26-27 School Leader

KIPP Team and Family • Newark, NJ

14d • $128,000 - $143,000

About The Position

KIPP New Jersey is part of the nationally recognized “Knowledge Is Power Program” network of free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public schools dedicated to preparing students for success in college and in life. In 2002, KIPP New Jersey first opened its doors in Newark’s South Ward as a single class of 80 fifth graders and has since grown to educate 7,035 students in grades K-12 across 15 schools in Newark, Camden, and Paterson. More than 90% of KIPP New Jersey students currently qualify for free or reduced meals. To learn more, visit www.kippnj.org . We anticipate beginning interviews in mid-to-late January 2026 and the full process concluding by March 2026, with July 2026 start dates. Applications received after January will be considered on a rolling, and as-needed basis. Here’s what you’ll be doing:

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree
• Demonstrated student achievement results from teachers and leaders that you’ve managed and coached
• Demonstrated success in developing leadership capacity in others
• Demonstrated resilience and focus on student outcomes
• Ability to set direction across an entire school and motivate others to action
• Adept at data analysis; ability to extract meaningful insights across school-wide data using pertinent software applications.
• Expertise in what the school-wide academic standards and state assessments require of students’ knowledge and skills to demonstrate mastery; able to translate student mastery requirements into instructional plans and strategies
• Deep understanding of appropriate application and differentiation of high-leverage instructional strategies (e.g. make kids sweat, pacing, stretch it, etc.) based on comprehension of child development and pedagogy
• Command of instructional design and the benefits and tradeoffs of school design decisions in driving student achievement
• Preparing and maintaining accurate records.
• Operating standard office equipment.
• Operating classroom technology equipment (ie. smartboards, projectors, Chromebooks, computers).
• Strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills

Responsibilities

• Instructional Leadership Drives and owns all instructional results for all students
• Strong content knowledge: knows essential content, rigor of standards, and highly effective teaching strategies well enough to establish and maintain a standard and coach it; can readily adapt to leverage resources across less-known or more nuanced subject areas
• Develops the capacity of leaders in driving results and developing teacher/leader capacity through observations, walkthroughs, real-time coaching, and data analysis through O3s focused on student data and coaching towards goals, weekly walkthroughs, and frequent observation of leader work
• Leads weekly conversations with the school leadership team focused on progress monitoring, student achievement data, and establishing strategies to meet school-wide goals; delegates system of instructional leadership expectations to the team
• Develops intervention systems that address gaps in sub-groups of students based on race, gender, SPED, or other identity markers.
• Maximize the impact of formal PD time (including Content Team Meetings) by ensuring all sessions are well-planned and ample practice is prioritized, such that it results in improved teacher effectiveness
• Establishes a clear vision for excellent school culture and regularly articulates this vision to leaders, students, staff, and families
• Consistently reinforces high expectations for all students all the time
• Actively develops a school culture where students find joy in learning and where students are joyful and engaged
• Creates a culture in which teachers build strong and lasting relationships with students, especially the most challenging
• Develops, upholds, maintains, and course-corrects clearly articulated systems for how the school culture will function (e.g., behavior, recognition, consequences)
• School meets all org-mandated, federal, and state student compliance expectations
• Establish a clear vision for excellent school culture and regularly articulate this vision to leaders, students, staff, and families
• Consistently reinforces high expectations for all staff all the time
• Actively develops a school culture where teachers find joy in teaching and student learning
• Develops clearly articulated systems for how the staff culture will function (e.g., staff attendance, coverage, etc.)
• Engages families and community stakeholders proactively and productively as partners in school goals.
• Performs this through various opportunities for families to engage (e.g., virtual and in-person Town Hall events)
• Creates a culture and expectation that teachers reach out to parents and enlist their proactive support in their child’s long-term success
• Actively seeks to recruit, cultivate, and retain high-quality candidates; prioritizes building a diverse staff and emphasizing staff that share similar backgrounds as our students
• Identifies top-performing teachers and leaders at regular points throughout the school year and works strategically to retain them
• Manages struggling performers through goal setting and increased support, and manages out underperformers where necessary.
• Provides input to strengthen regional support, seeks to cultivate a partnership rather than an “us-them” relationship, and proactively works to ensure a true feeling of team and family throughout the organization.
• Collaborates with Achievement Directors and other Teaching & Learning TEAMmates to monitor achievement data and inform the instructional leadership development of Assistant Principals
• Prepare for and participate in regional selection, progress monitoring calls, and professional development
• Collaborates in a forthright manner with the Talent team to make sure hiring needs of their campus and other campuses are met
• Ensures that all school functions (ops, electives, instruction, leadership, etc.) have systems to coordinate and communicate with one another
• Attends ~monthly school leader PD to hone content and instructional expertise

Benefits

• Robust benefits that include medical, dental, and vision
• Optional participation in the KIPP NJ 403b retirement plan, including matching contributions
• A school-issued laptop
• Transportation benefits for TEAMmates commuting into Newark from the New York City area
• Generous Time-Off including 3.5-4 school vacation weeks (depending on the year), allocated sick and personal days, and an extended summer break
• Up to 12 weeks 100% parental leave for primary caregivers
• Employer paid life insurance
• Extensive optional ancillary benefits including, short term and long term disability and accident and hospital indemnity

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 11-50 employees