Assistant School Leader- Operations

Who we are:

KIPP St. Louis is a part of a national network of free, open-enrollment, public charter schools offering a choice to families and children in St. Louis city. As the largest charter school system in the city, we are driven and committed to our mission, vision, and equity statement.

Mission:

 Together with families and communities, we create joyful, academically excellent schools that prepare students with the skills and confidence to pursue the paths they choose—college, career, and beyond—so they can lead fulfilling lives and build a more just world.

Vision: Every child grows up free to create the future they want for themselves and their communities.

Equity Statement: KIPP St. Louis is committed to becoming an anti-racist and anti-sexist organization by confronting inequities, barriers, and oppressive policies and systems.

KIPP St. Louis currently educates over 2,000 students and at full growth, we will educate nearly 3,600 students and hundreds of alumni. Today, our St. Louis network consists of two middle schools, three elementary schools, and a high school.

Assistant School Leader for Operations

KIPP St. Louis schools seek inspiring leaders to coach, develop and support our teachers to develop in our scholars the knowledge, skills and character they need to succeed throughout their education and in the competitive world beyond.  All KIPP St. Louis Assistant School Leaders are capable of working as a team to drive strong academic results for scholars and are experts in their specific field so they can positively contribute to the team as a whole. KSL ASLs are willing to go above and beyond for their teams of scholars, families and staff, including demonstrating high levels of organization and technical competence as well as the ability to relate to others and to occasionally work nights or weekends to support their teams. Our ASLs demonstrate deep love of our scholars and families as well as our teachers and the community they serve. 

On the day-to-day basis, you can look forward to the following:

Data-Driven Operational Leadership 

• Organize and respond to all critical operations metrics, including attendance and attrition, compliance, safety and security, meticulous budget management, student data systems, and vendor performance. Create and revise service level agreements in response to school-wide systems and vendors. 
  • Maintain attendance and attrition data systems, invest leaders and staff in these systems, and collaborate with various members of the leadership team to ensure goals are met.
• Track all data, including tardies, early dismissals, 90/90, attendance, family communication (survey data), and attrition, in the region-wide tracking system. Work with relevant stakeholders (i.e. ASL of Culture for attrition) to analyze and respond to data related to school-wide goals in these areas and create action plans to address any challenges or gaps.
• Manage the implementation of the school’s Student Information System to ensure accurate student data that is in compliance with federal, state, regional and school expectations.
• Manage the student enrollment system, student information tracking and data related to recruitment and enrollment. 
• Work with the ASL of Instruction to manage and facilitate all elements related to the administration of assessments, including NWEA, MAP, and interim benchmarks as well as weekly quizzes. Work with the ASL of Instruction to manage and track technology equipment inventory and distribution.

Performance Management and Professional Development 

• Build and manage effective teams, characterized by trust, investment in goals, accountability for required actions and clear ownership of operational results and culture on the team, including both school-based teams and vendors. 
• Work with the Assistant School Leaders of Instruction and Culture to collaborate on school-wide routines and procedures and ensure consistency and alignment across academics, culture and operations.
• Maintain personal organizational systems, project prioritization decision making, and strong time management skills, including updated and intentional weekly calendar that aligns to other members of the leadership team. 
• Work with the School Leader and Director of Regional Operations to hire school operations team members. Manage, coach and develop these team members (including, but not necessarily only, the Office Coordinator) to achieve outcomes through weekly o3s, weekly observations and creating long-term development plans. 
  • Manage the Office Coordinator to ensure efficient front office systems and management, as well as the administration and collection of student records. Evaluate the OC based on regional evaluation metrics.
• Manage and maintain effective working relationships with all vendors, including transportation (buses and cabs), food services, technology, and custodial staff by setting aligned goals and monitoring to achieve these goals.
  • Identify and address transportation concerns and challenges with transportation vendors as they arise. 
  • Serve as primary liaison for all school vendors listed above. 
• Provide professional development to staff, including systems of attendance, building cleanliness, etc. Create systems of follow through to hold staff accountable and coach the teachers and staff in items that fall under Operations.
• Actively manage the school’s purchasing systems, inventory and budget in order to ensure the school is adhering to regional policies respect to ordering, asset allocation, and asset tracking
• Facilitate the school’s annual budget creation process with the School Leader and manage the school budget throughout the year, including monthly p-card reconciliation. 
• Own his/her professional development and growth by leveraging lifelines within the region and the broader KIPP network, asking for and implementing feedback weekly, and pursuing additional professional development and growth opportunities both within and outside the region.

School Culture and Climate 

• Conduct weekly walk-throughs of the entire school focused on building readiness, maintenance and repair, and classroom cleanliness and organization. Create a system of follow through to hold teachers and scholars accountable. 
• Collaborate as a member of the school leadership team, instructional leadership team  and regional leadership team to ensure all students meet school goals. 
  • Collaborate with the ASLs of Culture and Instruction to execute school-wide rituals, like community meetings, pep rallies, whole school assemblies, field trips, and various year-long incentive systems (Accelerated Reader, MAP, NWEA, etc).
  • Collaborate with School Leader to plan, lead and monitor Operations related critical routines including arrival and dismissal.
  • Collaborate with ASLs of Culture and Instruction to create systems that support and empower scholars, families and staff to be successful in their roles and feel valued as employees.
• Establish and uphold school culture norms and hold teachers and scholars accountable to norms and expectations, both in classrooms and in shared spaces (physical space and scholar character).
• Work with the Director of Regional Operations to ensure that the school adheres to all state, federal, and district requirements related to conducting safety drills (including fire drills, intruder drills, tornado drills, etc.).
• Work with school leadership team to create a family engagement plan, including engagement events, follow through, and space for parent and community participation at school and feedback. Monitor family communication systems including robo calls, Possip, and family surveys (i.e. TNTP).
• Execute the school’s recruitment strategies in collaboration with School Leader, including project management of all recruitment/enrollment activities, managing the operations team on execution, motivating the school team to participate, and managing all enrollment and re-enrollment efforts. 

Leadership Mindset and Action 

• Participate in all diversity, equity and inclusion work at a school and regional level. Embody mindsets that work towards equity for our scholars and staff and model person-first thinking and the ability to have discussions about identity (race, gender, ethnicity, etc.)
• Participate in and collaborate as a member of the school leadership team, instructional leadership team  and regional leadership team to ensure all students meet school goals. 
• Sees the leadership team as their primary team and, thus, acts to ensure the team is united in messaging and communication. Immediately follows through on next steps and acts urgently, when needed, so that the leadership team consistently moves the school forward. 
• Lives the values and expectations of all staff every day and in all spaces and embraces challenging conversations, speaking directly with the appropriate person to solve problems. .

School-Based Staff staff must have the ability to...

• Operate a computer and office equipment on a daily basis
• Occasional moderate lifting, pushing and pulling
• Maintain emotional control under stress
• Interpret policy, procedures and data
• Communicate effectively (verbal and written)

This job posting/description may not cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change or new ones may be assigned at any time with or without notice.

What you bring to the table: 

• Bachelor’s Degree (required), Master’s Degree (preferred) 
• Teaching Certificate; Administrator Certificate (REQUIRED) 
• Excellent computer skills, including all Google based systems.
• Excellent organization and project management skills; ability to implement programs, manage details, and work independently; ability to develop, revise, and implement procedures and systems; and ability to manage multiple projects and set priorities accordingly
• Strong judgment and decision-making skills
• Ability to quickly and effectively build relationships with, motivate, and engage a diverse group of stakeholders
• Ability to problem solve and use sound judgement while diffusing tense interactions
• Entrepreneurial spirit; self-motivated and comfortable in a fast-paced, dynamic environment
• Ability to speak and write clearly and effectively.

The following are strongly preferred for Assistant School Leaders of Operations: 

• Cultural competency coupled with a customer service orientation. 
• Experience in a school setting strongly preferred
• Experience working with Student Information Systems strongly preferred
• A passion for working in the city of St. Louis and a passion for the mission of KIPP
• Dedication to helping children grow and learn
• Prior experience with operations  

What we bring to the table:

We are a fast paced, energetic team and family with passionate people who are leading a movement and to cultivate the their best working environment we provide the following:

• $0 deductible healthcare plan option, including medical, vision and dental. 
• Employer Paid Short Term Disability
• $50,000 life insurance policy at no cost to the employee
• Retirement plan through PSRSSL with a 14% match and an optional 403b as a supplement to our pension program
• Employee Recognition: When we succeed together, we celebrate together with our annual gala award ceremony, holiday party, and more!
• Public Service student loan forgiveness program qualified employer
• Longevity Bonuses: 2, 5, and 10 year financial rewards
• Generous time off:
  • Paid leave for illness, personal days, bereavement, jury duty, and military-related leave
  • Paid parental leave for new families
  • Paid holidays, as well as a one week Thanksgiving break, a two-week winter break, a week-long spring break
  • Wellness days and Fabulous Fridays (leave at 1:30 on Friday once a month)
• On-going professional  development opportunities:
  • Weekly coaching sessions
  • Weekly school-based professional development
  • Five in-person PD days during the year for all KIPP St. Louis teachers