Benjamin E Mays Elementary Principal – December 2024 Start

CURRENTLY RECRUITING PRINCIPAL FOR

BENJAMIN E MAYS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

for the 2024-25 Academic Year, Start date in December 2024

At Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS), our mission is both bold and simple: to inspire students to think critically, pursue their dreams and change the world.  SPPS is Minnesota’s second-largest school district, educating over 33,000 students across 69 schools. Highly trained and deeply dedicated staff, cutting-edge academic programs, and strong community support are among the district¿s hallmarks. Our students speak more than 100 languages, sharing their ideas and cultures with their classmates and teachers every single day.

About Benjamin E. Mays Elementary School

Benjamin E. Mays is located in the historic Rondo neighborhood and is starting a new program focused on the African American experience, history and culture. Creating a rigorous learning environment focused on cultural relevance and building trusted relationships will be essential to improving the educational outcomes and long-term success of African American students, and all students. We believe strong partnerships between home, school and the community are essential to student success. As we develop this program, we will build on partnerships with community organizations to provide students with access to Afrocentric learning opportunities inside and outside the classroom. Families will serve as a powerful force and be critical members of the school community to help shape, inform and identify the experiences our scholars need to be active, engaged learners in school and the world.

Principal profile for Benjamin E. Mays – Please click on the link to review the full Principal profile we are seeking for this program. 

Our Guiding Values:

ACHIEVEMENT: Fostering academic success by taking action to increase student achievement through challenging and collaborative learning.
COMMUNICATION: Engaging with sincerity and honesty by using language that can be understood by all.
CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT: Pursuing excellence by identifying and strengthening what is working well and being flexible to change what is not.
COLLABORATION: Working together in a respectful manner that values and honors families, staff, students and the community.
ACCOUNTABILITY: Holding ourselves to high standards for the outcomes of student achievement and operational, instructional and fiscal performance.
INCLUSIVE CULTURE: Embracing each individuals culture, race, ethnicity, ability and identity.

Our Mission: Inspire students to think critically, pursue their dreams and change the world.

The Human Resource Department will review your qualifications and may contact you for an interview. 

The ideal leader will:

Articulate a vision and mission statement for the new school

Design a program to meet the academic needs of students

Engage and prepare team members in starting a new program 

Establish partnerships with parents and community organizations to develop enrichment and enhancement opportunities

Develop curriculum that integrates culturally relevant content and experiences

Be focused on results and have proven success in increasing student achievement and adult performance;

Influence and motivate others to reach their potential;

Be solution-oriented and creative problem solvers with experience in data analysis and creating and managing systems;

Set high expectations and communicate them to a variety of stakeholders;

Communicate and effectively interact with people across cultures;

Continually reflect and seek feedback to improve their practice;

Have demonstrated perseverance in their career and education;

Thrive in a fast-paced, change-oriented environment; and

Possess strong pedagogical skills and be highly effective at coaching other adults.

Reporting Relationship

Report to an Assistant Superintendent.

This posting will remain open until December 8, 2024.

The essential functions include, but are not limited to, the following fundamental duties:

Instructional Leadership for High Student Academic Performance

• Engages stakeholders with diverse perspectives to develop, advocate for, and enact a shared vision and mission aligned to the district vision for high student achievement and postsecondary and socioemotional success supported by a culture of high expectations for all students.
• Facilitates shared ownership of this vision and mission.
• Makes decisions aligned to and in support of the vision and mission.
• Clearly articulates the vision and mission to the community.
• Establishes a high-performing instructional leadership team with a diverse skill set.
• Utilizes this team to lead teacher teams and oversee improvement strategies.
• Identifies school priorities based on examining practical evidence and current practices.
• Establishes rigorous, measurable, and aligned goals for student learning based on priorities.
• Implements a School Continuous Improvement Plan (SCIP).
• Ensures alignment of instruction and school practices to goals. 
• Utilizes systems to track and analyze disaggregated data by student group to implement relevant strategies for continuous improvement.
• Implements a cohesive approach to assigning staff by building and supporting effective teams of teachers.
• Identifies effective staff and recruits them for leadership roles within the school.
• Coaches staff to develop professional capacity to impact positive student outcomes.
• Increases teacher and staff effectiveness through timely, high-quality, formal and informal observations including data, actionable feedback, coaching, monitoring IGDP, and performance evaluations to improve instructional practices.
• Engages the leadership team and key staff in implementation of data-driven, standards-based instructional planning, student engagement, interventions, and instructional rigor aligned to career and college readiness standards.
• Leads collaborative teams in tracking and analyzing multiple forms of qualitative and quantitative student data to drive instructional and intervention strategies and to monitor the effectiveness of those strategies.
• Leads the instructional leadership team to analyze a variety of student learning results and current research to determine staff learning priorities consistent with school priorities.
• Creates and monitors multiple structures (e.g., large group, grade level, content team) for high quality professional learning.
• Ensures high-fidelity implementation of professional learning communities and professional development structures.
• Staff feedback is used to guide implementation and content of professional learning.

Climate, Culture, and Safety Leadership

• Develops cultural competence in the school community, including a respectful, inclusive building climate and the ability for stakeholders to interact effectively across cultures.
• Promotes culturally responsive instruction and inclusive school practices.
• Promotes and values diversity in the school community.
• Confronts biases and intolerance.
• Initiates conversations about race, diversity, and culture as well as how they may impact student learning.
• Addresses the actions of adults and/or students that violate the agreed-upon norms.
• Implements consistent and fair behavior interventions and supports that are aligned with the PBIS Schoolwide Discipline Plan.
• Ensures staff explicitly teach expectations to students.
• At least quarterly, reviews SWIS Equity reports to identify patterns of disproportionality in discipline data and implements relevant improvements.
• Ensures support teams (e.g., SAT, mental health support, child study, etc.) are high-functioning and aligned with district expectations.
• Intentionally engages families that are historically underserved in meaningful, reciprocal, and mutually beneficial ways.
• Builds the capacity of staff to welcome all family members into the school.
• Implements timely, professional, and linguistically and culturally sensitive strategies to engage families as learning partners to set shared goals for their children¿s academic achievement to use research-based strategies to support their student learning at home.
• Guides staff in developing and implementing protocols to ensure frequent communication with students and parents about student¿s academic progress.
• Responds to family¿s concerns and engages in authentic dialogue with parents.
• Participates in community events.
• Builds a sense of community where all students and adults are valued.
• Fosters a shared commitment to high expectations for student and adult behaviors.
• Demonstrates confidence in the potential of every student to achieve at high levels.
• Challenges and confronts low expectations.
• Develops, enhances, and maintains positive, trusting relationships among and between stakeholders.
• Uses data to inform continuous improvements in school climate and culture.
• Creates systems and structures that reinforce consistent school respect and safety.
• Facilitates structures and systems that support staff to successfully meet the range of social emotional needs of each student.
• Embeds social and emotional development and learning into the school day.
• Ensures social emotional learning curriculum is taught in morning meeting/foundations/advisory, as appropriate by level.
• Addresses key areas of need related to students¿ and staff¿s self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.
• Fosters staff learning and implementation of practices designed to address social emotional needs.
• Engages community partners in the academic success of students.
• Builds the capacity of staff to welcome all community members into the school and to share the school¿s vision for high student achievement with all visitors.
• Supports and sustains external partnerships to maximize student support and services.

Organizational Management

• Ensures that instruction is focused and time is protected to support quality student learning.
• Plans the building schedule in a way that maximizes the available time for instruction and collaborative planning.
• Creates a supervision plan that facilitates high levels of student and staff safety.
• Clearly communicates the Emergency Operations Plan, security and emergency procedures, and decisions.
• Ensures all operational systems are maintained.
• Ensures student and staff records are maintained accurately and completely.
• Ensures compliance with federal, state and district mandates.
• Maintains school plans and operations in alignment with district expectations.
• Strategically organizes, monitors, and manages resources (e.g., time, money, technology) in alignment with high-priority goals for student learning.
• Plans and manages a fiscally responsible budget that supports student achievement.
• Intentionally manages hiring and staffing to meet the needs of the school.

Professional Responsibilities

• Models appropriate personal, professional, and ethical behavior that is respectful and fair.
• Regularly maintains sound judgment and self-control in difficult situations and is attentive to others¿ emotional needs.
• Maintains a relentless focus on student achievement.
• Identifies and employs solutions to challenges.
• Embraces changes that are in the best interest of students.
• Empathetically and professionally responds to staff as they raise questions, doubts, and feelings about change and as they adapt to change.
• Maintains calm leadership in times of crisis.
• Meets deadlines consistently.
• Demonstrates strong interpersonal, communication, and facilitation skills for multiple audiences.
• Conducts and supports effective two-way written and verbal communication with all stakeholders.
• Designs and implements a system of open, clear, and effective communication that provides for the timely, responsible sharing of information to, from, and with school staff, parents, students, and community.
• Demonstrates active listening skills.
• Utilizes input and feedback from stakeholders to increase student achievement.
• Builds positive relationships with stakeholders.
• Instills a sense of trust.
• Collaborates effectively and respectfully.
• Demonstrates and models respect for the identities and roles of others.
• Resolves conflicts through effective problem solving.
• Regularly provides opportunities for staff members to express opinions.
• Resolves school-based problems in a fair way.
• Discusses with staff and implements solutions to address potentially discordant issues.
• Is visibly present and actively connects with others.
• Sets a personal growth goal.
• Models self-awareness and reflection.
• Seeks and processes data and feedback to identify strengths and areas for growth, and adapts leadership practices.
• Plans for and engages in relevant learning opportunities aligned with student needs, and then implements learning to improve educational practices and professional growth.
• Accepts personal responsibility for mistakes.

Leadership Guiding Values:

Equity leadership is critical. It is essential that all SPPS staff are racial equity leaders in partnership with students, families, and the community.

We want the best. To ensure that we hire the best instructional leaders to guide our school communities, we will implement a competitive process and solicit feedback from our school communities to ensure the best match.

Strategy is a must. Transformational leadership is mission and vision driven. School improvement does not occur in a vacuum, rather it takes purposeful and strategic actions. 

Continuous Improvement is key. Our leaders will pursue excellence by identifying and strengthening what is working well, and interrupt systems that marginalize or inhibit student learning.

Leadership is a journey. We want leaders at all levels in our organization to be aspirational and whenever possible, provide them with ways to select opportunities and actualize their dreams. 

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Thorough knowledge, and practical understanding of, instructional methods, learning theories and their implementation, the principles of educational administration and school-based shared decision-making.

A well-developed personal philosophy of education and educational administration consistent with the objectives of the Board of Education and the Superintendent.

Thorough knowledge of the theories and practices of cultural competency as it relates to an inclusive educational environment and student learning.

Thorough knowledge of multicultural, gender, and disability fair curriculum and instruction.

Considerable knowledge of strategic planning and organizational goal setting.

Considerable skill in team development, leadership, and as a systems thinker.

Considerable ability to interact effectively with students, parents, community members, school staff, district administration and other district staff.

Minimum Qualifications:  Master’s degree and hold a proper and valid administrative licensure from the Minnesota Department of Education. Experience as a school leader is required.

Note:  Candidates will also be required to hold a current principal position or a similar academic executive-level role.

Preferred Qualifications:  Building or district administrative leadership experience. Teaching experience in a K-12 setting. Experience working with urban schools, students and families, and outside partners with demonstrated exemplary results.