Head of Middle School

Prizmah•Chicago, IL

1d•$140,000 - $185,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Head of Middle School is the educational, cultural, and operational leader of Bernard Zell’s Middle School, responsible for creating a challenging, joyful, and values-driven experience for students in grades 5–8. The Head leads the division’s day-to-day life and builds trusting relationships with students, faculty, families, and colleagues across the School. The role calls for an experienced, relational school leader who combines warmth with high expectations, supports and develops faculty, establishes consistent behavioral expectations, communicates transparently with families, and exercises sound judgment while remaining open to adjusting course when appropriate. The Head reports to the Associate Head of School for Education, works closely with the Head of School, and serves on the Education and Core Leadership Teams. The role directly supervises the Director of Student Life, Athletics Director, and Middle School Faculty, and partners closely with Student Services, Jewish Studies, High School Counseling, Operations, Admissions, and other school leaders. The Head has significant input into the division’s leadership and support structure. The Head advances academic excellence and high-school readiness; cultivates student belonging, well-being, and accountability; supports faculty growth and management; builds strong family partnerships; and ensures Jewish values, culture, tradition, learning, and Hebrew are meaningfully reflected in Middle School life. The Head is expected to be a visible and engaged presence in classrooms, hallways, student life, extracurricular activities, family programs, and faculty spaces, and to communicate the distinctive value of the Middle School program. This is a year-round, exempt position, available July 1, 2027. The annual salary range is $140,000–$185,000, based on experience. Employment is contingent on successfully passing a criminal background screening. Bernard Zell is an equal opportunity employer.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required.
Significant successful experience as a school leader, preferably as a Middle School Head, Assistant Division Head, Dean, or comparable leader in an independent school and/or Jewish day school.
Meaningful experience teaching or working directly with middle school students.
Demonstrated success supervising, coaching, evaluating, developing, and retaining faculty and staff.
Experience navigating complex relationships among students, families, faculty, and school leadership in an independent-school environment.
Appreciation for pluralistic Jewish education and the diversity of Jewish identity and practice within a school community.
Commitment to inclusiveness, belonging, diversity, and the School’s Jewish mission and values.
Strong judgment, organization, prioritization, and communication skills, including the ability to navigate students’, faculty’s, and families’ needs simultaneously.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree in education, educational leadership, or a related field strongly preferred.
Familiarity with the Chicago or other comparable high-school application processes.
Experience as a Middle School Head, Assistant Division Head, Dean, or comparable leader is preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead the Middle School and oversee its day-to-day operation.
Articulate and advance a clear vision for the Middle School experience and the knowledge, skills, habits, character, and Jewish identity students should develop by graduation.
Lead with sound judgment and clear priorities, distinguish urgent matters from important long-term work, and ensure timely decisions and follow-through.
Build a collaborative leadership culture and partner with division heads and school leaders to support continuity and schoolwide alignment.
Establish high standards for teaching, learning, assessment, and academic growth across the Middle School.
Partner with the Associate Head of School for Education, instructional leaders, and department leads to monitor program quality and instructional practice.
Prepare students for high school independence, workload, accountability, and intellectual demands, coordinating with those responsible for secondary-school advising, testing, applications, and transition.
Use data, observation, and feedback to assess student progress and program effectiveness.
Develop relationships with students and maintain a visible presence throughout Middle School life.
Oversee student behavior, discipline, reflection, restoration, and accountability in partnership with the Director of Student Life and other designated leaders.
Work with Student Services to ensure student needs are met.
Ensure behavioral expectations and consequences are clear, developmentally appropriate, equitable, and consistently applied.
Support thoughtful approaches to student wellness, technology use, AI, and adolescent development.
Lead, motivate, support, and inspire faculty; build trust, collaboration, candor, and shared responsibility.
Observe, coach, supervise, and evaluate faculty through a consistent, realistic, growth-oriented process.
Strengthen onboarding and early-career support for new faculty, and support teachers with classroom management, family communication, teaching practice, and school procedures.
Participate in faculty and staff recruitment, hiring, retention, assignment, and, when necessary, separation.
Conduct purposeful and transparent division, grade-level, and leadership meetings.
Serve as an accessible resource for families, listen and respond with empathy and professional judgment, communicate proactively and transparently, and partner with families to support student independence and readiness for high school.
Integrate Jewish values, culture, tradition, Hebrew, and Israel into Middle School life in partnership with Jewish Studies leadership.
Connect Jewish values to community responsibility, service, and student leadership, and help students develop Jewish identity and responsibility as members of the broader community.
Oversee Middle School schedules in partnership with academic leadership; manage the division budget and recommend staffing, program investments, and resource allocation.
Develop and maintain efficient systems for communication, meetings, workflow, and follow-through.
Serve actively on the Education and Core Leadership Teams and represent the Middle School in admissions, retention, recruitment, and community-facing activities.
Communicate the distinctive value of the Middle School and the strengths of its graduates.
Supervise and support experiential learning, extracurricular activities, athletics, arts, service, traditions, celebrations, and other community experiences.
Partner across divisions to strengthen transitions into Middle School and provide a cohesive student and family experience.
Perform other duties consistent with the position’s scope and leadership responsibilities in support of the school community.