity; and integrating learning opportunities that come from a diverse community into the school’s educational opportunities.
Develop a shared vision for the school by effectively engaging the school community in identifying factors critical to student achievement; ensure that all stakeholders are aware of the school’s goals for instruction and achievement.
Facilitate shared leadership and strategic empowerment; cultivate leaders from within and create opportunities for staff to lead; build a leadership team and teacher leaders to participate in the analysis of school operations and strategic planning.
Plan and manage a fiscally responsible budget that supports student achievement; ensure the strategic allocation and equitable use of financial and human capital resources to meet instructional goals and support staff needs; evaluate the success of funding and programming
Utilize systems thinking in problem-solving and to align school vision and goals to district strategic plan.
Instructional & Learning Leadership
Serve as the instructional leader for the building by establishing a school culture that allows for high student academic and social and emotional learning outcomes; setting clear goals; managing the delivery of curriculum; allocating resources to instruction; ensuring that teachers get the training, direction and support they need to deliver quality instruction to every student; evaluating teachers and related activities.
Build and maintain a focus on ambitious school achievement for students; create structures that enable students to generate activities and ideas that link school to future aspirations and to college and career experiences.
Lead the utilization of the multiple forms of student-level data and student work available to increase student achievement and identify student interventions including utilizing data to identify areas for instructional improvement, to refine and adapt instructional practices, and to determine appropriate strategies across all grades and content areas.
Lead the school’s vision, mission, and strategic goals to support college-readiness and academic and socioemotional success for all students;
Drive rapid and dramatic instructional improvements by implementing strategies in line with the priority areas identified in the district strategic plan, SPPS Achieves;
Support and supervise the design of rigorous, standards-based instruction with measurable outcomes;
Implement an observation and feedback cycle that ensures continuous improvement in teaching and learning;
Develop and implement a professional development plan to address identified areas of need; and
Develop a collegial environment that supports teacher leadership, collaboration, and growth.
Communications Leadership
Design a system of open, clear, and effective communication for the school; ensure that teaching staff communicate to families about student progress and specific ways to support their children’s learning; utilize feedback from school staff, parents, students and community groups to improve school-wide processes; adapt modes and styles of communication that make materials meaningful and engaging to staff, parents, students and community groups;
Lead efforts to develop, or design, opportunities for family and community involvement at the school; create a school-wide culture that makes school feel accessible to families and the community.
Articulate the school’s mission to the community and solicit its support in realizing the mission.
Demonstrate awareness of school and community needs and initiate activities to meet those needs.
Actively advocate for and engage families and communities.
Communicate and promote expectations for high-level performance of staff and students.
Facilitate effective and timely resolution of conflicts.
Management Leadership
Establish processes and systems to ensure a high-quality, high-performing, staff including those for recruiting and hiring new staff, staff training and mentoring of staff, staff recognition, and performance management; ensure that leadership and professional development growth opportunities are available for staff; analyze staff evaluations and utilize the results to direct professional development activities.
Provide instructional resources and materials to support teaching staff in accomplishing instructional goals.
Encourage active involvement in decision-making processes among staff members.
Provide for two-way communication with superintendent, staff, students, parents, and community.
Perform other related duties as assigned.
Leadership Guiding Values:
Equity leadership is critical. It is essential that all SPPS staff are racial equity leaders in partnership with students, families, and the community.
We want the best. To ensure that we hire the best instructional leaders to guide our school communities, we will implement a competitive process and solicit feedback from our school communities to ensure the best match.
Strategy is a must. Transformational leadership is mission and vision driven. School improvement does not occur in a vacuum, rather it takes purposeful and strategic actions.
Continuous Improvement is key. Our leaders will pursue excellence by identifying and strengthening what is working well, and interrupt systems that marginalize or inhibit student learning.
Leadership is a journey. We want leaders at all levels in our organization to be aspirational and whenever possible, provide them with ways to select opportunities and actualize their dreams.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
Thorough knowledge, and practical understanding of, instructional methods, learning theories and their implementation, the principles of educational administration and school-based shared decision-making.
A well-developed personal philosophy of education and educational administration consistent with the objectives of the Board of Education and the Superintendent.
Thorough knowledge of the theories and practices of cultural competency as it relates to an inclusive educational environment and student learning.
Thorough knowledge of multicultural, gender, and disability fair curriculum and instruction.
Considerable knowledge of strategic planning and organizational goal setting.
Considerable skill in team development, leadership, and as a systems thinker.
Considerable ability to interact effectively with students, parents, community members, school staff, district administration and other district staff.
Essential functions are functions that the individual holding the position must be able to perform unaided or with the assistance of a reasonable accommodation through the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) and the Americans with Disability Amendments Act (ADAAA). The essential functions are typical duties as outline under Responsibilities.
Saint Paul Public Schools is an equal opportunity employer and supports an inclusive workplace environment.
SPPS is committed to eliminating racial disparities and predictability in achievement and to a workforce which embodies this commitment.