Principal Job Description

The School District of X is seeking a visionary, strategic, dynamic, effective, and innovative leader to serve as the next Principal of the X Middle School.   We are searching for a candidate that can meet and exceed the high standards of working in a progressive district that is committed to continuous improvement efforts to increase student learning and close the achievement gap while building teacher capacity.  Our District is committed to ensuring that every student is college and career ready and can actively be successful in a global society.

DESCRIPTION:  Under the direction of the Superintendent, the Principal serves as the instructional leader of the X School and works collaboratively to achieve academic excellence, leading and developing all members of the school staff and communicating effectively with parents, students, members of the community, and colleagues.  The X Principal is responsible for planning, curriculum development, program evaluation, personnel management, financial management, emergency procedures, resource scheduling, and facilities operations.  The X Principal is responsible for implementing and managing the policies, regulations, and procedures of the District to ensure that all students are educated in a positive and safe learning environment.  

REQUIREMENTS: Candidate must possess a valid Wisconsin Administrative license #5051 and have a minimum of three years of successful teaching experience

Essential Core Beliefs and Values of X Principal:

• Believe that all students can grow and achieve at high levels and that achievement gaps are not insurmountable
• Believe that being active within the greater school community enriches all teaching and learning experiences
• Value a positive and inclusive climate and culture
• Value effective, consistent, transparent and thorough communication with students, staff, parents, and the community
• Value integrity, character and moral/ethical leadership

Essential Skills, Duties & Responsibilities of X Principal:

• Significant background in curriculum and researched based instruction for literacy and mathematics
• Communicate and lead a compelling and inspiring school mission and vision
• Collaboratively develop core beliefs and values to be commonly shared
• Implement and encourage distributive leadership among teachers and support staff
• Provide instructional leadership in curriculum, instruction, and assessment
• Engage in data driven school improvement efforts and set rigorous goals to achieve excellence
• Supervise and evaluate staff within the Wisconsin Educator Effectiveness System to assess classroom instruction and provide guidance for instructional improvement
• Establish and sustain a professional learning community
• Engage in skilled conflict resolution
• Promote PBIS / positive behavior expectations for students, staff and parents
• Advocate for, develop, nurture, and sustain a safe, positive, and academically engaging school climate
• Manage site-based budget and master scheduling of the building
• Possess advanced technology skills
• Utilize effective time management and team-building skills
• Engage families and work with the community to establish and sustain positive partnerships
• Recruit, select, hire, and retain high-quality employees
• Demonstrate behavior consistent with legal, ethical, and professional standards
• Engaging in continuous professional development to grow as a leader

Current Job Description - Literacy Coach/Literacy Coordinator

At the beginning of this year I switched positions from 1.0 FTE District Literacy Coach to 1.0 FTE Literacy Coach Literacy Coordinator.  The posting for this position was written as below.

Position Title: Literacy Coach/Literacy Coordinator

Requirements: Three to five years experience as a literacy coach; must possess a WDPI 5017 ­ Reading Specialist License; Trained in Comprehensive Literacy Model; Comprehensive Literacy Coach Training preferred; and demonstrated professional growth in literacy and coaching preferred.

Description: Under the direction of the Director of Instruction, the Literacy Coach / Literacy Coordinator will serve as a resource for instructional staff and administration, helping guide all facets of the district’s literacy programming and services. The primary role of this position is to provide leadership and coordination in the development and implementation of effective core literacy programming to ensure that all students are successfully meeting literacy benchmarks throughout their 4K­12 education.

Contract: 187 days + 20 Additional Days

Knowing the responsibilities of my position, I would post the position in the same way but add a list of essential job duties/functions after the description:

Essential Job Duties/Functions:

Literacy Coach

• Provide coach support for instructional staff in the intermediate elementary and middle grades
• Provide professional development for instructional staff in pedagogy and philosophy of literacy teaching and learning
• Serve with a team of professionals to visioning, guiding and planning for systemic literacy improvements
• Facilitate classroom, school-wide, and district-wide improvement through the systemic implementation of the Comprehensive Literacy Model to provide instructional literacy coaching to build certified staff teacher capacity and expertise aiding in the development of high-quality staff to accelerate student achievement
• Collaborate with school leaders (principals and Director of Instruction) to improve curriculum, systems, building level goals, and/or fidelity of implementation of literacy content and instructional frameworks
• Research best-practices to stay current with content and pedagogical knowledge related to curriculum, instruction, and assessment in order to train teachers

• Provide 1-1 literacy coaching as a means of job-embedded professional development to develop teacher expertise in an individualized, apprenticeship approach
• Provide professional development in small-group and whole-group settings related to the Comprehensive Literacy Model and other district literacy initiatives (during school year and at new teacher inservice)
• Facilitate large and small group meetings for professional development with an emphasis on literacy
• Preview and select professional teaching resources for teachers and student learning resources (mentor texts, shared reading/guided reading/LDG core texts, professional texts, classroom library texts)
• Provide leadership in the development, utilization and maintenance of the building’s reading and writing progress monitoring walls (coding, placement guides)
• Plan, coordinate, and facilitate summer curriculum teams focused on instruction and instructional resources

Literacy Coordinator Duties

• General Literacy Programming Leadership

• Collaborate with administration in annual strategic planning specific to District literacy programming and achievement
• Assist the Director of Instruction, the Director of Pupil Services and Building Principals in realization of District strategic plan goals in the area of literacy (see final page for specific goals for 2016-2017)
• Assist the Director of Instruction in coordination of and providing leadership for the curriculum renewal and evaluation process for literacy with alignment to Common Core State Standards and/or other appropriate national benchmarks and standards
• Assist the Director of Instruction in coordination of and providing leadership for the literacy coaching program
• Assist administration in further developing the district RtI framework as related to literacy as well as strategies for at-risk students
• New Staff Support in the Area of Literacy

• Responsibility for onboarding of new staff in the area of literacy
• Support and mentor new and developing coaches in their training and first years of implementation

• Support Continued Improvement Efforts in Literacy
• Coordination and shared leadership with the Director of Instruction and other administrators as applicable of of summer tasks, teams or curriculum work in the area of literacy
• Assessment, Reporting and Results-Driven Literacy Achievement
• Work with District Data Coordinator to establish data systems for collection, reporting and analysis of literacy achievement
• Provide leadership in local data analysis to monitor student learning and to help set goals in the area of literacy
• Assist in analyzing State Report Card data and Forward Exam data as it relates to literacy achievement, growth, and gap analysis
• Assist administration with implementation of literacy goals and support with the Educator Effectiveness system as related to literacy (principal SLOs as applicable and Teacher SLO banks as applicable)
• Assist administration in developing annual District metrics of student achievement to facilitate strong goal setting and quantification of initiative impact and ongoing program effectiveness
• Support administration in their use of literacy student achievement and growth data with their staffs
• Establish District and building-level annual ESAIL assessment and reporting structures and associated systems
• Assist with student preparation for State, district, and building-level assessments to ensure student preparation
• Literacy Service/Programming Alignment
• Support alignment of literacy services across programming including special education, ELL and literacy intervention
• Establish and support strong connection and integration of literacy interventionist and literacy coaching professionals and roles