SEZP Principal

Full Time Start Date: Immediately

Salary: $73,000 - $100,000, commensurate with experience

About the Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership:

While Massachusetts is consistently ranked as one of the top states for education results in the country, we have one of the highest and most persistent opportunity gaps. The Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership (SEZP) - established in 2015 as a collaboration between Springfield Public Schools (SPS), the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), and the Springfield Education Association (SEA) – seeks to improve the longitudinal life outcomes of the more than 5,000 students in our 17 middle and high schools.

As a “zone” of schools within the city of Springfield, SEZP’s approach draws on a deep and embedded partnership with the school district and local teachers’ union, while harnessing the flexibility and innovation found in autonomous school models. As a result, each school within SEZP is accorded significant school-based autonomies - in curriculum, talent, calendar, schedule, and budget – while being held accountable for realizing achievement gains for historically marginalized students. In all of our work, SEZP is in pursuit of equity and anti-racism acknowledging the systemic oppression our students and families encounter daily and working to disrupt these provision gaps urgently and courageously.

Job Details
The Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership (SEZP) is committed to building anti-racist schools by ensuring the work of equity is fully inclusive of and focused on our students of color, exceptional learners, emerging bilinguals, and all families across our schools. Ensuring maximum equity for both rigor and targeted supports will drive change from within our schools by positioning other school leaders, RTI teams, educators, partners, families, and the students themselves as learners, experts, advocates, visionaries, and activists in anti-racism, equity, and empowerment. 

Job Responsibilities

The Administrator for School Culture and Operations will provide support to students and staff by overseeing those major functions of one grade level in the building. Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Co-designing and leading high-interest mentorship groups, excursions, and therapeutic supports for students
• Directly managing a group of employees
• Serving as a mentor by helping students develop self-confidence and self-regulation, set personal goals, uncover new interests and talents, advocate for personal needs, and build meaningful relationships
• Planning and leading incentives through which select students can spend time together out in the community, at specially arranged events at the school, and/or in community service groups
• Collaborating with school leaders and staff in creating systems for tracking student success and identifying students for whom enrichment and incentives would be most beneficial
• Managing communications for the grade level, which may include preparing correspondence, managing confidential data and information, and organizing materials for meetings and events
• Ensuring compliance with all SEZP, Springfield, state, and federal tasks/requirements
• Providing oversight and supporting logistics for events, convenings, conferences and meetings
• Supporting coordination and management of the school’s physical plant
• Coordinating and facilitating stakeholder and visitor engagement
• Working closely with school stakeholders to ensure effective communication and timely completion of logistical and compliance matters
• Serving as a representative of the school to the community, working to ensure families are well-informed about and engaged in what is happening at the school 
• Any other duties as assigned by the School Principal

Position Qualifications

• Experience effectively leading support systems, schools, or other teams preferred
• Experience monitoring and evaluating progress and response to interventions/services for students preferred
  
• Experience as an active anti-racist or advocate for equity preferred
• 3-5 years of relevant experience required
• Bilingual in English and Spanish preferred
  
• Bachelor’s degree required; Master's degree preferred

If you meet some of the qualifications above, we encourage you to apply or reach out for more information. We know that historically marginalized groups – including people of color, women, people from working class backgrounds, and people who identify as LGBTQ – are less likely to apply unless and until they meet every requirement for a job. Therefore, we strongly encourage applications from educators with these identities or who are members of other marginalized communities. 

We encourage you to reach out to Kelley Gangi at kgangi@springfieldempowerment.org if you have questions about the role or your qualifications. We are happy to help you feel ready to apply!

Benefits
SEZP and Commerce offer a competitive salary commensurate with qualifications and experience. Staff in SEZP qualify for benefits (personal/sick days, health insurance, etc.) offered to other employees in the Springfield Public Schools.

Nondiscrimination Statement
The Springfield Public Schools does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry, age, disability or military service or marital status. The Springfield Public Schools does not discriminate in admission to, access or treatment in its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, sex, gender identity, religion, national origin, or sexual orientation, disability or homelessness.

Title IX Notice of Nondiscrimination
Springfield Public Schools does not discriminate on the basis of sex in admission, administration of its educational programs or activities or employment.  Springfield Public Schools is required by Title IX and its implementing regulations at 34 C.F.R. Part 106 not to discrimination on the basis of sex in admission, administration of its educational programs or activities or employment.  The Senior Administrator of Human Resources, Kathleen O’Sullivan, Springfield Public Schools, 1550 Main St. Springfield MA, 011103, 413-787-7100,  ext. 55428, has been designated as the employee responsible for coordinating Springfield Public Schools efforts to comply with and carry out its responsibilities under Title IX.  Inquiries concerning the application of Title IX and its implementing regulations at 34 C.F.R. Part 106 to Springfield Public Schools may be referred to Kathleen O’Sullivan or to U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, 400 Maryland Ave., SW Washington, DC 20202-1100, telephone 800-421-3481.