Organization: ACE Charter School
Job Title: Founding Principal
Location: San Jose

Posted: 12/18/07

ACE Charter School, a 5th-8th grade middle school focusing on propelling low-achieving students to academic proficiency, is seeking a founding principal to open the school in Summer 2008. The school will open with 120 5th graders in 2008, and grow to a capacity of 400 students by 2011.

The ACE Charter School will be located in east San Jose, California, in the Alum Rock School District. The school’s mission is to recruit students in this under-resourced area who are already two or more years below grade level by the 5th grade and provide them with the remediation and acceleration they need to go off to high school ready to succeed in college-prep courses.

ACE has been working in education reform in San Jose, California since 2004 through the successful incubation of four small, autonomous schools in the Alum Rock Union Elementary and the Franklin McKinnley School Districts. ACE is looking to build on the success of those models to develop a charter school that can break the cycle of failure for low-achieving students and their families.

Job Description of Founding Principal:
The Principal, the academic leader at the School, spearheads the development of the school’s curriculum and culture.

The Principal leads teachers and staff in the development and on-going improvement of an academic program specifically tailored to the needs of the school’s low-achieving target student; guides teachers in the implementation of schoolwide best practices, discipline-specific curricula and assessments, and school culture; and trains, supervises, and evaluates all staff and teachers, and has the final say in all hiring decisions.

The Principal is the standard-bearer for the core value of Ganas (a Spanish word meaning “desire” or “effort” which is the unifying idea behind all school work), responsible for coaching staff and parents in helping students show Ganas in everyday choices and supporting teachers by dealing quickly and effectively with students who violate the code of conduct. The goal of this work will be to create and maintain a respectful, responsible school environment that is welcoming to the community and supportive of student effort and achievement.

The Principal is also the public face of the school in the community, working to build a connection between school and families and other stakeholders that is strong, mutually respectful, and marked by continual communication about student performance and behavior. The Principal leads the staff in reaching out to families and the community to recruit students and staff and build a network of collaboration that supports student success.

Qualifications:
The Charter School Principal has the abilities and qualities necessary to guide a group of teachers and families through the process of starting a school from scratch. The Principal must be an expert teacher and/or administrator with a demonstrated record of success in urban schools with high numbers of low-achieving students. Primary job qualifications for the Principal include:

• Excellent communication and community-building skills
• Extensive knowledge of curriculum development and school design in schools that serve low-achieving students
• Ability to create and sustain positive, ambitious school culture among staff and students
• A record of classroom success with low-achieving students
• A record of success in supporting, developing teachers
• Experience in assessment and achievement data analysis
• Minimum 3 years working as an administrator or teacher in urban public schools
• Minimum of conversational Spanish
• Educational background to include a BA and teaching credential

The position comes with competitive salary and full benefits.

To apply, please send a cover letter, resume, and two references or letters of recommendation to:
glippman@acepublic.org

OR

ACE Charter School
Attn: Principal Job Application
1100 Shasta Avenue
San Jose, CA 95126

For more information, please contact ACE Executive Director Greg Lippman at (408) 677-1546 or glippman@acepublic.org.