Elementary School Director

The French American Academy•Jersey City, NJ

About The Position

The Elementary School Director serves as the educational leader, responsible for implementing the bilingual FAA curriculum and its specific methods. The Director is responsible for managing policies, regulations, and procedures to ensure that all students are supervised in a safe, nurturing, and challenging learning environment. The Elementary School Director speaks both French and English fluently, and behaves professionally with staff, children, parents, visitors, service people, at all times. The director is entitled to confidentiality regarding any school information. Caution should be exercised when discussing personal information in the school office and other public places in and out of school. The Elementary School Director is prepared to flexibly adapt to the diverse situations that arise in a school setting. The Elementary School Director communicates weekly with the Head of School about the needs, successes, and general operation of the center.

Requirements

Demonstrates a capacity to lead a team and manage conflicts between team members
Demonstrates a genuine interest in children
Possesses strong oral & written communication skills in both French and English
Has strong organizational skills and attention to detail
Works independently with little direct supervision
Works as part of a team
Accepts responsibility and is self-motivated
Demonstrates a strong work ethic to achieve academy goals
Displays effective multitasking and time management skills

Responsibilities

Ensure the FAA curriculum and methods are well understood and implemented
Participate in the writing process of the curriculum and make recommendations about curriculum choices and report cards
Provide and maintain a Master schedule of classes and duties in June, with revisions in August, and make any updates when necessary
Meet weekly with the English Coordinator
Meet weekly with the other Division Directors to discuss programs, projects, training, and other management issues
Be aware of all AEFE projects and encourage participation
Coordinate the school events across cycles
Make schedules for show rehearsals and events
Organize the French Evaluations Nationales, and record data
Compare French Evaluations with MAP Assessments
Meet weekly with pedagogical Management across campuses
Maintain daily operations of the Division
Make suggestions for professional development learning in-house and outside
Ensure that each class has a Class Council in function
Promote and support the “flexible classroom.”
Coordinate the transition from 5th to 6th grade with the Middle School Director
Coordinate the transition from K to 1st grade with the Preschool Director
Meet monthly with the other Division Directors and the Sustainable Development Coordinator to discuss projects and eco-delegates’ actions
Share the proofreading of report cards with the Lower School Director
Motivate the team to fulfill their mission and potentially go above and beyond
Onboard new teachers and provide weekly guidance while also celebrating veterans
Conduct useful, meaningful, and fruitful weekly meetings with faculty
Prepare an agenda and record minutes of these weekly meetings
Collect and review yearly and weekly lesson plans
Conduct regular walk-throughs, which include follow-ups and enriching suggestions
Conduct annual formal evaluation of faculty and staff and discuss strengths & weaknesses using the teachers’ rubric components or the job description
Keep a trace of any walk-throughs or evaluations, digitally or in paper form
Organize substitute(s) for the absent team member and be the substitute if needed
Authorize PTO - Paid Time off - days (which are recorded by HR)
Encourage and support bilingual and interdisciplinary projects / Ensure Google form is properly filled out
Provide professional and personal support as needed
Participate actively in any hiring needs in coordination with the HR Director
Provide a professional environment to the faculty with information, schedule, and organization conducive to efficiency
Ensure a school climate where social-emotional learning is applied and understood to support all students' needs
Ensure a school climate where academic excellence is promoted
Ensure a nurturing and safe learning environment through positive language and perfect organization, and schedule
Support the teachers with students showing difficulty before an intervention, and report to the Intervention Meeting when needed
Observe children’s needs in the classroom and bring ideas to the teachers
Establish contact with state and local authorities to receive supplemental aid from JCBOE
Maintain academic records of all students: MAP assessments including MAP Fluency, report cards, national evaluations, DELF diploma, and Graduation Diploma, digitally or in paper
Ensure that Parent-Teacher Conferences notes are recorded in SIS/Renweb
Implement all policies related to Inclusive Services:
Collect requests from teachers for the upcoming Monthly Intervention Meeting (through Google form)
Select the students to be discussed and ensure that the accommodations have already been organized
Gather with other Division Directors and/or consultants to create the agenda of the meeting
Lead the conversation about the student(s) of your division, take notes, and follow up on the action plan
Prepare and participate in PPRE / PAP / PAI Meetings
Monitor the implementation of those plans
Organize the annual speech screening in the 1st grade in coordination with the Preschool Director
Ensure that children with special needs (allergies, asthma, therapies, etc.) receive appropriate support
Organize ESL / FSL and Academic support if needed
Respond to disciplinary issues and organize prevention when needed. Use Non-Violent Communication as one of the tools for solving conflicts
Respond to bullying or any other issues reported promptly and monitor the investigation
Organize the Students Council and keep minutes (2 times per semester)
Sign and analyze all incident/accident reports
Check and confirm the recommendation forms for other schools and sign the French certificates
Ensure that the library is working and that students can borrow books
Prepare and organize 5th 5th-grade graduation day and trip
Validate and confirm extracurricular assemblies and field trips requested by the teachers
Authorize and select content for the 4th & 5th grade overnight trip and day trip in partnership with the Englewood Campus / Monitor reservations made by the Office Manager
Verify the budget and coordinate with the Finance department
Participate in Open-Houses and school fairs to present the FAA mission, values, and curriculum.
Meet with prospective families in coordination with the Admissions Director
Assess the prospective students and provide a detailed opinion on acceptance
Provide regular information to the parents (which includes a monthly email, parent portal announcements, etc.)
Send the monthly calendar to the community and any other useful information (ex, how to help your child with potty training, how to prepare your child for his/her first day of school, etc.)
Organize Back to School night and other events to inform about curriculum and school policies in conjunction with the Head of School
Verify Parent-Teacher Conferences’ schedule
Attend ALL parents' breakfasts
Attend Diversity Committee meetings & Task Force meetings
Work with PTO representatives and attend at least 1 PTO meeting and all school councils
Coordinate with Preschool and Middle School Directors on monthly fire drills and bi-annual lockdown drills
Decides collaboratively with Preschool and Middle School Directors on snow or emergency days
Apply licensing office requirements
Make sure that all safety rules and procedures are followed
Ensure the building is clean
Verify and approve invoices related to her scope of work (ex, music, field trip vendors, etc)
Discuss the budget every month in partnership with the controller and/or business manager