Organizational Overview

In 2020, KIPP Eastern North Carolina (KIPP ENC) and KIPP Charlotte took the first steps to begin to merge to form KIPP North Carolina Public Schools (KIPP NC). Starting in July of 2021, KIPP NC will be a network of eight high-performing, college-preparatory public charter schools providing an academically rigorous and joyous school experience to more than 3,500 students in grades K-12 in Charlotte, Durham, Gaston, and Halifax. Additionally, KIPP NC will support several thousand alumni on their journey to and through high school, college, and career.   

KIPP NC will build on a rich tradition of academic excellence and relentless fight for social justice present from the founding of both KIPP ENC and KIPP Charlotte. KIPP ENC is the second oldest KIPP region in the nation. In its 20 years of operation, KIPP ENC has been a cornerstone for students and families in rural Gaston and Halifax, operating two primary schools, two middle schools, and one high school. Over the past five years, it grew to serve even more students by opening up a middle school in Durham, an urban center in the center part of the state. KIPP Charlotte, which grew out of the strong traditions and academics of KIPP ENC, has supported students and families for the past 13 years, operating one primary school and one middle school in the largest city in North Carolina.

KIPP North Carolina will build upon the successes and experiences of KIPP ENC and KIPP Charlotte to provide inclusive school environments and an educational program that will enable our students to lead full lives and equip graduates to be future leaders and agents of change in North Carolina and beyond. KIPP NC also will continue to engage in direct, anti-racist work, and it will contribute meaningfully to the dismantling of structures of inequality within our organization, schools, and classrooms. KIPP NC will be committed to expanding our efforts to embed anti-racism in all of our activities and engagements within our classrooms and schools, across our organization, and throughout the State of North Carolina. All of this will be in a tireless effort to create classrooms that are homeplaces for our students, places where they feel safe, loved, validated, seen, and heard, places where all their beautiful identities will be affirmed and celebrated, and places where they will learn the academic knowledge and skills needed for college, career, and beyond.

The founding Head of Middle & High Schools for KIPP NC will be responsible for the overall quality of school programming, and will maintain a laser-focus on continually increasing the number of students who thrive in and graduate from the college of their choice. They pursue this work through excellent management and development of five primary school principals and collaboration cross-organizationally with other curricular, operations, talent, technology, talent, and finance leaders. The Head of Middle & High Schools will report directly to the Chief Academic Officer and serves as an integral member of the KIPP North Carolina academic leadership team, which is responsible for driving the overall direction and strategy for all KIPP North Carolina instructional and cultural programming.

This is an ideal opportunity for a dynamic and visionary organizational leader with significant people management experience to play a critical role in building and shaping a premier K-12 charter management organization committed to supporting students to graduate college and succeed in school and life.

Key Responsibilities

Managerial Leadership and Team Development

• Manages the principals of five middle and high schools
• Serves as a thought partner to direct reports as they lead their respective teams; coaches and supports direct reports to address their key roles and responsibilities
• Builds a strong, cohesive team culture that reflects the core values of KIPP NC
• Works in collaboration with the Chief Academic Officer and Talent Team to hire school principals and assistant principals and execute the organization’s talent strategy in schools, including providing best-practice coaching and development, annual goal setting, and succession planning
• With instructional team colleagues, helps plan and implement professional development for school principals and assistant principals
• Supervises principals in the creation and implementation of effective professional development opportunities for their staff
• Completes annual performance evaluations of direct reports

Educational Leadership & Academic Support

• Works with principals to implement academic strategies and talent strategies in support of strong classrooms and schools, and supports principals to implement their school priorities in alignment with KIPP North Carolina’s vision, mission, and strategic plan
• Collaborates with the Head of Primary Schools and centralized academic team members to implement academic priorities
• Works with principals to develop and implement long-term plans for curriculum, assessment, and school improvement
• Ensures that the principals have a clear plan for improvement of instruction and school culture
• Engages principals in weekly academic program analysis and progress monitoring
• Manages long-term and annual school planning
• Supports the development of strong school operational systems and processes with a focus on data collection, scheduling, and EC programs and services, in partnership with their central academic team colleagues (i.e., Director of Student Support, Director of Social Work, Director of Data & Analytics, and Director of School Operations)

KIPP North Carolina Leadership

• Participates in KIPP NC academic leadership team that oversees the strategy for all KIPP North Carolina programming
• Works with KIPP NC academic leadership to develop a vision and comprehensive long-term plan for the design of integrated, scaffolded K-12 schools
• Recommends to the KIPP NC Chief Academic Officer system-wide goals; monitors and reports back to the Chief Academic Officer on the progress toward achieving those goals
• Works in collaboration with the Central Office colleagues to ensure that all of the operations, technology, talent, and financial needs of the schools are met

KIPP NC’s Head of Middle & High Schools candidates will have the following:

• A deep commitment to the mission of KIPP NC and an unwavering belief in the potential of all our students
• An unwavering commitment to anti-racism, equity, and inclusion
• A strong desire to collaborate with school leaders and Central Office teammates in service to a new KIPP region growing out of two exceptionally strong ones
• 3-5 years of experience as a principal in a high performing school serving a similar student population to KIPP North Carolina
• An understanding of the specific, unique characteristics of public charter schools, NC-specific knowledge a plus
• A proven track record of success managing high-performing school leaders to achieve ambitious goals; previous experience supporting the full array of responsibilities and challenges faced by school principals preferred but not required
• Outstanding leadership and management skills, particularly as it relates to building teams, working through others, promoting collaboration, managing conflict, goal setting, and holding people accountable
• An entrepreneurial spirit and demonstrated success in building a program, department or organization
• The flexibility needed to accommodate the breadth and depth of responsibilities and priorities
• Outstanding written, speaking, and organizational skills including excellence in backwards planning long-term goals, accountability and progress monitoring systems
• Ability to interact with a broad range of stakeholders with different interests and needs
• Possess a deep commitment to both racial equity and improving the lives of kids from low-income communities; experience working within predominantly Black, Brown, and/or low-income communities
• Understanding and willingness to work in both rural and urban communities, including exhibiting resourcefulness and willingness to travel up to five hours within North Carolina multiple days per week based on need
• Must live in North Carolina; Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, ideal, given the area’s equal distance from our schools in Charlotte, Gaston, and Halifax

Salary is based on years of experience, degree of education, and level of expertise.  A competitive benefits package is offered.  All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.