School Leader - Memphis Campus

Description

ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION

Urban Dove operates a completely unique and innovative network of alternative sports-based high schools for highly at-risk students. Our Urban Dove Team Charter Schools combine a rigorous academic curriculum with a hands-on, real-world vocational program, and an award-winning college and career readiness program that strives to give each graduate a high school diploma, a foundation for higher education, and the job skills needed to enter the world of work.

ABOUT THE POSITION

The School Leader will lead Urban Dove Team Charter School Memphis and will work closely with Urban Dove in its role as the Charter Management Organization (CMO) to implement the school model and organizational vision. UD Team Memphis will be an Opportunity Charter High School serving highly at-risk middle and high school students. The SL will report to, and work with, the school's Board of Directors. The School Leader is responsible for creating and maintaining an engaging, positive, and supportive school culture using a youth development framework. The SL will consistently ensure all staff utilize restorative and therapeutic approaches to behavior and discipline and will model this approach daily. The School Leader will use data to create accountability for all staff in evaluations and create improvement plans as needed. The School Leader will directly supervise a Leadership Team and key staff. The Board of Directors evaluates the SL annually but empowers the CMO's Director of Schools to supervise and support the SL on a daily basis. To facilitate the success of its new school in Memphis, Urban Dove is partnering with Groundswell Network, a national organization whose mission is to "identify, strengthen, and scale the best alternative schools." This partnership combines Urban Dove's proven school model and experience with replication with Groundswell's expertise in building ecosystems that support high-quality school options for highest-need students.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES:

Organizational Leadership

• Ensure high quality execution of the school's charter in accordance with all Tennessee charter frameworks
• Ensure all staff have the skills, confidence and support they need to be successful
• Plan and facilitate school-wide PD according to school priorities and staff needs
• Give honest, clear and helpful feedback to staff
• Actively and strategically manage staff hiring, development, and retention to maintain overall staff quality and meet school needs
• Maintain clear and explicit organizational and behavioral expectations for all members of the school community
• Demonstrate ability to understand and analyze data from multiple sources
• Proactively analyze and diagnose problems and solve them thoughtfully and creatively Provide mechanisms for stakeholder voice/participation in decision-making
• Build leadership capacity for staff members
• Work closely with the Charter Management team on all high level strategic and financial decision making
• Report out monthly to the Board of Directors

School Model, Academics & Curriculum

• Ensure faithful implementation of all aspects of the UD Team model
• Ensure delivery of a high quality Sports-Based Youth Development program
• Articulate a clear vision for high student achievement that meets Urban Dove's stated organizational goals
• Align youth development and support services around academic goals
• Make curricular choices that are aligned with school model and instructional vision
• Use assessments to determine student progress toward goals and to adjust classroom instruction
• Ensure that curricula, unit and lessons will lead all students to mastery of rigorous content and higher-order thinking skills
• Ensure that curricula, units and lessons are engaging and accessible to all students
• Build consistency in instruction across all learning spaces

School Culture & Community Engagement

• Create an environment that prioritizes caring, respectful relationships among teachers, students, staff, and families
• Define, guide, and embody key elements of school culture for the whole community
• Approach discipline and social-emotional support through a restorative lens such that a safe and inclusive environment results
• Work with the CMO to engage families and recruit students, including building strong relationships with District schools, CBOs and other community partners
• Maintain positive and engaging relationships with all stakeholders, including community leaders, elected officials, and families
• Articulate with expertise the school history, mission, model and outcomes
• Clearly articulate how UD is creating a new narrative around alternative schools and alternative accountability in Memphis and beyond

KEY SKILLS AND CHARACTERISTICS:

• Must believe ALL students can learn and have a passion for working with highly at-risk student populations
• Demonstrated ability to multi-task and deliver high-quality work
• Commitment to the UD Team mission and core values of Teamwork, Leadership, and Communication
• Commitment to the use of restorative practices and a strength-based, youth development approach to student issues
• Ability to function well as part of a team and work independently
• Must be team-oriented, possess a strong work ethic, have excellent communication skills and a sense of humor
• Is reflective, continually seeks to improve his/her/their own performance and welcomes and acts on performance feedback

Requirements

• Master's Degree from a competitive college or university; SBL preferred
• At least 10 years of experience in youth development with high school age youth, preferably with highly at-risk students
• At least 3 years of experience in a leadership role in a youth service or school environment

MISSION

Urban Dove energizes, educates, and empowers young people through our network of UD Team Charter Schools. UD Team's innovative model uses sports, teams, restorative practices and mentoring to create a culture of high expectations and shared responsibility. By instilling our core values of Teamwork, Leadership and Communication, we develop our students into confident young adults ready to reach their full potential. Some highlights of our program include:

• Students are members of small, single-gender teams that practice together, play together, go to class together, and receive support services together
• Students spend significant portions of each day playing and participating in a sports, health and fitness curriculum
• Each team of students is accompanied and mentored by a Coach
• UD Team uses restorative practices in response to behavior infractions and focuses heavily on youth development and the social emotional education of our students

EEOC

Urban Dove provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

To apply, please submit a resume and cover letter. Cover letter should include (but not be limited to) information regarding your interest in, and ideas about, Opportunity Charter Schools in Tennessee, any experience serving the specific student populations included in the legislation and any experience with Sports-Based Youth Development.