Job Description

In partnership with Ascend principals, the assistant principals of operations (APOs) set the bar for operational excellence and help create vibrant school communities. They implement school-wide visions, evaluate and improve systems, processes and procedures, maintain and manage their school facilities, demonstrating an ability to navigate competing priorities with urgency and a high-level of attention to detail. Our APOs are passionate about developing all non-academic school-based operations staff and rally their teams to achieve ambitious school goals with a high bar of excellence. APOs report directly to Ascend principals and have a dotted line coaching relationship with their respective network directors of operations. In collaboration with principals and the network, APOs maintain financial sustainability, support students and staff with mission-critical, lead ambitious student efforts, and support staff recruitment efforts. They develop enduring and joyful relationships with students, teachers, APO peers, parents, community members, and other network teammates, and they build and help maintain a strong presence for their schools within our local communities.

The APO role is an ideal opportunity for a collaborative and flexible thinker eager for feedback and professional development to play a central leadership role in growing and shaping one of our high-performing public charter schools. As an Ascend assistant principal of operations, you will assume a critical leadership role in a broader network committed to ensuring our students have the knowledge, confidence, and character to succeed in college and beyond.

Why Ascend

Ascend is the largest Brooklyn-based public charter school serving nearly 6,000 K-12 students in 16 schools. We exist to serve every student – to help them embody their inherent excellence by providing rich, joyful learning experiences that unlock a life of boundless choice.

Access to education is a social justice issue. As educators, we center justice and live out our commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism (DEIA) by ensuring that our students have the skills, tools, and confidence they need to thrive today and in the future. We are proud to have a workforce that mirrors the diversity seen in our students. Working at Ascend provides a community focused on developing an environment of support and belonging. Educators collaborate closely and encourage each other to achieve great outcomes.

Our schools honor, nurture, and challenge the whole child. Ascend fosters critical thinking skills and a love of learning through an inquiry-based learning approach, Responsive Classroom model, and anti-racist education. Students at Ascend benefit from a rich and rigorous liberal arts curriculum that nurtures natural curiosity about the world and guides them to think critically and independently.

Ascend invests in employees by providing ongoing professional development, coaching, and career pathways in our schools. We are proud to provide a generous benefits package, which includes flexibility in our healthcare plan, and 403(b) matching starting at year one. At Ascend, we care about our workforce’s mental health and offer services covered by insurance and additional time off for our staff to utilize for their personal care.

For more information on Ascend Public Charter Schools’ model, approach, and core values, please visit our website.

Operational management

• Creates and executes systems and processes to support the short- and long-term goals of the school and supervises the effective use of resources
• Owns and executes all systems and processes to drive smooth day-to-day operations
• Ensures compliance with health and safety mandates, emergency protocols, and state and federal workplace regulations

School culture

• Partners in leading a culture that results in a love of learning, student agency, and full range of student learning and growth
• Builds an engaged, diverse, and inclusive school community
• Plans events and systems aligned to the principal's vision that celebrate scholars, families, and staff

Racial equity mindset

• Creates and sustains a race equity culture, including skill building and leading self and others through awareness, growth, and development
• Continuously strengthens personal and staff knowledge and expertise in effective operational practices with diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism considerations

Strategic leadership

• Leads all aspects of school’s operational management in partnership with the principal
• Works collaboratively and thinks flexibly to support and improve systems and decision-making processes that strengthens outcomes
• Supports the school’s vision for achieving goals and positive student outcomes
• Supports and strengthens a data-driven culture that relentlessly seeks continuous improvement
• Creates, strengthens, and maintains academic and culture systems and procedures

Effective teaming

• Establishes, manages, and develops strong teams that collaborate, communicate, and work together for Ascend students and community
• Fosters and facilitates positive relationships and collaboration with network and school-based leaders to advance efforts that support achievement for all students and to advance Ascend’s mission and goals
• Observes and coaches operations staff leading to professional growth and student achievement
• Sets high expectations and holds team accountable while creating a culture of valuing team feedback
• Executes and evaluates diagnostic assessments, plans, coaching, and evaluations to ensure development of operations staff

Whole student focus

• Fosters and sustains a culture of academic success and social-emotional development through partnerships with students, families, and community
• Fosters and sustains a warm, welcoming, and inclusive environment for scholars, families, and staff
• Engages families and the community in support of each child’s learning and the school’s learning goals
• Partners with principal in launching, strengthening, and sustaining partnerships with community-based organizations

Technological fluency

• Selects, uses, and coaches others in the use of effective technological tools to strengthen school results and student achievement
• Leverages technology platforms to inform planning and decision-making in support of school goals and operations

Staff and reporting relationships

The assistant principal of operations reports to the principal and supervises the operations staff. Network directors of operations (NDOs) have a dotted line coaching relationship with APOs.

• Bachelor's degree, with advanced degree (MPA, MBA, or equivalent experience) is preferred
• Three to five years professional experience, preferably in an educational organization or a school
• A hunger for feedback and self-improvement
• Relentless drive to set and achieve ambitious achievement goals
• A high level of ownership over the overall outcomes of the scholars they lead
• Strong collaboration, interpersonal, and communication skills, including working effectively with people from diverse backgrounds and with diverse perspectives
• Strong organizational, self-management, and problem-solving skills with the ability to handle many responsibilities simultaneously
• Self-awareness, demonstrating an accurate idea of one's own strengths and weaknesses and an ability to treat all members of the school's community with respect
• Strong project management skills
• Dependable, with excellent follow-through
• Alignment with the educational philosophy and core beliefs of Ascend Learning

Compensation

Initial salary offers for this position range from $90,000 - $115,000. Salaries are determined using an equitable compensation scale that accounts for years of experience and levels of attained education.

Diversity at Ascend

Ascend is committed to building a diverse and inclusive community, both through our hiring practices and our focus on creating a culture and environment where diverse perspectives, ideas, and identities are valued and integrated into our way of working and educating students. Ascend staff represent a wide diversity of racial, socio-economic, gender, religious, and national identities—opening a window to the entire Ascend community on the richness of humanity. We welcome all applicants who share our mission and vision to join us in our deeply consequential work.

Ascend's Vaccination Policy Statement

To prevent the infection and spread of COVID-19, and protect the health and safety of staff, students, family members, interns, volunteers, and visitors to Ascend’s premises from COVID-19 infection, Ascend requires all staff to provide proof that they are fully vaccinated for the coronavirus. This policy is mandatory except for staff with a documented medical or religious reason for not receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.

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