About the School

The William E. Doar Jr Public Charter School for the Performing Arts (WEDJ) blends rigorous academics with world-class arts instruction provided by artists from renowned dance, musical, theatrical, and visual arts institutions. WEDJ is the only public charter school in Washington, DC to provide professional-caliber arts training for students in PreK through eighth grade at no cost to families.

WEDJ serves more than 430 elementary and middle school students, a majority of whom are African American, and 85% of whom qualify for free/reduced priced lunch.

In pursuit of an academic program that matches the success of its arts program, WEDJ partnered with TenSquare, a proven school turnaround partner, to launch a comprehensive school improvement effort in January 2014. Within five months of starting the interventions, student proficiency on the 2014 state exam increased by almost 12% in math and in four out of six grades in ELA. WEDJ’s Performance Management Framework (PMF) score also increased over 11 points, from a borderline Tier 3 score of 36.5 in 2013 to a solid Tier 2 score of 47.6 in 2014.

The TenSquare team will continue to partner with WEDJ leadership throughout SY 15-16 and beyond. TenSquare will support teachers at WEDJ through intensive instructional coaching and professional development, curriculum and planning support, and school and classroom culture development.

For additional information about WEDJ, visit www.wedjschool.us.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Head of School Culture will perform specific responsibilities that include, but are not limited to:

Establish and maintain a school culture that is safe, happy, structured, and achievement-oriented for all students;
Refine and reinforce clearly-defined school-wide procedures that enable a structured school day and after-school environment, including procedures for arrival and dismissal, recess and lunch, and hallway transitions;
Maintain strong, positive student culture through school climate walkthroughs and common planning time meetings with teachers;
Maintain student discipline records, systems, and structures that support a safe learning environment for students and staff;
Create and implement individualized behavior plans for students with demonstrated needs;
Counsel students individually and in small groups around individualized behavior goals to manage crisis intervention and develop social skills and character;
Work closely with families, teachers, partners and community leaders to effectively support students’ social emotional learning;
Create, manage and schedule special incentive programs that promote and maintain a positive school climate, high levels of attendance, and a culture of achievement;
Plan and execute staff-wide professional development around behavior management, classroom culture, and family engagement;
Support teacher and staff development through modeling lessons, observation, and facilitating peer coaching and mentoring;
Oversee extracurricular and summer school programming;
Collaborate with the Head of Operations to ensure the physical environment of the school is conducive to a safe and supportive learning environment.

QUALIFICATIONS

Successful candidates will possess the following qualifications:

Minimum of three to five years of experience working in education or social work in an urban community;
Familiarity with urban elementary and middle school students;
Bachelor’s degree required;
A performance- and results-driven approach to school leadership and student outcomes;
Strong problem-solving, critical thinking, analytic, and communications skills;
Ability to establish a team-building, facilitative rapport with peers, staff, students, parents, and external stakeholders;
Organizational ability to set priorities, organize workload, handle multiple responsibilities and meet deadlines;
Unwavering belief that every child can learn and the drive to help every child reach his or her potential.

How to apply

Please email a cover letter and resume to:executivesearch@thetensquaregroup.com. Please use WEDJ Head of School Culture as the subject line of the email. NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis.

William E. Doar Jr. PCS for the Performing Arts is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and does not allow discrimination with respect to employment or any of the terms or conditions of employment because of race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, age, sexual orientation, sexual identity, marital status or religion. Competitive salary and benefits (commensurate with experience).