About KIPP New Jersey

KIPP New Jersey is part of the nationally recognized “Knowledge Is Power Program” network of free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public schools dedicated to preparing students for success in college and in life. In 2002, 80 fifth graders walked through the doors of our first middle school in Newark, New Jersey and KIPP New Jersey has since grown to educate 8,135 students in grades K-12 across 17 schools in Newark and Camden. More than 90% of KIPP New Jersey students currently qualify for free or reduced meals. 

By 2025, KIPP New Jersey will provide a world-class education to over 10,300 students across fifteen schools in Newark and five in Camden. To learn more, visit www.kippnj.org.

Here's what you need to know: 

We are hiring for Assistant Principals of Culture across all grade-bands (ES, MS, and HS) for next school year.  The Assistant Principal of Culture is the ultimate conduit between all stakeholders - and their utmost priority is to enhance a culture of safety, achievement, respect, and well-being of the campus community, while building a model that instills strong and mutually respectful relationships with students, staff, and the network at large.

In addition to serving on the leadership team, the AP of Culture will work closely with the School Leader to set the school’s vision, design systems and structures, and assist in key hiring for school needs. This will include spearheading performance management of all culture team members, teachers, and related staff. The AP of School Culture must have the ability to collaborate with other leaders in the building, and provide effective professional development, in order to drive outcomes for all. Other responsibilities include ensuring all compliance deadlines are met, while also leading school-wide plans for rituals, traditions, celebrations, and other duties as assigned. 

Here's what you'll be doing: 

Serve as a key member of the school’s leadership team:

• Actively engages with the entire team to problem solve and operationalize whole school management decisions
• Promotes focused alignment between their teams and the priorities of both the school and the region
• Co-own the vision for school culture, alongside the school leader, and invest the LT in the vision and systems for culture
• Design and drive key school culture systems, priorities, and initiatives, and progress monitor outcomes
• Monitor, analyze, interpret and share school culture data and ensure that the leadership team problem solves culture data
• Recommends hiring and termination decisions for school staff

In partnership with the school leader, develop vision for school culture and conduct professional development on the routines, procedures, and structures that support that vision:

• Actively develops healthy school culture, grounded in safety and kindness, where students are able to engage and  find joy in learning 
• Develop school-wide proactive and reactive procedures and routines; incentives, rewards, and consequences for student behavior; and data tracking such that the team can collect and analyze key culture data
• Craft and lead professional development on the school's vision for student culture and the corresponding routines, procedures, and consequences
• Consistently reinforce high expectations for all students and all staff - all the time
• Creates a culture in which teachers build strong and lasting relationships with all students
• Celebrates and shows appreciation regularly for teammates
• Actively develops school culture where teachers find joy in teaching and student learning
• Builds an inclusive student environment, ensuring that all student voices are heard and incorporated
• Speaks to violations of culture and holds staff accountable to values / professional infractions with interactions with kids

Lead a team of culture leaders, support staff, and instructional staff to develop skills, competencies, and drive toward ambitious outcomes:

• Build strong teams characterized by trust, investment in goals, and ownership
• Work with members of culture team to set individual goals based on school-wide goals and student data;
• Manage the performance of culture teammates to get outcomes for kids through O3s, observation/feedback, and professional development;
• Conduct weekly O3s with direct reports and hold them accountable to goals
• Conduct regular classroom observations with members of culture team
• Identify high potential talent and develop accordingly, manage performance with the support of the school leader, manage the growth and capacity building of next-ready leaders 

Develop intentional opportunities to engage families:

• Lead and drive vision for proactive and reactive family engagement
• Oversee proactive school-wide family engagement structures (family events, volunteer opportunities, etc.)
• Create and teach staff to use consistent family communication systems
• Facilitate family meetings with teachers and families of students to highlight strengths and strategically plan to support improvement in areas of challenge for students
• Handle culture-based concerns brought to school leadership by families, community, or community agencies
• Communicate with families to provide updates/feedback of behavior plans for our students who need additional or targeted supports
• Attend and support at-risk for retention conferences as needed

Oversee reactive discipline policies and decisions:

• Lead and drive vision and systems for reactive discipline, including student consequences and restorative practices
• Act as final decision-maker, in collaboration with school leader, for all out-of-school suspensions
• Spot trends in removals and suspension and work with culture team, classroom teachers and support staff to reduce that student's referrals and increase his/her ability to meet the school-wide culture expectations

Oversee State Compliance Expectations:

• Ensures that all records for state SSDS system and harassment, intimidation, and bullying investigations are thorough and completed in a timely manner
• Ensures that culture team members maintain thorough and up-to-date records in response to student disciplinary incidents and teacher referrals

Drives instructional vision through instructional coaching:

• Develops the capacity of teachers in achieving results through  observations, walkthroughs, real time coaching, and data analysis through O3s focused on student data and coaching towards goals
• Audits, analyzes, and progress monitors data weekly
• Designs and leads high quality professional development such that it results in improved teacher effectiveness
• Ensures there’s an effective testing environment, investment, and procedures for testing
• Ensures each direct report has a high quality performance management process including regular observations, assignment of micro-goals, and thoughtful, written evaluations
• Identifies top performing teachers at regular points throughout the school year and works strategically to retain them
• Manages struggling performers through goal setting and increased support. Manages out low performers when necessary

• Bachelor’s degree
• Student Focus: Belief that all students, regardless of background, have the ability to go to and through college; demonstrated commitment to the school’s unique community
• Achievement Orientation: Demonstrated student achievement results in own classroom and from teachers that he/she manages
• Cultural Competence: Demonstrated ability to create inclusive environments that honor and support a diversity of backgrounds and perspectives
• Instructional Leadership: Adept at data analysis and strong content knowledge
• High Expectations: Sets and upholds high expectations for students academically and behaviorally
• Results through Others: Evidence of ability to teach other skills in classroom management and effective lesson execution
• Relationship Building: Evidence of ability to build strong relationships with students, staff, and families
• Strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills
• Experience coaching and managing others and/or leading a team to results

Compensation & Benefits

In addition to a competitive salary, KIPP NJ offers a full comprehensive benefits plan, including health care, retirement, a school laptop, and transportation benefits for TEAMmates commuting into New Jersey from the New York City area.