Vice President of Schools

AMS Schools • Arkansas, AR

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The Vice President of Schools is a hands-on, field-based executive leader responsible for academic excellence, enrollment growth, operational effectiveness, and school culture across AMS Impact Group’s Arkansas portfolio. The role serves as the listed Superintendent of the Blytheville School District, which is under Level 5 state intervention, and is accountable for district leadership, performance, compliance, and execution of a comprehensive transformation strategy. The VP also oversees AMS Little Rock and leads planning, development, and launch of AMS’s second Arkansas school in Fort Smith, scheduled to open in Fall 2027.

The VP leads a small, school-facing team covering special education, enrollment, operations, and instructional coaching. The position requires spending most working time in schools and district settings, developing leaders and teachers, monitoring performance, addressing challenges, and aligning resources with student outcomes. The VP reports on progress, risks, performance indicators, and recommendations to AMS Impact Group executive leadership, and collaborates with the Arkansas Department of Education Commissioner, who serves as the Blytheville district’s sole board member.

The position is based in Arkansas and requires frequent travel among Blytheville, Little Rock, and Fort Smith. It involves regular on-site work, a flexible schedule that may include occasional evenings or weekends, and responsibility for balancing complex operational needs with long-term improvements in student outcomes and organizational effectiveness.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Education, Educational Leadership, Business Administration, or a related field.
• Significant leadership experience in K–12 education, including school, district, or multi-site educational leadership.
• Demonstrated success improving academic outcomes, organizational performance, and school or district effectiveness.
• Experience supervising and developing school leaders, managing teams, and holding individuals accountable for measurable results.
• Experience managing complex operational responsibilities, budgets, staffing decisions, and organizational priorities.
• Ability to use student achievement data, operational metrics, and performance indicators to guide decisions and drive improvement.
• Experience building relationships with families, employees, community organizations, and external stakeholders.
• Ability to lead change, manage competing priorities, and execute strategic initiatives in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong instructional leadership and commitment to academic excellence.
• Strategic thinking and execution skills, including translating organizational goals into measurable results.
• Strong interpersonal, communication, and relationship-building skills.
• Sound judgment, problem-solving, and decision-making capabilities.
• Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and follow-through.
• Ability to develop talent, provide constructive feedback, and build high-performing teams.
• Commitment to educational equity, continuous improvement, accountability, and student success.
• Must meet all applicable Arkansas requirements for service in the listed Superintendent role.
• Ability to travel regularly among Blytheville, Little Rock, and Fort Smith and spend most working time in school and district settings.
• Ability to work a flexible schedule, including occasional evenings or weekends, based on school, district, community, and organizational needs.
• Ability to successfully complete applicable background checks and other employment-related requirements.

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree in Educational Leadership, School Administration, Education, or a related field.
• Experience leading a school district or school system undergoing state intervention, turnaround, restructuring, or comprehensive school improvement.
• Experience working with a state education agency, district board, authorizer, or other governmental oversight body.
• Experience managing multiple schools or educational sites across different communities.
• Experience opening a new school, launching a new educational program, or leading a large-scale organizational initiative.
• Knowledge of Arkansas K–12 education regulations, school accountability systems, charter school operations, and applicable state and federal compliance requirements.
• Experience overseeing special education, enrollment, school operations, and instructional support functions.
• Experience developing and implementing multi-year strategic plans with measurable academic, financial, operational, and organizational goals.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the listed Superintendent of the Blytheville School District and maintain accountability for district leadership, performance, compliance, and transformation.
• Lead progress toward Level 5 intervention goals and exit criteria, completing required improvement plans, documentation, reporting, and intervention activities.
• Develop, implement, and monitor a multi-year district transformation plan with measurable goals and accountability measures.
• Report to and collaborate with the Arkansas Department of Education Commissioner, providing reports, presentations, recommendations, and required documentation.
• Maintain productive relationships with education agency representatives, state and local agencies, and other stakeholders.
• Supervise, evaluate, and develop district and school leaders, making personnel and organizational decisions to strengthen leadership capacity and outcomes.
• Ensure compliance with state and federal requirements, including academic accountability, special education, federal programs, school finance, and reporting.
• Partner with finance and operations teams on budgets, resources, facilities, transportation, nutrition, and other district functions.
• Build visible, consistent relationships with families, employees, community leaders, faith-based organizations, and local partners.
• Provide AMS executive leadership with regular updates on transformation progress, performance indicators, risks, and recommended course corrections.
• Supervise, coach, and evaluate the AMS Little Rock school leader through on-site visits, classroom walkthroughs, check-ins, and performance reviews.
• Set and monitor annual goals for academic achievement, enrollment, attendance, student and staff retention, and school culture.
• Use performance scorecards and progress reviews to support clear action plans and measurable outcomes at AMS Little Rock.
• Ensure AMS Little Rock complies with its charter contract, authorizer expectations, and applicable state and federal requirements.
• Partner with the school leader on staffing, budgeting, scheduling, and resource allocation decisions.
• Identify performance concerns and implement improvement plans, coaching, and additional support when needed.
• Lead planning and launch of the Fort Smith school, scheduled to open in Fall 2027, from pre-opening preparation through its first year.
• Create and manage a launch plan covering facilities, staffing, enrollment, curriculum, operations, and regulatory compliance.
• Recruit and onboard the founding school leader and support hiring of the founding team.
• Coordinate with central teams, authorizers, and regulatory entities to meet pre-opening requirements and deadlines.
• Lead community outreach and founding-year enrollment efforts and monitor launch readiness, risks, and barriers.
• Provide hands-on oversight during Fort Smith’s first year and make adjustments to establish strong academic, operational, and cultural foundations.
• Set high expectations for achievement and student growth and ensure consistent implementation of AMS curriculum, instructional models, assessment practices, and classroom expectations.
• Lead regular data reviews, identify achievement gaps and priorities, and develop action plans with clear ownership and deadlines.
• Direct and evaluate instructional and academic coaches, aligning their work with school improvement goals and student needs.
• Ensure intervention and acceleration systems support students needing additional academic assistance, including multilingual learners and students with disabilities.
• Monitor assessment results, academic growth, and accountability ratings to identify trends and drive improvement.
• Support leaders in using data, classroom observations, and teacher performance information to strengthen instruction.
• Share effective practices across Blytheville, AMS Little Rock, and Fort Smith.
• Set and achieve enrollment and retention targets and oversee recruitment, community outreach, enrollment campaigns, and family engagement strategies.
• Review enrollment, waitlist, attendance, withdrawal, and retention data and implement corrective actions when needed.
• Ensure families have a welcoming, efficient, and responsive enrollment and onboarding experience.
• Hold team members accountable for enrollment goals, follow-up, accurate records, and recruitment execution.
• Lead and develop a small team responsible for special education, enrollment, operations, and instructional or academic coaching.
• Set performance expectations and measurable goals for direct reports, with regular one-on-one meetings and accountability structures.
• Ensure support services are responsive to school needs and focused on measurable student and school outcomes.
• Oversee special education service quality and compliance, including IEP timelines, delivery, staffing, documentation, and reporting.
• Oversee essential school and district operations, including facilities, safety, transportation, nutrition, and daily operating systems, with central teams.
• Identify team capacity gaps, strengthen cross-functional collaboration, and deploy resources where they can have the greatest impact.
• Build positive school cultures grounded in high expectations, safety, belonging, respect, and joy.
• Ensure effective behavior management, attendance improvement, and family engagement systems.
• Monitor culture indicators such as attendance, discipline, staff retention, and family and employee feedback, and use findings to guide improvement.
• Promote staff engagement and retention through strong leadership, recognition, professional support, and a positive working environment.
• Maintain a visible presence in schools and communities and partner with community organizations to expand opportunities and resources for students and families.
• Spend most working time on-site conducting classroom walkthroughs, observing leadership practices, and providing actionable feedback.
• Develop school and district leaders through coaching, goal setting, performance management, and targeted professional learning.
• Build leadership capacity and a pipeline of future leaders through succession planning, talent development, and increased-responsibility opportunities.
• Review progress against goals, identify gaps, and adjust strategies when results fall short.
• Communicate progress, challenges, and strategic recommendations clearly to AMS Impact Group executive leadership.

Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits package that may include medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• Retirement benefits with employer contributions.
• Paid time off.
• Disability and life insurance.
• Competitive compensation based on experience.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive