School Leader Washington Connections Academy

Position Summary and Responsibilities

Washington Connections Academy seeks a dynamic, transformative leader and change agent to serve as its next School Leader. This position ensures all students receive a personalized learning plan by implementing a distance education instructional program with fidelity. The School Leader is responsible for the school’s culture: putting the interests of students and families first; continuous academic and operational improvement; recruiting, retaining and developing faculty and staff; and building and growing relationships with key external stakeholders including regulators.

Working from home and our office in Tumwater, Washington, the School Leader will lead and manage staff as they work regularly with Learning Coaches and students to ensure each child successfully completes their instructional program. The School Leader is responsible for overseeing overall school operations working with parents, students, support staff, and certified teachers who virtually facilitate a home-based student instructional program. The School Leader is also responsible for working with external stakeholders on matters of policy, budget, academic outcomes, reporting, and supervision. The School Leader will report to the Director of School Operations.

Set forth and embody compelling mission, vision and value statements that are effectively communicated to the staff, students, parents and applicable stakeholders; Deliver the academic success and outcomes of the school while ensuring compliance with state-mandated policies and procedures, based on a list of annual school goals which will include the School’s charter/authorizer goals as well as Washington’s State Report Card; Oversee the implementation of the proven Connections Academy school curriculum and school operation protocols; Recruit, supervise and evaluate school administrators and leadership team members; Oversee the supervision and evaluation process for all staff, ensuring they exhibit and maintain a high level of professionalism, instructional support, and customer service; Build, model and oversee a strong community of practice culture through supporting the Professional Learning Community (PLC) structure, designing and executing effective professional development agendas that support educational staff in continuous growth opportunities; Develop and maintain a positive schoolwide culture of continuous academic and operational improvement as evidenced through the creation, implementation, management, and monitoring of a robust School Improvement Plan; Ensure all state reporting is completed correctly and on time; Maintain productive relationships with the authorizers and OSPI while staying current on the state’s policies, procedures, and legislation, including Special Education and Multilingual, policies and procedures; Collaborate and attend meetings as required with Mary M. Knight and Goldendale Superintendents and the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) on school related matters; Provide the authorizer with regular written and verbal reports and updates (as needed); Exhibit high quality, timely communication with all school staff, students, and families; Responsible for establishing, monitoring, implementing the School’s budget; including working closely with PVS on staffing, budgeting, grants, and contracts in accordance with Washington laws and regulations, as well as federal laws and regulations; Work closely with Pearson Virtual Schools staff to implement the core Connections Academy operational model; Work with administrative team to implement any program changes to processes and procedures, and/or new software application introductions; Handle any student, parent or teacher issues escalated from stakeholders; Oversee the management of, contracting and/or delivery of Special Education and Multilingual Education services to ensure that the school is in compliance with state and federal laws; Oversee the implementation and coordination of state standardized testing process and ensure high student participation rates meet or exceed state and federal guidelines; Act as the “face of the school” and school advocate at school events and with OSPI, the Legislature, or other policy groups. This could include testimony; Support efforts to gather and coordinate stakeholders who can provide statements at legislative hearings; Oversee newsletter production, phone calls, regional meetings, and surveys; Perform all other duties as assigned.

Capabilities:

Customer Centric – Acts with a strong customer mindset (both internal and external) and is a visible advocate for the customer. Builds strong relationships with school staff, students and families and uses those to improve their experience and outcomes. Delivering Financial Results – A strong track record of delivering against budgets and commitments. Communications - A great communicator who engages teams and stakeholders with thoughtful delivery and messages that resonate. Confident Public Speaker. Produces high-quality written communications. Building a strong team- Creates strong morale and inclusive spirit within team. Proactively addresses team performance and communication challenges and blends new people into teams when needed. Has a track record of hiring and quickly and effectively onboarding great talent. Demonstrated success developing and promoting talent. Holds staff accountable to a high standard of performance. Works well in a matrix - Models collaboration, solves problems, efficiently and constructively with peers, builds trust and support. Agile and flexible in day-to-day operations and duties. Demonstrated ability to work well in a fast-paced environment. Takes personal responsibility – Can be relied on to complete tasks timely and well, demonstrates “ownership” regardless of the outcome, proactive in exploring and leveraging new opportunities. Demonstrates a commitment to goal-directed management and accountability.