Superintendent Job Description - FLAMA

Salary: $175,000-$200,000 (negotiable)

Degree Requirement: Master's degree

Certification Requirement: Superintendent Certification

Superintendent Role:

FLAMA is seeking to fill the role of Superintendent. The Superintendent will also largely serve as a Principal with support from the Director of Academics and Director of Music & Arts. We seek a Superintendent committed to FLAMA’s mission and who possesses the following qualifications and experience aligned with the school’s key pillars:

Qualifications and Experience:

1. Educational Leadership

a. 10-15 years of experience in education.

b. Proven track record of leading an elementary school, ideally a Title 1 School, with a strong record of results and academic success. Additional middle school leadership experience is highly valued.

c. Commitment to and experience implementing direct-instruction model.

d. Experience serving Special Education (SPED), Emergent Bilingual (EB), and at-risk students with positive results.

e. Experience implementing an executive function curriculum valued.

f. Must be committed to the idea that all students can succeed in high school, college, and beyond.

2. Curriculum Design and Selection

a. Experience overseeing curricula selection.

b. Background / deep interest in and experience implementing a cognitive science-informed approach to curricula development and teaching.

3. Music and Art Education

a. Values music and art education for all students.

b. Experience developing/overseeing music and arts education programming, preferably in a leadership capacity.

c. Committed to the vision of integrating reading and math content into music and art classes.

4. Wrap-Around Services

a. Must be willing to serve as a strong partner with Communities in Schools to offer students and families wrap-around services.

b. Must recognize the importance of health, especially for students who experience food insecurity, and must be committed to building strong programs for nourishment and exercise through the academic and extracurricular programming at FLAMA.

c. Experience offering wrap-around services is highly valued.

5. Extracurricular Programming

a. Committed to helping develop free after-school programs for students.

6. Disciplinary Concerns

a. Demonstrated experience successfully working with students, faculty, and families to manage and remedy disciplinary concerns.

7. Family Outreach and Community Engagement

a. Demonstrated experience and interest in family outreach and service. Commitment to engaging with the wider community.

8. Professional Development

a. Heavy focus on / strong experience providing growth-oriented professional development programs for faculty.

b. Interest in collaborating with researchers at UH and UHD to incorporate cutting-edge research into classroom via the PD program.

9. Human Resources

a. Experienced managing hiring decisions, feedback and evaluations, and HR concerns.

10. Financial and Data Management

a. Experience overseeing finances, PEIMS, and other data management.

11. Board Relations

a. Experience effectively working with school board.

b. Committed to partnering with Board and institutions the Board can engage to help serve students, faculty and families.

c. Committed to transparency.

12. Professionalism and Leadership

a. Overall high level of professionalism, a lifelong learner, and a teacher at heart.

b. Holds a high standard for student and faculty achievement, setting the bar highest for themselves.

Areas of Oversight & Responsibilities

Curriculum design & selection:

Oversees the selection and design of curricula to ensure the effectiveness of teacher support strategies implemented by the Director of Academics and the Director of Music & Arts. Integrates findings from data management into the decision-making process around curriculum design and selection. Stays abreast of research from the cognitive sciences and coordinates with researchers at UH, UHD and HCU with regard to latest insights and translates those to the classroom through effective PD.

Professional Development:

Works alongside the Director of Academics and the Director of Music & Arts, as well as the Board and outside partners to develop the on-boarding and ongoing professional development program. Oversees the ongoing work of the Director of Academics and Director of Music & Arts with regard to professional development. To ensure that the Superintendent has continual teaching practice, so as to inform his or her professional development work, the Superintendent will teach 5 periods weekly. When the Superintendent is teaching these 5 periods (one period daily), the Director of Academics will respond to any urgent matters under the Superintendent's purview.

Oversight of Data Management:

Ensures that effective responses/interventions are made with regard to student outcomes shown in data collected. Supports Director of Academics and Special Populations Coordinator in synthesizing data collected. Promotes effective strategies school-wide and correct ineffective strategies with the involvement of relevant parties and the Board.

Management of Discipline & Behavior:

Informed by FLAMA’s culture building efforts, executive function skills curriculum, code of conduct and discipline policies, works with leadership and faculty to create a system that develops positive student behavior. Superintendent will work with student, relevant faculty and support teams, and caretakers to support student and turn around problematic behavior. If the superintendent is unavailable to fill the immediate duty, it falls to the Director of Academics and then the Director of Music & Arts, who are to coordinate any follow-up and/or caretaker outreach with the Superintendent.

Fiscal & Administrative management:

Works with Board and staff to develop annual budget, enrollment projections and associated personnel needs. Ensures fiscal rules are well communicated and adhered to.

Facilities and Safety management:

Coordinates with landlord to ensure facility maintenance and appropriate expansion of school space. Works with security and school leadership to develop safety plans and ensure an orderly and safe campus.

Leadership & Culture:

Serves as a model of school culture, especially with regard to creating a welcoming climate for students, staff, families and the wider community. Serves as a model of engaged learning, professionalism, respectfulness, and ethics. Actively participates in community outreach and recruiting efforts.

Personnel Management:

Works with the Board to recruit, interview and hire school leadership and non-teaching staff. Responsible for evaluations and individual growth plans of school leadership and non-teaching staff.

Liaise with Board:

Responsible for presenting updates at each board meeting and at committee meetings when requested. Responsible for following up with Board on assigned agenda items. Duty to make the board aware of any concerns that should be raised to the board level promptly.

Selection Process:

To apply, please submit a resume and cover letter to David Thompson at dthompson@thompsonhorton.com and Dr. Mike Moses at mmsec51@gmail.com and cc Andrea Hauge at andrea.k.hauge@gmail.com.

After reviewing applications, a short list of candidates will be identified and invited for interviews. Finalists will be selected by Spring 2025, if not earlier, with the selection of a sole finalist by June 2025, if not earlier.

FLAMA will use a sole finalist model in hiring for this role.