Principal (Campus Hornwood) 26-27 SY

Etoile Academy Charter School•Houston, TX

About The Position

The Principal at Étoile Academy Charter School serves as the instructional and cultural leader of the K–8 campus, working in close partnership with the Superintendent, Chief of Schools, and Home Office team. This individual is responsible for driving academic excellence, fostering a positive and safe school environment, and managing daily operations to ensure the success of all students and staff. Key responsibilities include overseeing teaching and learning, coaching instructional staff and school leaders, supporting student behavior systems, and promoting the school's core REACH values. The Principal will lead efforts to meet or exceed academic benchmarks, including MAP, STAAR, TELPAS, and interim assessments, while cultivating a data-driven culture of continuous improvement. The role also requires collaboration with families and community stakeholders, ensuring alignment with all TEA policies and regulations. The Principal will receive robust coaching and leadership development to support their growth and the overall success of the school. Through strategic leadership, the Principal will help build and sustain a strong pipeline of future academic leaders committed to equity, high expectations, and student achievement.

Requirements

Education : Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited four-year educational institution is required (Educational Master’s Degree, Business Management, or related leadership field preferred).
Certification : Texas teaching certification and leadership certification preferred – or ability to obtain certification within two years.
Experience : Prior teaching & assistant principalship leadership experience is required, especially in a K-12 setting. A minimum of three years as a teacher or school-based role is preferred. A minimum of five years of professional leadership experience in high-performing urban schools, with specific experience in assistant principalship, coaching, and developing teachers is preferred.
Skills & Competencies: A demonstrable commitment to pursuing equity and ensuring all students have access to high-quality education.
Proven ability to manage change and work in an ambiguous, fast-paced, start-up environment while driving toward clarity and solutions.
Excellent written and oral communication skills with the ability to work collaboratively with staff, students, and families.
Demonstrated success in fostering student achievement and language acquisition.
Strong understanding of emotional intelligence, with the ability to manage emotions effectively, ensuring impactful school leadership.
Minimum of 40+ hours spent at school per week.

Nice To Haves

Bilingual (Spanish/English/Pashto) preferred, but not required.

Responsibilities

School Leadership and Teacher Support Manage and oversee all school-wide staff, operations, and daily routines.
Provide guidance and support to teachers, ensuring they follow school-wide routines and procedures that contribute to a positive learning environment.
Collaborate with school leaders and teachers to develop and implement effective instructional strategies and behavioral best practices that support student achievement.
Lead teacher coaching by observing classroom instruction, providing feedback, and helping to implement school-wide practices.
Work with staff to create a culture of high expectations, promoting academic rigor and a positive, inclusive school climate that exemplified our core values.
Ensure teachers use Etoile curriculum with fidelity and provide coaching to ensure teachers accurately teach state standards.
Data - Driven Decision Making Analyze and disaggregate student performance data from MAP, STAAR, and TELPAS assessments to inform instruction and school-wide improvements.
Work with teachers to ensure students are making progress toward academic and behavior goals and meet growth targets.
Support teachers in tracking student progress toward 65% MAP growth, 71% STAAR growth, and 50% TELPAS level improvements.
Tier teachers based on need and document coaching on Tier 1-3 staff within Bullseye.
Curriculum and instruction Develops school's ability to foster a culturally responsive classroom with high expectations; Coaches instructional leadership team to execute effective internalization and response to data meetings; Coaches instructional team to effectively observe, live coach, and lead individual and group coaching meetings that fosters growth, excellence, and community Ensures that instructional leadership team and teachers respond quickly and effectively to student data; Leads a team of school leaders to strengthen teachers' knowledge of highest priority standards and inquiry-based instructional practices; Drives partnership with all stakeholders and leaders ensuring emergent bilingual and special education teams are meeting the needs of all students, including those with exceptionalities, and have the access and support needed to achieve; Meets internal academic priorities set annually around NWEA MAP student growth, STAAR scores, and TELPAS scores; Ensure benchmark data shows Etoile is on track to meet our 71% growth goal on STAAR assessments; Ensure teachers and staff do whatever it takes to reach the 71% growth goal on STAAR assessment goal; Principal collaborate with the district Alumni Coordinator to ensure our 8th graders gain acceptance into high-performing high schools and analyze future projection alumni data.
School culture Establishes and leads a culture that results in a love of learning, student agency, and full range of student learning and growth; Builds an engaged, diverse, and inclusive school community; Effectively lead all school events, which may include but not limited to master schedule/tutorials/Saturday and Summer Programming / tuties/ arrival / lunch / dismissal /REACH celebrations and professional development/calibration and coaching plans. Effectively implements our school wide PBIS system (additions/deductions/Dean’s List) Creates, leads, and maintains a culture that encourages team members to innovate in an effort to ensure equity gaps are eliminated and college and career readiness is a reality for all students; Plan and execute Family Orientation and Home Visits with support of the Leadership Team; Ensure 95% of families attend Family Orientation and Parent-Teacher Conferences; Works with home office and campus teams to create an updated goal for all families to experience a home visit and increase attendance % for both student and staff ADA. Builds a strong staff culture which focuses on cohesive, culturally responsive staff and increases campus staff retention, with a strong focus on K-2 retention and overall k-8 staff retention.
Student Achievement Foster a school-wide culture of academic achievement by ensuring that students consistently meet or exceed growth goals on standardized assessments.
Reduce the number of students reading below benchmark on mCLASS by 20% (Fall to Spring) 50% or more of our Emergent Bilingual students will grow at least one proficiency level on TELPAS Composite 65% or better of all students meet or exceed NWEA MAP growth goals annually at each campus 71% of all students in the network earn a growth point on growth for Domain 2A 90% of teachers report that they have the skills to successfully implement the Amplify and EL curricula 100% of leaders report that they have the skills to support teachers in their implementation of Amplify, Bluebonnet, STEM scopes, and EL/SS curricula Ensure effective use of interventions for students who are struggling, supporting personalized approaches to meet individual student needs. Promote and develop best practices for all learners, including EB and SPED populations. Coach and develop teachers to ensure strong Tier 1 instruction that leads to academic growth. Coach and develop teachers in include small groups and intervention as part of everyday classes and daily schedules. Co-teach and model best practices in classrooms and provide teachers opportunities to observe. Use See it, Name it, Do it with staff to practice instructional techniques and quickly improve instruction. Work with teachers to ensure proper differentiation and scaffolding for all students.
Strategic leadership Works collaboratively and thinks flexibly to support and improve systems and decision-making processes that strengthens outcomes; Creates and strengthens a data-driven culture that relentlessly seeks continuous improvement; Creates, strengthens, and maintains academic and culture systems and procedures; Works closely with the home office on talent development and recruitment and leadership pathways for staff to continue to develop and build a pipeline of instructional coaching and teaching excellence.
Effective teaming Establishes, manages, and develops strong teams that collaborate, communicate, and work together for the growth and achievement of Etoile students; Fosters and facilitates positive relationships and collaboration with network and school-based leaders; Observes and coaches instructional staff and leaders to drive pedagogical growth and student achievement; Plans and leads professional development that results in improved pedagogy and student achievement; Utilizes meaningful feedback from students, staff, families, and the community to strengthen school programs and practices; Creates and executes coaching plans and evaluations to ensure development of all staff Ensures 85% retention (or better) of effective staff;
Operational Management Strategic Systems Leadership: Designs and executes systems and processes that align with and advance the school’s short- and long-term goals, ensuring efficient and effective operations that support student success. Talent Management: Develops systems and structures to recruit, hire, and retain a diverse, highly effective staff. Leads efforts to ensure appropriate staffing for all classrooms, programs, and campus events to maintain safety, engagement, and instructional quality. Attendance & Enrollment : Collaborates with the Operations Team to consistently achieve and maintain a 96% average daily student attendance rate. Partners with the Enrollment Team to ensure 95% enrollment by September 15 and full enrollment (100%) by October 15 across all grade levels. Campus Operations Oversight : Oversees all non-instructional functions of the school including scheduling, lunch periods, arrival, dismissal, and campus-wide duties. Ensures operational systems are student-centered and consistently executed by all staff. Safety & Security: Ensures a safe and secure learning environment by overseeing all safety protocols, drills, and compliance training. Maintains responsibility for campus security in partnership with the Home Office and compliance teams. Resource Management: Manages and ensures fidelity of implementation of high-quality instructional materials. Oversees campus budget allocations, including principal discretionary funds, to ensure fiscal responsibility and alignment with academic priorities. School Culture & Discipline: Implements school-wide routines, systems, and expectations that support a safe, inclusive, and engaging culture. Oversees student discipline and ensures consistent use of consequences and positive behavior supports aligned to Etoile’s REACH values. Staff Coaching & Development: Coaches teachers and staff to maintain high expectations for routines, procedures, and school-wide systems. Participates in classroom walkthroughs with the leadership team, sets individual and team improvement goals, and provides data-informed professional development. Instructional Support: Supports teacher development using the Getting Better Faster coaching framework and ensures feedback is timely, actionable, and rooted in data to drive growth in academic outcomes and instructional quality.
Professional Development and Collaboration Collaborate with other school and network leaders to plan and execute professional development that helps teachers meet student performance goals and improve instruction. Assist teachers in setting goals for their professional growth and support them in achieving those goals. Help develop and implement a weekly system for teacher feedback, using walkthroughs and coaching sessions to continuously improve instructional practices. Valid T-TESS certification required and give teachers monthly T-TESS observations, feedback, and ratings as determined by the Tier 1-3 teacher/staff rating system in alignment with our TIA (Teacher Incentive Allotment) approved local designation system. Set T-TESS goals with selected teachers and support them in reaching all growth goals. Plan and execute professional development for all staff to improve instruction, student results, culture, and T-TESS ratings.
Modeling Effective Instruction At Étoile, we expect all leaders to model effective instructional practices. Our instructional leaders regularly step in to teach model lessons, offer small group instruction, act as a substitute teacher, and/or model effective instruction while leading professional development.
Goals & Expectations 65% or better of all students meet or exceed MAP growth goals 71% of students meet STAAR growth goals by showing measurable academic progress in all tested subjects and earn a growth point on growth for Domain 2A 50% or more of our Emergent Bilingual students grow at least one proficiency level on TELPAS Composite (Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System). 90% of teachers report that they have the skills to successfully implement their curriculum. 90% of staff report that staff show core REACH values. 3:1 positive additions to deductions culture ratio metric schoolwide and in all classrooms. Works with Enrollment Team to meet 95% enrollment (at all grade levels) by September 15 and 100% enrollment by October 15th Works with Operations Team to consistent meet 96% average daily attendance (or better) Ensures 85% retention (or better) of effective staff Ensure 95% of families attend Family Orientation and Parent-Teacher Conferences Strengthen instructional leadership by developing and coaching a high-performing team to improve student outcomes, as measured by an increase in teacher effectiveness through Bullseye data and student performance data. Establishes a systematic PLC/TPD structure where instructional strategies and student progress are analyzed weekly.
Technological fluency Selects, uses, and coaches others in the use of effective technological tools to strengthen school results and student achievement; Leverages technology platforms to inform planning and decision-making in support of school goals and operations.
Texas Principal Standards (19 TAC §149.2001) Instructional Leadership The principal is responsible for ensuring every student receives high-quality instruction. Focus: Prioritizing data-driven decision-making, curriculum alignment, teacher development, and improved student achievement. Human Capital The principal is responsible for ensuring there are high-quality teachers and staff in every classroom and throughout the school. Focus: Recruiting, developing, supporting, and retaining effective educators through feedback, coaching, and leadership opportunities. Executive Leadership The principal is responsible for modeling a consistent focus on and commitment to improving student learning. Focus: Self-reflection, ethical leadership, goal-setting, resilience, and building trust with stakeholders. School Culture The principal is responsible for establishing and implementing a shared vision and culture of high expectations for all staff and students. Focus: Safe, supportive, and culturally responsive learning environments that promote equity, inclusiveness, and student achievement. Strategic Operations The principal is responsible for implementing systems that align with the school’s mission and continuously improve the school’s effectiveness. Focus: Resource management, scheduling, compliance, data systems, and aligning operations with instructional priorities.
We look for team members who embody our REACH values listed below: Open to sharing and implementing feedback with reverence and professionalism for the work ( Respect ). Authentic care for student results and effective teaching ( Excellence ). Setting a higher bar for yourself and others each day ( Ambition ). Honest contribution and collaboration to the community ( Community ). Do what is needed to achieve results ( Hard Work ). Believes in education as a profession and holds oneself to a high level of conduct and professionalism. Minimum of 40+ hours spent at school per week. Additional responsibilities may include: after-school tutoring or Saturday school, Summer / EB / ESY school and are based on the needs of our students.